Rapid Problem Solving with Post-It Notes

While this title is a decade old, it use the ubiquitous sticky notes as a problem solving technique; a combination of visual and text. The book is worth its re0examination because it provides some excellent techniques for arranging random ideas into shapes of ideas that help in the solution of the problem at hand. Sic techniques are featured: post-up, swap sort, top-down tree, bottom-up tree, information map, and action map. While we can’t show you these configurations here, we can promise that the ideas illustrated are invaluable when various technologies are not available. And, the ideas can be incorporated into technology. For example, one can arrange Wallwisher brainstorms using Straker’s ideas, and, it starts you thinking about show more how to arrange ideas in tools such as Google Forms/spreadsheets. show less

I'm torn about how much value I got out of this book. In practice, it does serve up a valuable, if very focussed, guide to use of Post-ItTM Notes in defining, sorting, prioritising and giving structure to knowledge. You have the Post-Up and Swap-Out for general information gathering and sorting, the Top-Down and Bottom-Up for either generating or coalescing data, and you have the Information Map and the Action Map, either for finding commonality between the disparate or creating flow. It all makes sense, but I'm not sure whether it needed to be Post-ItTM Note focussed or quite so long.

OK - a viable toolset that somehow left me leaving short for the time spent reading it.

Accurate title, and more useful seeming than it sounds. Straker describes several protocols for using sticky notes to gather ideas from everyone involved at once, and then rearrange them with authority or consensus to figure out what needs to be done, sometimes in what order, without losing any of the inputs.

Dorky title, but to the point. 70 different ways of displaying information diagramatically for problem solving, decision making etc. Inexpensive reference.