social network analysis in two parts

Network Analysis in Two Parts

Patti Anklam Columbia IKNS Unit 3

April 2014

I’ve become convinced that understanding how networks work is an essential 21st

century literacy.

Howard Rheingold

Columbia IKNS Residency April 2014

Agenda

―The language of networks

―Networks in organizations

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Social Network Analysis: Concepts and Cases

Mapping Organizational, Personal and Enterprise Networks: Tools

Social Network Analysis: Concepts and Cases

http://www.dftdigest.com/images/Spyglass.jpg


Networks Matter

• We live in networks all the time: communities, organizations, teams

• The complexity of work in today’s world is such that no one can understand – let alone complete – a task alone

– Individual-individual

– Team-team

– Company-company

– Eco-system to eco-system

• Strong networks are correlated with health:

– People with stronger personal networks are more productive, happier, and better performers

– Companies who know how to manage alliances are more flexible, adaptive and resilient

– Our personal health and well-being is often tied to our social networks

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Structure Matters

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• There is science to support the understanding of network structure

• The structure of a network provides insights into how the network “works”

• Once you understand the structure, you can make decisions about how to manage the network’s context

• Network analysis tools help you understand the structure


The Importance of Understanding Networks

7

Burt, Ronald S. and Don Ronchi, Teaching executives to see social capital: Results from a field experiment http://faculty.chicagobooth.edu/ronald.burt/research/files/TESSC.pdf


The new science of networks

• Beginning in the 1990’s computer science made it possible to map and analyze large social networks.

2002 2002

2002 2003

2004

2004

2009

• By 2009, network science and analysis are accepted practice in science and management

• Insights became accessible to the public.

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2005

2007


Meanwhile… by 2014

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Big

Data!

• People are mining the our public personas in the internet to understand networks

• Concepts from social network analysis are creeping into contact and relationship management applications


But it still all comes down to 0s and 1s

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• A network is a collection of entities linked by a type of relationship

• So we can applying network

concepts in many contexts: – People-groups-organizations

– Use of information artifacts

– Ideas & issues

Node

Tie


Rob Cross’s Classic Case

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From: The Organizational Network Fieldbook, Rob Cross et al, Jossey-Bass 2010


A Classic Case

12



A Classic Case

From: The Hidden Power of Social Networks, Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, Harvard Business School Press, 2004 13



A Classic Case

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A Classic Case

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It’s all about Questions

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Patterns provide insights that provoke good questions. Full stop.


Network Analysis in Organizations

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Management Practice Examples (Short List)

Leadership Development Personal Leadership Succession Planning

Innovation Identify energy sources Bridge boundaries

Knowledge management Expertise location Communities of practice Improving information flow

Organizational Change and Development

Change management Mergers and acquisition

Talent Management Positioning people in roles Professional network development

Organizational Performance Team building

How has it been applied?


A Recent Example from Friends at Optimice

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The Crux of the Analysis: The Questions

• Improve collaboration

• Finding connectors and influencers in organizations and communities

• Leadership development

• Performance benchmarking

• Integration of units following merger/acquisition

Problem (Examples) Relationships of Interest

• Access to expertise

• Innovative capacity

• Collaborative capacity

• Ease of knowledge flow

• Decision-making and task flow

• Innovation potential

• Energy

Shares new ideas with

Seeks help for problem-solving Works closely with Knows expertise of

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The Unit of Analysis: The Relationship

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…and the filters we want to use to view the relationships

• We collect as much information about the attributes of the people in the network*

– Organizational unit

– Job title/role

– Location

– Expertise

– Job level

– Age

– Gender

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*within the bounds of what is legal and appropriate


California Computer

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From “Informal Networks: The Company” David Krackhardt and Jeffrey R. Hanson HBR, 1993

CEO Leers must choose someone to lead a strategic task force.

Bair

Stewart

Ruiz

O'Hara

S/W Applications

Harris

Benson

Fleming

Church

Martin

Lee

Wilson

Swinney

Huberman

Fiola

Calder

Field Design

Muller

Jules

Baker

Daven

Thomas

Zanados

Lang

ICT

Huttle

Atkins

Kibler

Stern

Data Control

Leers

CEO


California Computer

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From “Informal Networks: The Company” David Krackhardt and Jeffrey R. Hanson HBR, 1993

CEO Leers must choose someone to lead a strategic task force.

