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

John T Young
Figure 1: The Process <strong>of</strong> S<strong>of</strong>t Systems Methodology
2.5 Stage1. The problem situation unstructured
This is sometimes described as <strong>the</strong> ‘finding out stage’. Here information is ga<strong>the</strong>red about <strong>the</strong>
problem situation from various sources. It may include written information, informal interviews,
observations, formal samples or information from any available source comprising both primary and
secondary data. Both formal and informal communication links are examined and any prevailing
issues or assumptions are identified. Organisational politics and taboos can be identified and
individual concerns or mistrusts can also be included (Fig 2)
Source:(Patching 1990)
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