Case studies

Aggreko Generators Ltd	Aggreko Generators Ltd used Decision Explorer® to develop a five year strategy plan and a sales training course. Six months later, all the indicators showed that the exercise had been effective, with a direct and measurable commercial benefit to the company.“Taking some time out to think and develop some cohesive arguments about what we should be doing next and setting the agenda in a particular way by using [Decision Explorer] has got bottom line impact.”
Essex County Council	Essex County Council IT Services Division was the subject of a study which aimed to establish whether scenario planning increases organisational learning within a management team. Banxia® Decision Explorer® was used, in conjunction with one-to-one interviews, to identify and to analyse changes in individuals’ understanding of the organisation’s current and future strategic situation.“Without Decision Explorer it would not have been possible to create, manipulate and compare perspectives across the whole management team”
Looking at “soft” issues in construction management	This case study is based on PhD thesis research, which was carried out by Andrew Edkins at the Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London. The intention of the research was to seek to understand the key processes that occur as part of the management of a modern complex construction project. As such it dealt with the ‘soft’ issues involved in project management which are increasingly being seen as the most significant parts of project management.The PhD thesis was successfully examined in July 1997 with the examiners being particularly pleased with the treatment of the qualitative data.
Decision Explorer® as a research tool	Dr. Seonaidh McDonald is a lecturer in the International Business Strategy in the Management School at the University of Sheffield involved in management research into issues such as strategy making and innovation. Over the past four years Seonaidh has used Decision Explorer® extensively in her research as a tool for the management and analysis of qualitative data.“If I am going round in circles and I don’t know where to start and I can’t write it, I map it instead! That is one of the greatest strengths of it. I find it quite natural to use.”
Decision Explorer® and the Delict Game	Dr Paul Maharg is a lecturer in the Centre for Professional Legal Studies, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. By chance Banxia® Software Ltd and DR Maharg were based in the same building in Glasgow (Banxia have now moved in fact). DR Maharg and Professor John Blackie are involved in a Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP) project in law. Paul needed a concept mapping tool which could be used as part of “The Delict Game” – the prototype for a computer-based learning program.“Word Processors constrain your thought, they affect the way that you review your work … Using a concept mapper can help students to manipulate ideas before they set out to write formal prose.”
CAFE	The Construction Alternative Futures Explorer was developed by Jenny Brightman at the University of Strathclyde.