Bair

Stewart

Ruiz

O'Hara

S/W Applications

Harris

Benson

Fleming

Church

Martin

Lee

Wilson

Swinney

Huberman

Fiola

Calder

Field Design

Muller

Jules

Baker

Daven

Thomas

Zanados

Lang

ICT

Huttle

Atkins

Kibler

Stern

Data Control

Leers

CEO


Was Harris a Good Choice?

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Whom do you go to for help or advice?

Field Design

Data Control Systems

Software Applications

CEO

ICT


Was Harris a Good Choice?

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Whom do you go to for help or advice?

Field Design

Data Control Systems

Software Applications

CEO

ICT


The Question of Trust

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Whom would you trust to keep in confidence your concerns about a work-related issue?



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• Look at the whole network and its components

Network Analysis Also Provides Metrics

• Look at positions of individuals in the network

Centrality Metrics

Structural Metrics

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Structural Metrics

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• Common measures:

–Density of interactions

–Average degree of separation

–Cross-group or cross-organization connectivity

• Good for comparing questions, groups within networks or for comparing changes in a network over time

Look at the whole network and its components


Interpreting Results

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“I interact with this person twice a month or more”

I understand this person’s knowledge and skills (Agree or Strongly Agree)

Density: 11% Distance: 2.7

Density: 28% Distance: 1.8


How the Metrics Enhance the Maps

2010

2011 Year # Density Avg #

ties

2009 55 2.2% 1.2

2010 90 2.7% 2.4

2011 85 5.3% 4.5

2012 82 8% 6.88

2009

2012

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Centrality Metrics

33 https://plus.google.com/+DaveGray/posts/CQRVeKEsUvF

The people with the most connections are not necessarily the most influential!

Look at positions of individuals in the network


Which Technology Scout is Most Successful?

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It's Whom You Know Not What You Know: A Social Network Analysis Approach to Talent Management, Eoin Whelan, SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1694453


Quick Case: Positional Sleuthing in ONA

• Based on this data:

• Who should Jerry appoint as his successor?

• Who do you think Jerry actually appointed as his successor? Why?

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The Importance of Diversity

People who live in the intersection of social worlds are at higher risk of having good ideas. –

Ron Burt

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AB

DG

KF

KSMK

NM

NS

PM

PP

RC

RR

SK

The Diversity Metric: External/Internal Ratio

• Organization

• Expertise

• Age, Tenure

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AB

AL

BG

DC

GP

MB

PM

SA

AB’s E/I index: .308

DC’s E/I index: -.714 Can be derived from any demographic:

• Social Ties

• Geographic location

• Hierarchical position


Detecting Diversity

• Who is more likely to have access to new ideas?

– Tom

– Marion

• Why?

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Strong vs Weak Ties

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Dunbar’s number: 150

• Strong ties:

– Close, frequent

– Reciprocal

– May be embedded in a strong “local network”

• Weak ties

– Infrequent interaction

– Likely embedded in other (diverse) networks

– Accessible as needed


Which Networks Reveal Strong & Weak Ties?

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“I interact with this person twice a month or more”

I understand this person’s knowledge and skills (Agree or Strongly Agree)


Mapping Expertise

• Network maps can also reveal potential connections & collaborations

• A community mapper tool offers participants the ability to see people who “are most like them” or who are most interested in a specific conversation.

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Organizational Networks Summary

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• The science of networks has brought insights into the structure of organizational networks

• Organizational network analysis lets us map relationships to:

• Identify patterns of connection, disconnection, and flows of knowledge and ideas

• Understand the roles that individuals play and their potential for enhancing organizational effectiveness

• Developing and sharing maps and metrics helps organizations to ask good questions and design targeted interventions


KM Interventions

Ways to change patterns in

networks

Practices from the KM Repertoire

Create more connections Make introductions through meetings and webinars, face-to-face events (like knowledge fairs); implement social software or social network referral software; social network stimulation

Increase the flow of knowledge Establish collaborative workspaces, install instant messaging systems, make existing knowledge bases more accessible and usable

Discover connections Implement expertise location and/or; discovery systems; social software; social networking applications

Decentralize Social software; blogs, wikis; shift knowledge to the edge

Connect disconnected clusters Establish knowledge brokering roles; expand communication channels

