The Logical Thinking Process Stencil for OmniGraffle

  • The Logical Thinking Process stencil for OmniGraffle described in this post can be downloaded here.

I have been playing with OmniGraffle, a diagram editor for the Mac. I am usually using OpenOffice Draw to create The Logical thinking Process (TLTP) diagrams. TLTP is a method for complex problem solving. It is useful for things like creating a kick ass business strategy, solving the world's climate problems, or figuring out whether to go to a new action movie (her preference) or a new art exhibition (his preference).

OpenOffice Draw is easy to work with, but using a more specialized diagram editing program has some advantages. (Michael Nygard recommended Flying Logic's TLTP diagram editor, so I'll try it out too, once I have played a bit more with OmniGraffle.)

A nice thing about OmniGraffle is that you can create your own symbol sets, called stencils. OmniGraffle has a fair set of stencils by default, but there is also a web site, Graffletopia, where people can upload stencils they have created.

There is no built-in TLTP stencil, and I could not find one on Graffletopia either, so one of the first things I did was to create a TLTP stencil and upload it. Here is a preview:

The TLTP symbol set is rather simple, so it took only a few minutes to create both black and white and color versions.

If you have read Bill Dettmer's book on TLTP, you recognize all the symbols. Sorry, I won't describe how to use the diagram symbols here. (I have recently written 200 pages about The Logical Thinking Process, and I am working on translating that from Swedish to English. You will have to bear with me for awhile.)

The best online guide to the Thinking Process (a slightly older version of TLTP) is probablyKelwyn Youngman's guide.

I recommend you read Bill's book, or my own book Tempo! when it becomes available. I have made a videocast review of Bill's book that shows off The Logical Thinking Process a little bit:



Time to play a bit more, then I'll grapple with Flying Logic's TLTP editor. I intend to write a review where I'll compare with OmniGraffle.

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