Sofi Explained

Each Sofi model is built around a “Focal Point” that determines the character and nature of the questions asked in an online Sofi survey. The Focal Point can address any change initiative for an entire enterprise, an aspect of the organization, an individual project or process improvement or the state of a particular business.

The Focal Point of this model is the Columbia Valley Community as a community.

At the beginning of an input session, all participants identify themselves in relation to different “Worlds” based on demographic groups defined by the organization. A “World” is a segment of the population that the person belongs to, for example gender, age, seniority, management level, committee, project, staff.

Each participant first responds to an overall question to indicate the degree of Urgency for Action in each Sphere of enterprise activity by choosing traffic light signals, where RED = STOP, Urgent; YELLOW = CAUTION, Changing; GREEN= GO, OK; BLUE = Don’t Know.

Traffic Lights & Link Status

People then answer Link Questions about the processes that connect the 11 Spheres of Activity -- “Agree/accomplishments; Disagree/barriers; Don’t Know” -- writing-in evidence to support their answers and making suggestions for improvement.

Sofi Influence Map showing Levels of Consensus

The colors inside the Spheres reflect the degree of urgency the participants collectively attributed to the set of activities with that Sphere. The map immediately reveals the level of consensus (predominantly one color) or the lack thereof (two or more colors in the Sphere) for each set of activities. The color and the thickness of the links measure the strength of agreement or disagreement on the sustainability of the processes.

Anyone can instantly and intuitively interpret the Sofi Influence Map. Thick green links indicate where processes are working; blocked red links pinpoint issues to address. Patterns over time reveal trends. As the participants characterized themselves in various parts of the organization (Worlds), then the same Focal Point can be viewed and compared from these Worlds.

Sofi measures change over time by automatically recording the date of the responses during every online session.