DynaFRAM is a complementary software to the FRAM Model Visualizer (FMV).
The FMV allows users to build
and visualize FRAM models of any functional
system, but most commonly is used to visualize socio-technical
systems.
As users of the FRAM will know, an initial FRAM model should represent all the
potential ways a system
can function. The FMV can help you visualize
your application up to this point.
The next step in a FRAM assessment is to think about the variability. How many
of the combinations of the potential
possibilities are plausible? Which variations
are used most often? which variations lead to "good" outcomes? which
variations lead
to poor outcomes? The answers to these questions are usually not obvious.
One way to approach these
questions critically is to start monitoring the
functionality of the system each time it is executed. This is also consistent
with the practice of dealing with "work-as-done" vs "work-as-imagined" in the
FRAM. We can monitor this variability
as "functional signatures."
Functional signatures can be thought of as a "unique" functional variation
that belongs to a specific execution
of the system. Each execution is
"unique" in that is belongs to a specific event and moment in time. However,
there
may be many similarities between functional signatures and only a few
differences. The differences in functional
signatures may offer functional explanations
for variability in the outcomes of the system. By collecting/recording
functional signatures
of the system, there is an opportunity to compare them and enrich your understanding
of how
functional variations affect the overall outcomes of systems you may be
trying to manage. Functional signatures are
comparable to instantiations
in the current FRAM literature. When I was developing this concept, instantiations
were
not explicitly thought of this way - so I developed the term "functional
signatures*."
The DynaFRAM software allows users to upload their FRAM models from the
original FMV, create an input file of a
specific functional signature or
instantiation, then animate the functionality of that specific event over
the original
FRAM model.
*Published work on functional signatures.
Suppose you had a FRAM model of a healthcare process, as shown below. The FRAM model should describe
all of the ways
the system can function to deal with "every" healthcare related issue
that this system is responsible for.
If you were to track 1 patient through this process you may see specific outputs of
certain functions and
that only a few of those functions became active as this patient
was cared for. Below is the functional
signature for that patient. You should note that
1 second = one day of time in this video (it is sped up).
The details of this process are not important at this stage. It is more important that
you recognize that another
patient will have a different functional signature as they
"pass through" this system. By collecting many functional
signatures there is an opportunity to
compare the variability (similarities and differences) in the collection. And also that
this "method" is transferable to many other applications
besides healthcare.
Version 1 and 2 of the DynaFRAM were developed for "in-house" use only.
Version 3 of DynaFRAM is being
released for free to the public in the
following downloadable link:
Download DynaFRAM V3
* An updated version of the DynaFRAM install file was added Jan. 23, 2023
This should address any issues
experienced with videos saving. It is recommended
that you uninstall any prior version of DynaFRAM and install this version.
DynaFRAM is not to be repackaged or resold for any commercial purpose(s).
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