Conflict Resolution Diagram
The Conflict Resolution Diagram, often referred to as the Evaporating Cloud or simply the Cloud, is a powerful tool originating from the Theory of Constraints, designed to analyse and resolve persistent dilemmas or seemingly intractable conflicts. This structured thinking process seeks to identify and challenge the underlying assumptions that make two desired courses of action appear mutually exclusive.
The method operates by mapping a conflict onto a standardized five-element logical structure. At the highest level resides the Objective, the ultimate goal that both sides of the dilemma wish to achieve. Below this, two necessary Requirements are identified, each essential for fulfilling the Objective. The conflict emerges at the lowest level, where two opposing Injections or actions are proposed, each being the perceived necessary means to satisfy one of the two Requirements. The entire structure, which resembles a cloud shape, illustrates a chain of cause and effect, where the Objective drives the Requirements, and the Requirements drive the Injections.
The real work of the diagram is not merely to map the conflict, but to challenge the logical connections, the arrows, which represent the inherent Assumptions within the situation. By systematically questioning why a particular Requirement is necessary for the Objective, why a specific Injection is necessary for its Requirement, or why the two Injections are truly incompatible, one often exposes a flawed premise, a hidden fear, or an inaccurate belief. The successful identification and invalidation of such a crucial assumption leads to the creation of a Breakthrough Injection, a novel solution that fulfils both Requirements simultaneously without relying on the original, opposing actions, thereby "evaporating" the cloud of conflict.
Last updated