Network patterns are visual archetypes that help teams understand relationships and information flow within a system using the Net‑Map Toolbox for mapping and intervention.
Network Patterns
Network patterns are named, visual archetypes that describe how relationships and information flow in a system. The patterns give teams a shared vocabulary to spot structures like hubs, cliques, bridges, and silos, discuss implications, and choose interventions.
Applying the patterns with Net‑Map
The Net‑Map Toolbox, developed by Eva Schiffer, is a practical way to map actors, ties, goals, and influence in your context. Once you’ve mapped your network with Net‑Map, use the pattern cards to interpret what you see, surface opportunities and risks, and decide where to intervene. Learn more here.
Lonesome Twosomes discusses disconnected pairs of nodes that are connected to each other but isolated from other pairs.
Celebrating diversity through a heterogeneous network of varied connections and node types.
The Boss Is the Boss discusses a strict top-down hierarchy in organizational communication.
Birds of a Feather discusses homogeneous coalitions, which are groups of nodes with dense internal connections and few connections to other groups.
Get Past the Dragon discusses a gate-keeper node that controls network access, acting as a bottleneck or filter.
Disconnected individuals are isolated nodes with no connections between them in the context of communication.
The Inner Circle describes a core-periphery network where a central group is densely connected while peripheral nodes connect only to the core.
Bridge to Outside Worlds discusses boundary spanners in networks that connect different groups through few nodes.
"Everybody Holding Hands" discusses a fully connected network where every node is connected to every other node.
The page discusses a hub and spoke network structure with a central node connected to all other nodes.
More about this
- The original work:
Eva Schiffer Network Pattern Cards
- Liberating Structure (German):
Daniel Steinhöfer Network Patterning Cards