Hi Ken,

One way of looking at the dinner party  'toy examples of  'wicked problem'
you describe  is to combine three perspectives.

The first is to view it in terms of  solution space. Do there exist any
solutions? If not, it is not even a wicked problem.

Second, is whether the specification of the problem and detail of
opportunity for possible solutions  is of a greater variety than the variety
intrinsic to the situation itself (Ashby's Law). If not, then the design
potential is insufficient/incompetent. In other words, it is unhelpful to
understanding the situation it is described using concepts that oversimplify
it (which I suggest is the case) . In contrast, describing a situation using
tools that provide too much details is unproblematic as the excess potential
detail collapses due to lack of empirical data.

Third is to explore  how the understanding of the situation is enhanced if
you view it through a lens that offers more detail, particularly if the
perspective allows viewing the feedback loops and delays in the interactions
and does so in a non-linear manner.

I suggest, the reality of the dinner party situation is that there are
sundry influences between the individuals involved and also with the
context, cultural, social, economic and other influences.

When these are included as feedback loops, then, with some empirical data
about the relationships (Jane bosses Peter, John is overbearing to Mike, Ann
eventually always acquiesces to Jan....) , the likely behaviours leading up
to, during and after the  dinner party (if it happens) can be predicted in
more or less detail.... and that enables one or more  successful design
solutions to be identified. In fact, usually these kinds of 'difficult'
social interaction do not involve many feedback loops - more a lack of
detail?

The implication is  all 'wicked problems'  can be viewed in terms of
'designing interventions in non-linear multi-feedback loop  socio-technical
systems'  and this provides a standard approach to addressing them.  That
is, in terms of a method of addressing them, all 'wicked problems'  are
similar.

Best wishes,

Terry

===
Dr Terence Love FDRS, AMIMechE, PMACM, MISI
[log in to unmask]  Mob: +61 434 975 848

Senior lecturer
Researcher, Social Program Evaluation Research Unit
Dept of Psychology and Social Sciences
Edith Cowan University, Western Australia

Senior Lecturer, Dept of Design
Curtin University, Western Australia

Honorary Fellow, Institute of Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development
Management School, Lancaster University, UK
===





-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ken
Friedman
Sent: 11 February 2012 16:56
To: Dr Terence Love
Subject: Re: Wicked Problems

Hi, Terry,

Thanks for your reply. I see your perspective with respect to those
categories of wicked problems that take the form of complex adaptive
systems.

It's my view that some wicked problems do, indeed, fit Rittel and Webber's
criteria without necessarily involving feedback loops. The problem I
described is such a problem -- three parties attempting to make a choice
when none of the three accepts the preferences of the other two. While the
example (dinner, a movie, etc.) is a model or a toy world problem, the
problem is genuine and wicked. Other kinds of wicked problems may entail
choices of medical treatment, land allocation in urban planning in a
politically contestable environment, and so on. Few of these involve complex
adaptive systems and some do not involve feedback loops.

As I see it, the world involves many such problems. Designers of all kinds
work with these kinds of problems -- including the politicians and planners
to whom Rittel and Webber addressed their work, along with physicians,
managers, economists, and others.


Many wicked problems take the form of complex adaptive systems and other
dynamic systems as you state. I suggest that there exist wicked problems of
other kinds as well.

Best regards,

Ken

Professor Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished
Professor | Dean, Faculty of Design | Swinburne University of Technology |
Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Ph: +61 3 9214 6078 |
Faculty www.swinburne.edu.au/design