Dear Chuck,
To me, it seems that Rittel was onto something. The nature of the
wicked problem is not in our ability or inability to solve it. If the
designer were the only stakeholder, there would be no wicked
problems. It is in the often conflicting interests that mean a
different solution space to differing stakeholders.
The term "wicked" isn't "wicked" as in the Wicked Witch of the West.
In that sense, Rittel could have used any number of metaphoric names
-- "ugly problems," "cacaphononic problems," "conflict-driven
problems," "sour problems," etc. Neither is the term "tame" exact. It
could be "tractable problems," "symmetrical problems," "sweet
problems," etc.
While your comment on how we think our way through problems makes
sense, what makes wicked problems wicked is not "our emotional
reactions to and feelings about the difficulties we encounter." What
makes them wicked is how others -- often many groups of others --
react.
In this sense, Rittel's ten criteria work very well. Needless to say,
if I ran the world, there would be no wicked problems. All things
would work for the best in that best of all possible worlds. All
legitimate stakeholders would align their interests, preferences, and
tastes. In fact, alignment of stakeholder interests with my interests
would be the very definition of legitimacy. I certainly can't imagine
any complaints or differences of opinion. Not if I ran the world.
Yours,
Ken
Chuck Burnette wrote:
I have resisted commenting on the "wicked" vs "tame" debate until now
because I believe that it is a false dichotomy, a somewhat archaic
conceptualization, and one lacking a theoretical basis that would
make it worthy of the effort being expended to articulate the issues
being raised. I suggest a much simpler approach based on how the mind
works. Everyone (engineers and artists included) easily, often
subconsciously, applies what they know (or know how to do) to resolve
the needs, desires and problems they confront. When problematic
situations are not "resolved" through these means, we consciously
focus on those things in the situation that trouble us and apply
different ways of thinking to change the situation to something
preferable, often resorting to new information, ideas and technology
as we do so. Nothing is really "wicked" or "tame" except our
emotional reactions to and feelings about the difficulties we
encounter.
--
Prof. Ken Friedman
Institute for Communication, Culture, and Language
Norwegian School of Management
Oslo
Center for Design Research
Denmark's Design School
Copenhagen
+47 46.41.06.76 Tlf NSM
+47 33.40.10.95 Tlf Privat
email: [log in to unmask]
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