Rich pictures provides a pictorial summary of the actual situation in the 'systems world' based on inquiries or observations of the 'real world'.

1. RICH PICTURE
Dr Niraj Thurairajah
Birmingham City University

2. Overview
 What is a rich picture?
 Elements of rich picture
 Techniques to create good rich picture
 Examples
 Your activity

3. What is a rich picture?
 A cartoon-like representation that identifies all
the stakeholders, their concerns, and some of
the structure underlying the work context
(Monk and Howard, 1998)
 A pictorial summary of the actual situation in
the “systems world” based on inquiries or
observations of the “real world”
(Patching, 1990)

4. Components of rich picture
 Represent the following
 Structure
 Process
 Concerns

5. Structure
 Aspect of the work context that are slow to
change. Such as;
 Stages of construction
 Firms/ organisations
 Geographical localities
 Stakeholders
 People

7. Source: Monk and Howard,
1998

8. Process
 Refers to the transformations that occur in the
process of the work. Such as the flow of
 Information/data
 Goods and services
 Other resources

10. Source: Monk and Howard,
1998

11. Concerns
 Perspectives/viewpoints of each
individual’s/firm’s motivation
 Captures different perspectives of the theme
 Identifies tensions between stakeholders, a
useful preliminary step to identifying the
conflicting concerns and how they may be
resolved.

13. Source: Monk and Howard,
1998

14. Dos and don’ts
Element Comment
 Include structure
 Include process
 Include
concerns
 Use any pictorial
or textual device
that suits
 Include only enough structure to allow
you to record the process and
concerns.
 Do not attempt to record all the details
of process; a broad brush approach is
usually all that is needed
 Present the concern in a thought
bubble
 There is no correct way of drawing a
rich picture. There are as many styles
as analysts and the same analyst will
find different styles useful in different
situations

15. Rich picture of the construction of the Humber Bridge (adapted from Stewart and Fortune, 1994)

16. Case study – Construction
project 1
Source: Sutrisna & Barrett,
2007

17. Case study – Construction
project 1
Source: Sutrisna & Barrett,
2007

22. Development project: Rich
Picture
 Produce a rich picture of how the different
professions, stakeholders and processes fit into a
typical construction process.
 For your activity, consider rich diagram as a pictorial
representation of ‘construction process’ that identifies
situations, stake holders, their actions/ interaction and
the outcome over time.
 Due to the progressive nature of construction projects,
this mapping activity can be done in a chronological
manner
 Acknowledge the complexity and characteristics of a
typical construction project