Abstract for: Group model building effectiveness: a qualitative method to assess changes in mental models

Group model building is supposed to support the development of shared mental models. This paper illustrates the application of a qualitative method to assess changes in mental models as result of Group Model Building. A quantitative measurement of effectiveness of Group Model Building has been applied by Rouwette (2003). Recently some researchers have been experimenting with a qualitative approach towards measuring effectiveness, which is useful for measuring individual cases and small groups (Dwyer and Stave, 2008, McCardle-Keurentjes, 2008). This paper focuses on the foundation of such a qualitative method from a methodological viewpoint and applies it to a particular case. In this way we aim to introduce a potential standard for evaluating changes in mental models in single cases and to open up the possibility to systematically compare single cases.