What is conceptual thinking ?

During the course of the project a large amount of information would be generated.

Some of this information might be disconnected so you would have to apply conceptual thinking skills in order to understand this information.

Conceptual thinking is defined as the relationship between contexts, solutions, needs, changes and stakeholders.

It involves understanding and connecting information and patterns that are seemingly unrelated.

Conceptual thinking involves understanding how details fit into the circumstances. It involves using past experiences, knowledge, imagination, instinct, and abstract thinking to create alternatives, options, and ideas that are not easily defined or related.

Conceptual thinking in business analysis is specifically about linking factors not easily defined to the underlying problem or opportunity, models, or frameworks. This would help the stakeholders to understand and help themselves and others through the change.

It is needed to connect different information from a group of stakeholders, objectives, risks, details, and other factors. It also involves finding ways to understand how that information fits into the larger picture and what details are important.

With this information, various options would be created and communicated to the stakeholder while encouraging them to generate ideas of their own.

There are some measures of effective conceptual thinking which include:

  1. Connecting different information to better understand their relationship.
  2. Confirming that the concepts have been clearly communicated with the stakeholders.
  3. Prepare abstract concepts using a combination of information and uncertainty.
  4. Using past experiences to help understand the situation.