Like the SECI model, the analysis-synthesis bridge model comprises four quadrants of a two-by-two matrix. In the SECI model, step 1 is in the upper left corner. In the analysis-synthesis bridge model, step 1 is in the lower left corner. Rotating the SECI model 90 degrees counter-clockwise aligns the two models. Nonaka does not label columns or rows in the SECI model. However, the analysis-synthesis bridge model labels the bottom row “descriptive/concrete” and the top row “interpretive/abstract.” The left column is “researching a current situation,” while the right column is “prototyping a future situation.” It’s not much of a stretch to apply these labels to the rows and columns of the SECI model.
The SECI model explicitly describes the iterative nature of the knowledge creation process by including a spiral. The analysis-synthesis bridge model does not refer to iteration directly, though the authors assume readers understand the design process as iterative. However, the Kaiser/IDEO model, which is isomorphic to the analysis-synthesis bridge model, includes a loop. And Kumar’s innovation model, which is also isomorphic, does explicitly include a spiral!