As well as the ethical issues involved in diagramming with other people it is also necessary to pay attention to the practicalities involved. A major purpose of diagramming together is to build up a shared picture of a situation by combining the knowledge and perspectives of different people. All the advice given in Week 4 for drawing diagrams by yourself also applies to drawing diagrams in groups. The main difference is that you have to be aware of the dynamics of the group and ensure that you are working constructively together and not destructively.
The notes that follow deal with various aspects of this problem. But you will not learn how to deal with the problem just by reading the notes. This sort of learning is very much learning by experience, and the primary purpose of the notes is to encourage and help you to learn from your experience when you do face working on diagrams in a group.
Allow approximately 5 minutes for this activity.
But before you read my notes on working with others spend five minutes noting down the key pieces of advice on diagramming which you looked at in Week 4.
Involving others with diagrams comes in two main forms: co-creation of a collective diagram and using a diagram as the focus for a mediated discussion of the situation that the diagram represents. Both techniques can be very powerful in helping those involved to gain a shared understanding of a situation as it draws out the different perspectives they may have and also for developing a negotiated set of actions for moving on (although in many cases, the fact that thinking has been changed can lead to changed action and behaviour without the need for it to be made explicit in a set of written action points). An example of using a diagram as a focus for a mediated discussion is shown in the videos in the OpenLearn course Systems explained: diagramming.