Think Forward: Conversations with Futurists, Innovators and Big Thinkers
Welcome to the Think Forward podcast where we have conversations with futurists, innovators and big thinkers about what lies ahead. We explore emerging trends on the horizon and what it means to be a futurist.
Think Forward: Conversations with Futurists, Innovators and Big Thinkers
Think Forward Ep 110 - Domain Maps - Getting Focus on Your Futures Project
Welcome to the Think Forward podcast. My name is Steve and I am a futurist.
Welcome to our eighth episode, where we discuss the concept of "Domain Maps". In this episode continuing our "Being a Futurist" series, we cover the following:
- What domain maps are
- How to build them from scratch
- Real-life examples of their application in foresight, strategy, and innovation
- An walkthrough exercise
So, ready to map out your future project? Whether you’re working on the future of work, healthcare, or any complex domain, this episode will guide you in creating clarity from complexity.
Link to the template and completed example used in the episode:
LINK
Tune in now and start mapping your path forward! Share your domain maps with us! #ThinkForwardShow #Foresight #Innovation #FutureOfWork #StrategicForesight
Steve's site: www.stevenfisher.io
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Think Forward Show: www.thinkforwardshow.com
Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.
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Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.
Hello friends, fellow futurists and big thinkers, welcome to episode 111 of the Think Forward Show. I'm your host, Steve Fischer, and today we continue our Being a Futurist series, and we're diving into a practical tool that can help you get clarity and focus in your future's projects. They're called domain maps. So what exactly is a domain map? Think of it as a visual tool, a map, if you will, that helps you explore, organize, and connect the dots within a particular subject area, whether you're exploring the future work, transportation, or technology. A domain map helps you uncover relationships, trends, and patterns that might not be obvious at first glance, while futurists use it to focus the scope of a project they're about to work on. In this episode, I'll walk you through the steps of building a domain map from scratch, show you how to apply it in your foresight projects, and give you some examples from my work in strategic foresight. I put a link to a PDF in the show notes, so we can use the example exercise later on in the episode, but please pull that up so it makes more sense for you visual learners out there. Trust me. Whether you're just getting started or you're deep into a project, this tool is going to become one of your go tos for creating clarity out of complexity. So let's dive into how you can map the future. All right, let's start with some basics. What exactly is a domain map? For those of you who are new to this tool, a domain map is essentially a visual framework that helps you explore, organize, and make sense of a particular subject or area of interest. Imagine it as a roadmap. But instead of directions to a destination, you're mapping out concepts, relationships, trends, and themes that exist within a domain, hence the name domain map. Now, why is this useful? Well, if you've ever worked in Foresight or Innovation, you know how overwhelming it can be when you're faced with a complex topic. There are so many moving parts, so much uncertainty, and often it's hard to know where to start. That's where domain maps come in. They help you break down that complexity into digestible parts, and they give you a clear view of the landscape you're working within. Let me give you a quick example. Let's say you're working on the future of education. That's a huge domain, right? Without a framework, you could easily get lost in the noise, talking about everything from edtech to policy reform to new pedagogical methods. But with a domain map, you can break that big topic down into smaller subdomains like curriculum design, technology in education, student behavior, and global education trends. Then you start mapping out how these subdomains relate to each other and what external forces like new technologies or policy shifts might impact them. You can use them to identify weak signals and emerging trends, or even to pinpoint areas of uncertainty that might require. deeper exploration. They're also a great way to communicate complex insights to stakeholders, whether that's your leadership team, clients, or even the public. Don't let the simplicity of a domain map fool you into thinking this is a basic tool. It's deceptively powerful. When done right, domain maps help you connect the dots between trends, challenges, and opportunities in a way that leads to actionable insights. I've used domain maps in some of my most high impact foresight projects to identify strategic opportunities and risks that weren't immediately obvious. In the next segment, we're going to break down how to build one step by step. So whether you're tackling a personal futures project or working on a large scale corporate foresight initiative, you'll have the tools to map out your domain effectively. Ready to go? Okay, let's get started. Okay. Now that we understand what a domain map is and why it's such a valuable tool, let's talk about how to build one. I'm going to break it down step by step, so whether this is your first time making a domain map or you're refining your technique, You can follow along and build something practical for your own future's work. Let's begin with step one, choose the domain. This is the core subject or area you're going to explore, and it should be broad enough to encompass various subdomains, but specific enough that you can actually manage it. If you're too broad, you'll end up with a map that's too scattered to be useful. If you're too narrow, you won't capture the full complexity of the topic. For example, let's say you want to explore the future of healthcare. You'll That's a great domain because it covers many subdomains, like technology, policy, patient care, and more. But if you pick something too vague, like the future, it's going to be nearly impossible to map out in any meaningful way. You want something manageable, but with enough room to explore. If