Organizational Network Patterns

The Organizational Network Patterns visualization demonstrates four common structural motifs that automated pattern detection systems look for in organizational communication networks. Each pattern corresponds to a known organizational phenomenon and has specific detection criteria and business implications.

How to Use

1. Select a pattern using the buttons below the visualization to switch between the four network patterns.
2. Hourglass shows two clusters connected by a single bridge node (pulsing in amber). This structural bottleneck means one person brokers all cross-group communication.
3. Star shows a hub-and-spoke pattern where a central manager connects all peripheral nodes with few peer-to-peer connections.
4. Clique Decay animates a tightly connected group losing edges over three time periods. Use Play/Pause and step controls to walk through the temporal sequence. Dashed lines show lost connections.
5. Isolation Drift animates a single node moving from the cluster center toward the periphery, losing connections at each step. The gold trail shows the drift path.
6. Read the description panel on the right for detection criteria and business impact for each pattern.

About This Simulation

Pattern detection is the systematic, automated scanning of organizational graphs for known structural motifs. The hourglass identifies single points of failure for cross-team communication. The star reveals manager-centric information flows. Clique decay signals team fragmentation before it becomes a crisis. Isolation drift surfaces individual disengagement early enough for intervention. Together, these four patterns form the core of a proactive organizational health monitoring system described in Chapter 14.