Optional: how to create a method
This section is not mandatory. It is intended for those who have mastered the material of the main chapter and want to delve deeper into the topic.
Sometimes in selected sources of information, an appropriate practice (a way of performing work by role) may already be described, and it needs to be applied carefully following the instructions. In other words, you simply take the meta-Υ-model from the source and apply it in your activities. In this case, the main thing is to perform the practice "as described" the first few times, without trying to hack it. If you attempt to do so, there is a great risk that you will make a mistake that was already known to the authors of the practice and could have been avoided if following the algorithm. It is appropriate to adapt it to yourself when you have tried to do it "as intended" and see where and what does not work.
However, sometimes in information sources, there are no clear algorithms, only hints on how to do something, and the practice needs to be compiled by oneself. In this case, you can use a model for creating a practice/method. This is a model that allows you to create a meta-C-model for your case based on proven meta-Υ-models.
To create a method, define the goal and role. For example, you are playing the role of an engineer creating a system description. You need to describe how users will use the system, but you don't know how. In this case, you can use the model for creating practices.
To do this, take:
- the meta-meta-model from fundamental disciplines (intellect-stack disciplines and general labor/cultural disciplines), for example, systems engineering;
- the meta-model, which is taken from:
- middle-level disciplines, for example, engineering of cyber-physical systems (domain/general industry/subject model);
- enterprise/project standards:
- applied disciplines and standards for describing parts of systems, for example, in a project, the practice of user stories is chosen to describe requirements, not use cases;
- standards/recommendations on the use of selected technologies, for example, Confluence or Jira from Atlassian, where the described user stories are uploaded.
Thus, the model of creating a practice acts as a "discipline pointer": which discipline to refer to and in what order. If the company already has a standard procedure for performing a certain practice, for example, describing user stories using a standard template in Confluence, then it is enough to refer to it to solve the task (or peek in your own practice database if it is a personal project). If there is no standard procedure, you can refer to an applied discipline and create a checklist for applying the practice. For example, a checklist for describing a user story, which can then be formalized into a procedure.
If it is unclear which applied discipline to refer to (for example, user story or use case), you can study and compare them, as well as see what the state-of-the-art practice is in the middle-level discipline (in this case, in the engineering of cyber-physical systems). And finally, if it is unclear which middle-level discipline to choose or which model in it--for example, if you are working on the frontier--you can refer to a more fundamental discipline (systems engineering in this case) or to a completely fundamental one (and the most abstract from the goal perspective)--physics.
How to apply the method creation model:
- Define the viewing goal
- Define the desired result
- Define the role needed to achieve the goal
- Name the (known to us) discipline in which you can find objects of attention by role
- Determine from which disciplines to select models (with the necessary amount of meta)
- Select sources of information by disciplines
- Choose descriptions of key objects of attention from the selected sources by the necessary disciplines
- Land them in the project reality
- Describe operations with objects "by the book"
- Land them in project reality
- Define the work product
- If necessary, understand the types of objects of attention
For example, when creating an updated course "Modeling and Consistency," it was necessary to decide on which concepts will be included in the course and which should be left for other courses (further in the program or, on the contrary, transferred to the preparatory program "New Literacy"). It was also necessary to understand how to present these concepts in a way that would make them clearer, better understood, and easier to grasp for students.
The desired result is that the concepts are assimilated by students during the course with a sufficient number of applications to produce initial (and somewhere stable) results.
The role needed to fulfill this is course developer or instructional designer. The discipline in which to look for a common set of objects of attention by role (middle-level discipline) is instructional design.
In case there are not enough objects, or a finer granularity is required, models can be sought as follows:
- Take meta-meta-models from the fundamental discipline of psychology (theories of knowledge) and algorithmics (computational theories)
- Take meta-models from middle-level disciplines: adult education, theories of learning (AI and humans), instructional design
- Applied standards:
- specific models and practices, for example, the "flipped learning" model and others;
- using the AIsystant platform for releasing self-study materials at home, the Coda.io application for training.
Information sources used include "System Learning of Personality" by Anatoly Levenchuk, Evaluating Training Programs by Donald L. Kirkpatrick and James D. Kirkpatrick, "Clearly and Understandably" by Maxim Ilyakhov to improve the way concepts are presented, and so on.
Role objects "from the textbook": "example" (to a concept). Role objects "from life": an example of designing the path of attention to avoid spending too much time on social networks.
Operation "from the textbook": provide 2-3 examples related to the concept. Operation "from life": provide 2 examples of creating a method to solve a problem in the section "How to Create a Method."
Work products by role: sections of the textbook "Modeling and Consistency," tasks for sections, training materials.
Another example: finding a new niche (business direction). You need to find a niche where the company can occupy a good share with relatively little effort and cost, which requires market analysis.
The desired result is a market analysis with highlighted promising niches for the company.
The role is a marketer. The discipline where the necessary practices can be found is marketing.
If there are not enough objects or a finer granularity is needed, models can be sought as follows:
- Take meta-meta-models from the fundamental discipline of economics
- Take meta-models from a middle-level discipline: marketing, or even marketing for a specific industry (e.g., education or the consumer electronics market)
- Applied standards:
- specific models and practices, for example, market analysis practice and niche identification on it;
- the practice of creating a report on market analysis with recommendations for niches in the project model/documentation of the team.
Information sources can include textbooks on marketing and market analysis, blogs, and videos of marketers like Neil Patel, Russel Brunson, Alex Hormozi, and others.
Role objects "from the textbook": market, niche, demand. Role objects "from life": demand in the vacuum cleaner niche in the consumer electronics market.
Operations with objects "from the textbook": name the market by the category of goods/services sold, identify the niche by the name of a specific product or service sold in the niche. Operations with objects "from life": consumer electronics market, niche of industrial vacuum cleaners for cleaning office premises.
Work product: analysis of the consumer electronics market and detailed analysis of demand in the niche of industrial vacuum cleaners for cleaning office premises, along with the ability of the company to occupy this niche in city N.
The practices developed using the method creation model need to be tested, and after successful application, they can be formalized into checklists in the corporate knowledge base, and then into regulations that are mandatory for implementation. This will help create high-quality work products within more predictable timeframes.