Jan,

This is interesting, because I too, on reading /Notes/ was struck by the
notion of not having 'preconceived organized categories' for the constraints.
  In engineering practise (in North Am at least), we /love/ to categorize
everything - with the unfortunate result of often ending up with a taxonomy
that makes life harder instead of easier.

I've got a grant proposal in for a small project that's supposed to look at
collaboration in design, and I would be very interested to get some pointers
to any publications you may have on "collaborative work on 'wicked' problems".

Cheers.
Fil

Jan Coker wrote:
> Dear Terry, Anne, and everyone on this topic.
>
> I have been wishing to respond to this thread but this is the first
> chance I have had. First off a bit of a weasel, I may have missed some
> essential point as I haven't read all on this thread. That said, this is
> the foundation of some of the theoretical and practical work I have been
> doing.
>
> First off there is a significant difference between Pattern Language and
> the work Alexander was first doing as explained in Notes on the
> Synthesis of Form. They serve different purposes. PL is a language for
> use in architectural and planning design. So it can be discussed as one
> discusses any language or set of symbolic representations of concepts or
> needs, or ideas.
>
> However in Notes Alexander talked about the use of another way of
> thinking and designing which engages mathematical, paradigmatic and
> systematic processes in combination with visual, metaphoric and
> intuitive processes. He proposed a way of doing this at a time when
> these two groups of processes were thought to be incompatible with each
> other. Alexander's methodology was taking advantage of the mind's
> ability to think in a linear paradigmatic way, a narrative way, a visual
> and aesthetic way, a non-prescriptive way, and allowed the mind to make
> full use of all these powers in a structured enough environment so as to
> actually systematically approach a 'wicked' problem with more
> probability of a better solution (in terms of outcomes that address the
> constraints of the problem). The process as described by Alexander
> allowed the freedom to define constraints without preconceiving
> organized categories for them to fit within; and described them in terms
> of forces which act on the system and 'tend' to stimulate reactions.
> Something which I see as particularly vital when approaching a problem
> which has no beginning, no discrete end point, and is constantly in the
> process of changing. It is a process which begins with force-tendency
> statements, evaluates the importance of the relationship of groups of
> two statement, creates sets of statements and the hierarchical
> semi-lattice which describes the order of the development of the
> movement of individual statements into a form description of the whole
> system solution. During the movement through the semi-lattice the
> problem solver(s) shifts their working process to diagrammatic metaphors
> of the frictions and fits of the constraint interactions which they
> resolve using the minds capacity for Aesthetic verisimilitude.
>
> On a practical level I have continued on with this direction (although
> Alexander may or may not agree) to develop and apply this methodology to
> collaborative work on 'wicked' problems. And by collaborative I mean
> developing actual consensus decision made solutions to design problems
> with a multiplicity of participants, interested parties, and those
> affected by any decision. These solutions have proven to be more
> innovative, more successful and more capable of maintaining the
> allegiance of all participants and interested parties to an
> un-compromised completion of the project throughout its entire
> development and evolution into a reality. This methodology is both one
> of group processes and design processes. The design processes derive
> from Alexander's original work in which he states the importance of the
> diagrams cannot be overstated. To assume they are merely a language
> however, and conform only to the rules of language is to miss the
> reality of their nature. And Terry as an Australia you may be able to
> understand what I mean when I say they are similar to the significance
> of the way Aboriginal "paintings" which carry the significance of
> culture, geography, history, the law, communication and are a living
> record of a society.
>
> Cheers Jan
>
> Jan Coker, Phd
> 1 /174 East Tce.
> Adelaide, SA
> Australia
> 0403855539
> [log in to unmask]
>
> 'Lift up your hearts above the present and look with eyes of faith into
> the future!
>
> [...]

--
Prof. Filippo A. Salustri, Ph.D., P.Eng.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Ryerson University Tel: 416/979-5000 x7749
350 Victoria St. Fax: 416/979-5265
Toronto, ON email: [log in to unmask]
M5B 2K3 Canada http://deseng.ryerson.ca/~fil/