you're working on a project for an organization, this might be tied to a strategic challenge or a specific area they're looking to innovate in. For personal projects, it could be any future facing topic you're curious about, like the future of education, mobility, or even societal trends. Okay? Now for step two. This is about identifying key themes and subdomains. Once you've chosen your domain, the next step is to break it down into key themes, or subdomains. These are the core components that make up your domain. So let's stick with the healthcare example. Some of the subdomains might be medical technology, policy and regulation, patient experience, and biomedical research. Each of these represents a distinct area that plays a role in the broader domain of healthcare. The goal here is to surface the major areas you need to explore within your domain. This step helps you avoid the trap of getting lost in details too early. Instead, you're building a structure that will guide your exploration and give you clarity. If you're not sure where to start, it can help to ask yourself a few questions. What are the big forces shaping this domain? What are the major players or factors influencing change? What aspects of this domain are currently undergoing rapid transformation? Moving on, step three, which is exploring relationships and connections. Now, here is where it starts to get really interesting. Now that you've got your subdomains, it's time to map out how they're connected. This is where the Magic of a domain map really starts to show itself. You're not just creating a list of topics. You're mapping out a dynamic ecosystem where everything is interrelated. In healthcare, for instance, how does medical technology intersect with patient experience? Maybe there's a trend toward personalized medicine, where technology plays a key role in tailoring treatments to individual patients. Or maybe you'll see a connection between policy and biomedical research. regulations that either hinder or accelerate the development of new treatments. The goal here is to visualize the relationships between different subdomains, because those relationships are often where the most interesting insights and opportunities will emerge. Sometimes, the connections you uncover will surprise you, revealing hidden synergies or tensions you hadn't considered. Think of it like this, you're not just looking at static, Parts, but at how the system evolves and how these elements influence each other, the more connections you can map, the more holistic your view of the domain becomes. Okay, we are halfway done our steps. Now that you've mapped out your subdomains and their relationships, it's time to add another layer. External factors like trends, drivers of change, and weak signals. These are the forces that are impacting or will soon impact your domain. For instance, What are the major trends in healthcare right now? Things like the rise of telemedicine, AI and diagnostics, and wearable health tech are clear trends shaping the future. These trends don't exist in a vacuum. They'll affect different subdomains in unique ways. AI and diagnostics might revolutionize medical technology, but it will also have ripple effects on patient experience and healthcare policy. Drivers of change could be societal, technological, economic, environmental, or political forces that are reshaping the domain. Maybe you have an aging population that's putting pressure on healthcare systems or new data regulations that are shifting how patient information is managed. And let's not forget weak signals. Those subtle early indicators that suggest change might be on the horizon. In foresight work, paying attention to weak signals can help you spot emerging opportunities or disruptions before they fully materialize. By layering in these external forces, you enrich your map. Adding context that can help you anticipate future shifts in your domain. This is where you move from just exploring the current state of a domain to actively thinking about its future trajectory. Okay. We are coming down the homestretch here. Step five is where we take what we did and refine and prioritize. At this point, I am going to guess you've got a pretty robust domain map, but now comes an important step. Refining and prioritizing. Not all subdomains or connections are created equal and not every trend or driver will have the same level of impact. Your goal here is to identify which areas are the most important or most urgent to focus on. In foresight work, this is often where you start asking strategic questions. You can zoom in on specific areas while keeping the bigger picture in view. And now our last step, step six, which is about how we evolve the map. The future is always shifting and your domain map should be a living tool that grows with it. As you continue working on your foresight projects or strategic initiatives, revisit your domain map, add new trends, explore emerging connections, and adjust your priorities as new information becomes available. In many ways, a domain map is like a compass. It doesn't give you a final destination, but it keeps you oriented as you navigate the unknown. And that's it. The full breakdown of how to build a domain map from start to finish. To finish, by following these steps, you can turn complexity into clarity, map out opportunities and risks, and set the stage for more focused futures work. In the next segment, we're going to talk about some specific applications for domain maps, and how you can use them in different projects, whether you're in foresight, innovation, or strategy development. Okay, now that we've covered how to build a domain map, let's talk about how you can actually use them in your work. Domain maps are incredibly versatile. They can be applied in futures work, strategy development, innovation projects, and even in systems thinking. Let's first look at how domain maps are used in futures work. They allow you to identify weak signals, spot emerging trends, and explore the relationships between different drivers of change. When you map out a domain, you're not just looking at the present. You're You're setting the stage to explore future scenarios. Let's say you're working on a foresight project around the future of transportation. By building a domain map, you can visualize how different trends like autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, and new forms of energy interact with one another. This makes it easier to spot areas where new opportunities might emerge or where potential disruptions might occur. Maybe you see a convergence of autonomous technology and urban planning, leading to new business models for mobility services. You can also use domain maps to identify areas of uncertainty, places where we simply don't know enough to make reliable predictions. These uncertainties are critical leverage points in any foresight project, and by mapping them out, you can focus your research and scenario building efforts on addressing them. In many of the foresight projects I've been involved with, domain maps have helped me clarify which areas of a future landscape are likely to experience the most change, and where organizations might need to focus their attention to stay ahead of the curve. They become the foundation for exploring future scenarios and developing robust strategies to deal with multiple possible futures. Next up is strategy development. If you're working in an organization, domain maps can help you align your strategy with the trends and drivers of change that are shaping your industry. By visualizing your domain, you can ensure that your strategic initiatives are focused on the areas where the most significant impact will occur. For example, let's say you're part of a company looking to innovate in the financial services sector. By mapping out the domain, you might uncover connections between new financial technologies, regulatory changes, and shifting consumer behaviors. Once those connections have mapped, you can start aligning your strategic goals with those drivers. Maybe you see that consumer demand for digital first banking is intersecting with advancements in blockchain technology. That can lead you to focus on developing new blockchain based financial products to stay competitive. Domain maps help you clarify where you need to innovate and invest, and they make sure that you're not chasing shiny objects that don't actually align with the trends and reshape your industry. They also allow you to see where gaps in your strategy exist. If a critical area is left off your map, it might be a signal that your organization is missing something important. I've seen companies completely rethink their strategies once they see the full landscape of their domain laid right out in front of them. Domain maps are also incredibly useful for innovation work. They help you find what we call white space, those unexplored areas where your domain, you can spot gaps in the market or intersections between trends that haven't been fully exploited yet. One project I worked on was for a company in the renewable energy sector. We used a domain map to explore not just the core technologies in the field, but also the adjacent areas like energy storage, grid management, and even behavioral changes in energy consumption. This led to the identification of a few key areas where innovation was lacking, specifically in integrating renewable energy with smart home technologies. Domain maps also help you find hidden synergies. Sometimes the most interesting, sometimes the most interesting innovations come from combining two seemingly unrelated areas. In the energy project, for example, we found that advancements in battery technology could enable more efficient renewable energy use in urban settings. Without the map, those connections wouldn't have been as obvious. Innovation is often about looking beyond the obvious, and domain maps provide that wider lens. By exploring a domain holistically, you can identify where the next breakthrough might come from and where your organization can carve out a competitive advantage. Finally, domain maps are a natural fit for systems thinking. In systems thinking, you're not just looking at individual elements, you're looking at how those elements interact within a larger system. Domain maps allow you to visualize these interactions, helping you understand the dynamics at play in complex systems. Take for example, a project on sustainable urban development. A domain map can help you see how factors like transportation, housing, energy use, and public policy are all interrelated. Understanding these relationships is key to designing interventions that create positive outcomes across the entire system. Systems thinking is all about recognizing feedback loops, where one part of the system influences another, which in turn influences the first part. Domain maps help you make those loops visible. So, you can anticipate unintended consequences or identify leverage points where small changes could have big impact. This is especially useful for a large scale, long term project where complexity is a given. Whether it's sustainability, healthcare reform, or technological transformation, domain maps help you understand how different elements of the system are connected and how changes in one area might ripple across the entire system. As you can see, domain maps are more than just a planning tool. They're a way to bring clarity to complexity, to explore future opportunities, and to understand how different elements of a system interact. Whether you're working on foresight, strategy, innovation, or systems thinking, domain maps provide a flexible framework for tackling even those most complicated of challenges. Next up, this is where we'll get a little more hands on. I'll guide you through an interactive exercise where you can start building your own domain map, and if you've been following along with a project of mine, this is where it all comes together. All right, we've talked about what domain maps are, how to build them, and where they can be applied. Now, let's get a little more hands on. I'm going to walk you through a quick interactive exercise to help you build your own domain map. You don't need anything fancy to do this. A piece of paper, a whiteboard, or even a notes app on your phone will work just fine. If you're new to domain maps, don't worry. This exercise will give you a chance to practice. And if you've used domain maps before, this is a great opportunity to refine your process or try out a new approach. So let's jump right in. Let's begin with step one. Choosing your domain. The first thing I want you to do is pick a domain you're interested