Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

Ladder of Inference
An approach for checking the assumptions related to our mental processes.
Supports: decision-making, learning, knowledge sharing
LEVEL OF EFFORT
SIZE OF UTILITY
SCOPE OF WORK
LOW
SCALABLE
WIDE
The ladder of inference is a model that describes an individual's mental process of
observing situations, drawing conclusions and taking action. When we say "the fact is …,‖ what
we are actually saying is ―the fact, as I understand it based upon my data selection process,
cultural and personal background, judgments, beliefs and assumptions, is ..." This is important
because there are a lot of steps in between the data and the actions we take based upon that
data. By recognizing and exploring our thinking processes, we may understand ourselves and
develop more effective and higher leverage solutions.
Directly Observable Data
After an event takes place, our mental processing immediately screens out a certain percentage
of the data. In other words, our vision is naturally limited and absorbs only a portion of the data
that represents life events. The ladder of inference helps us check our assumptions by asking
three questions: Have we added meaning? Have we made judgements, conclusions and
inferences based on attached meaning? Have we built beliefs, assumptions or mental models
that are affecting this decision?
ADD: Meaning (Personal and Cultural). When we look at the information we have
collected, we attach our own personal meaning and cultural biases to what we observe.
No information, therefore, is pure--it is influenced by whoever observes and analyzes
their information.
MAKE: Judgments, Conclusions and Inferences. Based on the meaning we attach to the
information collected we make inferences or judgments and arrive at conclusions that
influence our behavior. Therefore one piece of information could lead to as many
different conclusions as there are people analyzing it.
BUILD: Beliefs, Assumptions, Mental Models. Over time, and the conclusions we reach
from an event or pattern of events we develop our belief system. We may become
fixated on certain ways of viewing how the world works, creating our own mental models
that reoccur each time an event takes place.
Another way of looking at the ladder of inference is to consider the bottom range of the
ladder as the:
(a) Observable information and the associated experience we take in from external
situations. Then, the next rung up the ladder ...
(b) We select, filter, limit the information and that is what we consciously observe. Then,
the next rung ...
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