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Wicked Problems and Software Messes
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Wicked Problems
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First coined by
Horst Rittel and Melvin
Webber in a 1973 paper
titled "Policy Sciences";
the term
"wicked problem"
is used in social
planning to describe a
problem that is
difficult or impossible
to solve because of
incomplete,
contradictory, and
changing requirements
that are often difficult
to recognize. |
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Russell L. Ackoff wrote about
complex problems as "messes".
Extending Ackoff, Robert Horn
says that "a social mess is a
set of interrelated problems and
other messes. Complexity -
systems of systems - is among
the factors that makes Social
Messes so resistant to analysis
and, more importantly, to
resolution."
According to
Horn, the
defining
characteristics
of a social mess
are:
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No unique “correct” view of
the problem;
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Different views of the
problem and contradictory
solutions;
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Most problems are connected
to other problems;
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Data is often uncertain or
missing;
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Multiple value conflicts;
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Ideological and cultural
constraints;
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Political constraints;
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Economic constraints;
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Often a-logical or illogical
or multi-valued thinking;
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Numerous possible
intervention points;
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Consequences difficult to
imagine;
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Considerable uncertainty,
ambiguity;
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Great resistance to change;
and,
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Problem solvers out of
contact with the problems
and potential solutions.
Software Messes |
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Does the list above sound familiar?
Change the word "social" to
"software" and you now have
something we've all
experienced too many times in
our careers. Is there any
wonder why the
IT/business divide widens
after almost every business software development
project? What a
wicked mess! |
A solid
Enterprise Business Architecture (EBA) helps
drive successful business
software projects.
The EBA is living documentation
which represents the
evolving requirements, principles, and
models for the enterprise's
business processes, people and
organizational structure.
By using the EBA, IT can
formally engineer solutions that
directly link to the desired
results defined by the
enterprise strategy.
Typically, large and/or complex
business software development
projects do not adequately
address the large gap between
functional business requirements
and the technical design created
by the development team before
construction. Additionally, many
development projects also
overlook how the documented
software use cases and
requirements are explicitly
enabled by the technical design.
Why does this occur? The primary
reason is that many business
software projects forget a key
step in the process, the
development of a Functional
Software Design (FSD). This design
activity takes into account how
the system being developed,
supports the
Enterprise Business Architecture
(EBA), along with where and how
the new system will impede or
enhance business agility with
respect to any given business
process or function.
Both the
Enterprise
Business Architecture and
Functional Software Design guide business software
development planning, requirements and
design phases so they are
delivered quickly, correctly and
cost-effectively. Project risk,
rework and failure are reduced,
while meeting the needs of the
business (or success) is increased.
Enterprise
Business Architecture Defined
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To access a full definition of EBA from
Gartner and OMG, click on the icon... |
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Learn more about
Enterprise Business Architecture
and
Functional Software Design
services now.
Connecting Strategy To Execution
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Things done with a sense of planning,
purpose and method are done "by design"; |
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"By design" initiatives, by their
very nature, focus on connecting corporate
strategy to project execution; |
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Those organizations that best control and
exploit information and knowledge "by
design" will be the ones to pull forward
in terms of strategy and competitive
advantage; |
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Reduce risk and increase process-centric
initiative success by
contacting OnKue today. |
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