The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of students’ mapping and discourse behaviors while constructing causal maps to articulate their understanding of a complex ill-structured problem. In this study, six graduate-level students were assigned into one of three pairs, and each pair used the causal mapping software program, jMAP. Sequential analysis was used to analyze behavioral data from each pairs’ video scripts. Three pairs exhibited different mapping patterns/processes that explain differences in map accuracy. The findings led to the empirically-framed collaborative mapping guidelines.