Visual representations in problem solving and decision‐making

Visual representations are becoming increasingly commonplace, partly induced by advances in graphic technology. This is encouraging for the large proportion of learners who learn most effectively through visual stimuli. Associated interesting questions are: To what extent can pictures be matched to problem solving? What is the pattern of the matching? Is there a significant visual representation‐based tool for every aspect of problem solving and decision‐making, particularly in a management setting? Given existing insights for the first two questions, three quite different approaches were conceived for tackling the last question. Two were used, each revealing different outcomes. Overall, coverage was found to be commonly available but not evenly distributed. Gaps were identified and explored, resulting in a number of ways that visual representations could be improved for visual problem solvers, including search, adaptation and provocation.