Wicked problem

In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fixed, where there is no single solution to the problem; "wicked" does not indicate evil, but rather resistance to resolution. Another definition is "a problem whose social complexity means that it has no determinable stopping point". Because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems. Due to their complexity, wicked problems are often characterized by organized irresponsibility. The phrase was originally used in social planning. Its modern sense was introduced in 1967 by C. West Churchman in a guest editorial he wrote in the journal Management Science. He explains that "The adjective 'wicked' is supposed to describe the mischievous and even evil quality of these problems, where proposed 'solutions' often turn out to be worse than the symptoms". In the editorial, he credits Horst Rittel with first describing wicked problems, though it may have been Churchman who coined the term. Churchman discussed the moral responsibility of operations research "to inform the manager in what respect our 'solutions' have failed to tame his wicked problems." Rittel and Melvin M.…

In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fixed, where there is no single solution to the problem; "wicked" does not indicate evil, but rather resistance to resolution. Another definition is "a problem whose social complexity means that it has no determinable stopping point". Because of complex interdependencies, the effort to solve one aspect of a wicked problem may reveal or create other problems. Due to their complexity, wicked problems are often characterized by organized irresponsibility. The phrase was originally used in social planning. Its modern sense was introduced in 1967 by C. West Churchman in a guest editorial he wrote in the journal Management Science. He explains that "The adjective 'wicked' is supposed to describe the mischievous and even evil quality of these problems, where proposed 'solutions' often turn out to be worse than the symptoms". In the editorial, he credits Horst Rittel with first describing wicked problems, though it may have been Churchman who coined the term. Churchman discussed the moral responsibility of operations research "to inform the manager in what respect our 'solutions' have failed to tame his wicked problems." Rittel and Melvin M. Webber formally described the concept of wicked problems in a 1973 treatise, contrasting "wicked" problems with relatively "tame", solvable problems in mathematics, chess, or puzzle solving. ==Communication of wicked problems== === Messes and social messes === Russell L. Ackoff wrote about complex problems as messes: "Every problem interacts with other problems and is therefore part of a set of interrelated problems, a system of problems.... I choose to call such a system a mess." 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: No unique "correct" view of the problem; Different views of the problem and contradictory solutions; Most problems are connected to other problems; Data are often uncertain or missing; Multiple value conflicts; Ideological and cultural constraints; Political constraints; Economic constraints; Often a-logical or illogical or multi-valued thinking; Numerous possible intervention points; Consequences difficult to imagine; Considerable uncertainty, ambiguity; Great resistance to change; and, Problem solver(s) out of contact with the problems and potential solutions. Culmsee, Paul; Awati, Kailash . The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices: The Reality of Managing Complex Problems in Organisations. iUniverse Star, 2013. Horn, Robert E., Knowledge Mapping for Complex Social Messes , a Stanford University presentation to the "Foundations in the Knowledge Economy" conference at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, July 16, 2001 Kolko, Jon; Wicked Problems: Problems Worth Solving, a free book available online, 2012 Richardson, Adam; Wicked Problems: Today's business problems can be impossible to define, let alone solve, Fall 2006 Rittel, Horst; "Second Generation Design Methods," Interview in Design Methods Group, 5th Anniversary Report, DMG Occasional Paper 1, 1972, pp. 5–10. Reprinted in N. Cross (ed.), Developments in Design Methodology, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1984, pp. 317–327. Shum, Simon J. Buckingham; Albert M. Selvin, Maarten Sierhuis, Jeffrey Conklin, Charles B. Haley, Bashar Nuseibeh; Hypermedia Support for Argumentation-Based Rationale: 15 Years on from gIBIS and QOC, December 2005

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1362559923 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.