Create more trusted relationships Assign people to work on projects together

Alter the behavior of individual nodes Create awareness of the impact of an individual’s place in a network; educate employees on personal knowledge networking

Increase diversity Add nodes; connect and create networks; encourage people to bring knowledge in from their networks in the world

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Mapping Organizational, Personal and Enterprise Networks: Tools

http://quilting.about.com/od/picturesofquilts/ig/Alzheimer-s-Quilts/The-Ties-that-Bind.htm


What the Tools Can Tell You: Patterns

Core

Periphery

Isolates

Structural Hole

Cluster


What the Tools Can Tell You: Metrics

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http://blog.optimice.com.au/?p=360


More Patterns

Multi-Hub Hub and Spoke

Stove-piped (Siloed) Clustered

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What Sorts of Tools Are There?

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• Range in complexity of function & cost

• Let you access and map your own network

Social Media Graphing apps

Mapping & Analysis Tools

Personal network assessment tools

Enterprise Analytics • High-end measurement &

dashboards

• From introspection to exploration


Mapping and Analysis Tools


Tool Basics – the Dataset (0s and 1s)

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Information about the nodes (vertices) and the ties (edges)


Load and Draw…1

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Load and Draw…2

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Load and Draw…3

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Short List of Resources for SNA/ONA Tools

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http://tinyurl.com/SNA-ONA-Tools


Network Insights Don’t Require Fancy Software

• If it’s a network, you can draw it.

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On the Internet, What’s in a Tie?

• Social network platforms:

– A Facebook Friend

– A LinkedIn Connection

– A Twitter Following

• Social media content platforms:

– Likes, posts, replies, shares, and uploads

– Mentions or “retweet” #hashtags

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Networks in Social Media

1. Krugman tweets a link to an article

2. There are a number of Tweeters who publish links to the article but these are not connected to other Tweeters

3. There are two densely interconnected groups of people who share the link and discuss it

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Analyzing Twitter networks with NodeXL: Broadcast Networks

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/02/20/mapping-twitter-topic-networks-from-polarized-crowds-to-community-clusters/


Enterprise Networks

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Syndio Social Uses SNA to Build Management Dashboards


Enterprise Networks

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…by combining social network platform data with surveys

Highest social capital

Most favorable to change


A Personal Network Perspective

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Focus Purpose How to Develop

Operational Getting work done efficiently

Identify people who can block or support a project

Personal Develop and maintain professional skills and reputation

Participate in professional associations, clubs, and physical and online communities

Strategic Figure out and obtain support for future priorities and challenges

Identify lateral and vertical relationships outside your immediate control

Source: “How Leaders Create and Use Networks,” Herminia Ibarra and Mark Hunter, Harvard Business Review January 2007


Personal Networks: Introspection

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The PNA (Personal Network Assessment)

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Personal Network: Cyber Exploration

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http://inmaps.linkedinlabs.com/

http://www.pattianklam.com/2014/03/changing-the-world-of-work-it-takes-a-network/

http://smartpei.typepad.com/robert_patersons_weblog/2012/10/my-network-revealed-now-what-can-you-learn-about-yours.html


Where’s Kate?

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Facebook

65 https://apps.facebook.com/namegenweb/


Facebook from NodeXL

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From Managing Contacts to Leveraging Connections

• What we have learned from the language of networks:

– Filters matter because they give us different views of our network

– Diversity, weak ties, and structure matter

– We have agency; we cannot manage networks, but we can take actions that will alter relationships in them and our ability to leverage them

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelsimmons/2014/01/14/the-one-thing-you-should-do-after-meeting-anyone-new/

RelateIQ focuses on leveraging sales contacts. Filters are market, industry, company, gross sales

Broad.li focuses on how you can get work done


Summary

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• Social network analysis tools and methods are available to map organizational as well as your individual, personal network

• The tools matter less than the network mindset – and the understanding that the structure of a network matters


http://about.me/pattianklam

• 30 years in software engineering

• 10 years in professional services knowledge management & methodology (Digital, Compaq, Nortel)

• Independent consultant 13 years; thought leader in knowledge management and social network analysis

• Charter member of Change Agents Worldwide

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social network analysis in two parts

Business

bair stewart

strategic

company david

social network

good choice

hanson hbr

related issue

organizationalnetwork