in. It could be related to a current project, an industry you work in, or even something you're personally curious about. Maybe it's the future of healthcare, the evolution of digital education, or how AI is reshaping the creative industries. Don't overthink this. Just choose a domain that you want to explore. For example, I'll use the future of work as my domain for this exercise. Now, take a moment and write down your domain at the center of your page or digital canvas. Got it? Great. Now for step two where we break it down into key subdomains. Think about the major components or subdomains within your chosen area. What are the building blocks that make up this domain? For the future of work, I might use subdomains like remote work, AI, automation, maybe workplace culture, and geek economy. Now, take a moment to list out three key subdomains for your topic. These are the areas that are crucial to understanding the larger domain. Once you have your subdomains, arrange them around your central domain. Visually, you can place them in a circle, around your core topic, like spokes on a wheel. You're starting to create a skeleton of your domain map. Give yourself a moment to complete this step. And remember, there's no wrong answer here. You're simply identifying the key elements that shape your domain. Okay? Got that? Alright. Great. Let's move on. This next step is about exploring relationships and connections. Now that you have your subdomains, let's explore how they might be connected. Draw lines between any subdomains that have a relationship or influence on each other. In the future of work, for instance, I might connect remote work to workplace culture because of the rise of remote work is clearly affecting how we think about organizational culture. Or I might connect AI and automation to gig economy. Because automation is reshaping what freelancing contract work looks like. Take a moment to map out the connections within your domain. Don't worry about getting everything perfect. This is about exploring relationships, not locking in final answers. The connections between subdomains are often where the most interesting insights will emerge. If you're unsure, ask yourself, how does this part of the domain affect or influence other parts? Do any of these subdomains overlap or create tensions with one another? Now that we have all of this, we're going to go to the next step, which is number four, adding trends, drivers, and signals. Now that you have a basic map of the domain, it's time to layer some external factors, things like trends, drivers of change, or weak signals that are influencing this space. Let's continue on the future of work example. Some obvious trends might be the increase of hybrid work models, or the growing use of AI in decision making. Don't just stop at trends, think about the underlying drivers. What's pushing these trends forward? In the case of hybrid work, it might be shifting employee expectations or advancements in collaboration technologies. Write down a few of the key drivers and trends, place them around your map, and draw lines to show how they might influence the subdomains. For example, AI in decision making might have a direct impact on workplace culture, because it changes in organizations. Or it might influence the gig economy as more jobs become automated. Think of these trends and drivers as external forces pushing on your domain. And They're shaping what happens within the subdomains, so it's important to visualize how they interact. Okay, now for step five, identifying priorities and uncertainties. Let's step back and take a look at your map. By now you should have a pretty rich visual representation of your domain with key subdomains, relationships, and external drivers. Next is to prioritize. This means which areas of your map seem the most important or the most uncertain. If you're working on a foresight project, these are areas you're going to want to dive in deeper. For example, in my future of work domain map, the rise of AI might stand out as both a major trend and a source of uncertainty. Now, how will it affect different industries? What does it mean for job creation or elimination? Take a moment to circle or highlight the areas of your map that feel like the biggest priorities or uncertainties. These are the leverage points the places where your future strategy research and innovation efforts should be focused if you're working on a team It's also a great place to have a conversation Ask your colleagues or stakeholders which areas they believe are most critical And why your map will become an invaluable tool for staying focused and making informed decisions There you have it a simple step by step guide to building your own domain map whether you're a beginner just getting started For a seasoned foresight professional looking to sharpen your approach, domain maps offer a flexible, powerful way to organize your thinking and explore the future. And that brings us to the end of today's episode on domain maps. We've covered a lot of ground from what domain maps are, to how you can build one, and even some specific ways to apply them in futures work, strategy development, innovation and systems thinking. If you've followed along with the interactive exercise, you should now have the foundation of a domain map that you can continue to refine and evolve over time. Remember, domain maps are a powerful way to bring clarity to complex subjects. They help you navigate the uncertainties of the future and provide a structured approach to exploring opportunities and risks. Whether you're working on a personal project or tackling a strategic challenge in your organization, I encourage you to use domain maps as a tool to make sense of the big picture and the details that shape it. As always, we love hearing from you. If you've created a domain map during this episode, feel free to share it with us on social media. You can also reach out with any questions or comments about today's show. In future episodes, we're going to continue this exploration of foresight tools by looking at trend spotting, world building, and more. and scenario planning among others. So make sure to tune in for that. But for now, take your domain map, dive deeper into your priorities, and see where it leads you. Until then, keep thinking forward, and I'll see you next time.
