Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

2. Research objective
John T Young
The objective <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research was to determine if s<strong>of</strong>t systems methodology could be successfully
applied in a business change environment to elicit new knowledge.
2.1 Structure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Paper
The paper opens with a description <strong>of</strong> a knowledge management problem and its characterisations as
a s<strong>of</strong>t systems problem. The <strong>the</strong>ory underpinning <strong>the</strong> research is discussed in terms <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>t systems
thinking. The s<strong>of</strong>t systems research methodology applied is explained and two case studies from
recent research are presented. The paper concludes by showing <strong>the</strong> successful application <strong>of</strong> SSM
in turning tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge.
2.2 S<strong>of</strong>t Systems Methodology Overview
S<strong>of</strong>t systems methodology (SSM) is at its core, a cyclic iterative approach <strong>of</strong> enquiry for formulating
and structuring thinking about problems in a situation where people have diverse views <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world
(Checkland and Scholes 1998). Its process is <strong>the</strong> construction <strong>of</strong> conceptual models <strong>of</strong> solutions
based on root definitions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ideal systems required, and drawn from a rich picture <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
expressed problem. The conceptual models are <strong>the</strong>n compared with reality and debate is stimulated
about <strong>the</strong> underlying assumptions and changes required to bring about a desirable solution. S<strong>of</strong>t
systems methodology is not about analysing systems found in <strong>the</strong> real world, but ra<strong>the</strong>r about
applying systems thinking to problems in complex situations to generate a series <strong>of</strong> intellectual
constructs that generate learning and understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>ten hidden variables in <strong>the</strong> complex
situation.
2.3 The application <strong>of</strong> SSM to knowledge management problems
The strength <strong>of</strong> SSM in researching knowledge management is that it includes explicit modelling <strong>of</strong>
both <strong>the</strong> existing situation and <strong>the</strong> desired outcomes. This is important as it seeks agreement from
<strong>the</strong> participants on <strong>the</strong> identification <strong>of</strong> assumptions and <strong>the</strong> interpretation <strong>of</strong> world views. Its process
is iterative and is similar to <strong>the</strong> action research cycle <strong>of</strong> diagnosing, action planning, action taking,
evaluating and new learning as used in knowledge management research (Baskerville and Wood
Harper 1996). Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, it is a cognitive process that relies on <strong>the</strong> interaction <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> participants
with <strong>the</strong>ir environment(Baskerville and Wood Harper 1998).
The methodological approach consists <strong>of</strong> firstly characterising <strong>the</strong> problem as a system in a pictogram
known as a rich picture. Next an idealised system objective, known as <strong>the</strong> root definition, is
formulated to define what <strong>the</strong> system should do. Six key elements are considered in <strong>the</strong> development
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> root definition. Next a conceptual model <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ideal system is developed. This is compared with
<strong>the</strong> problem situation, possible and desirable changes are explored and a consensus on action to
improve <strong>the</strong> situation is sought.
2.4 S<strong>of</strong>t systems methodology as a seven stage process
The following figure 1 illustrates six <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> seven stages. The seventh stage is <strong>the</strong> action stage where
a response is implemented. The process was initially presented as shown, however, more recent
research has presented a less structured more flexible approach which has broadened <strong>the</strong> application
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> methodology(Tsouvalis and Checkland 1996). For <strong>the</strong> purposes <strong>of</strong> this paper, stages 5-7 are
consolidated into <strong>the</strong> discussion.
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