---
title: "Make the Implicit Mental Models, Explicit for Objective Collaboration"
source: "https://virtualddd.com/heuristics/make-the-implicit-mental-models-explicit-for-objective-collaboration/"
authors: ["Paul Rayner", "Andrew Harmel-Law", "Kenny Schwegler", "Andrea Magnorsky"]
tags: ["collaborative modelling", "facilitating software architecture and design", "sociotechnical systems"]
type: "guiding heuristics"
question: "How can a team effectively challenge and align their different internal understandings of a problem?"
submitter: "Paul Rayner"
---

# Make the Implicit Mental Models, Explicit for Objective Collaboration

Make internalised mental models tangible, explicit and externalised using collaborative modelling techniques like Event Storming or Domain Storytelling. This creates a shared, physical artefact that the team can inspect, question, and rearrange together. It shifts the focus from critiquing a person's idea to collectively refining a shared model.

## Examples

The team uses sticky notes to map out a business process, making everyone's assumptions visible. This allows them to point at specific parts of the external model and discuss disagreements concretely, rather than abstractly debating their internal views.