Mental models are naturally slippery. They will easily sway between assuming one thing in one discussion and something contradictory in another. Such fluctuation will lead you astray into the dark forest on your quest to build a good model describing a current situation. To reach the luminous meadow, it is imperative to expose your mental models to the light of day for others to see.
Fire up a word processor and start writing. If it helps, you can also include diagrams, equations or arrows to illustrate connections. But at for me at least, writing is key and the easiest to get started with. Anyway, as you spill out your mental model, the clearer your thinking will become and so you will have to admit your uncertainties and adjust your model.
From a software engineer’s perspective and for the reasons just described, clear thinking is an essential asset when it comes to defining problems and producing high-quality work. With the added dimension of working together with a team towards a commonly shared goal, a shared model is undeniably necessary for the team’s effectiveness in reaching its objectives.
In her remarkable book, Thinking In Systems: A Primer, Donella Meadows writes:
Remember, always, that everything you know, and everything everyone knows, is only a model. Get your model out there where it can be viewed. Invite others to challenge your assumptions and add their own.
Go ahead and add that book to your reading list, but before doing so, remember to let out your mental models, validate them against evidence and scuttle what doesn’t hold up. Writing is thinking. Think clearly.