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Wicked problems and Open Space

May 2, 2005 By Uncategorized

In the Open Space world, we talk about the four pre-conditions that make for great open space events: diversity, complexity, passion and urgency. The more you have of these, the juicier the event becomes. That is counter intuitive to most ways of thinking, because in most cases it seems that problem solving processes aim to homogenize, simplify, rationalize and slow down. If we can just get a handle on the problem, the thinking goes, we can apply the best possible solution.

This mechanistic view does not work with so-called “wicked problems.” It can generate solutions or options or ways forward which are reductionist. For me, it is the kind of thinking that arrives at one vision statement for an organization of 100 people instead of a multi-faceted vision that is inclusive and brings everyone along.

So via elearning post, today I came across this paper that looks at how wicked problems are solved by non-linear processes:

“The natural pattern of human problem solving appears chaotic on the surface, but it is the chaos of an earthquake or the breaking of an ocean wave. It reveals deeper forces and flows that have their own order and pattern. The non-linear pattern of activity that expert designers follow gives us fresh insight into what happens when we work on a complex problem. It reveals that in normal problem-solving behaviour, we may seem to wander about, making only halting progress toward the solution. This non-linear process is not a defect, not a sign of stupidity or lack of training, but rather the mark of a natural learning process. It suggests that humans are oriented more toward learning (a process that leaves us changed) than toward problem solving (a process focused on changing our surroundings).”

Designers who work this way, in the experiment discussed in this paper exhibit the following strategies:

They would start by trying to understand the problem, but would immediately jump to formulating potential solutions. Then they would go back to refining their understanding of the problem. Rather than being orderly and linear, the line plotting the course of their thinking looked more like a seismograph for a major earthquake… We call this pattern both chaotic, for obvious reasons, and opportunity-driven, because in each moment the designers are seeking the best opportunity to progress toward a solution.

I note two things about this quote. First, the fact that designers working on a wicked problem are engaged in an iterative relationship with the definition of the problem itself. Second, the pattern is “opportunity-driven” meaning that exposure to new ideas at any point in the process can contribute to breakthroughs.

This chaotic strategy is exactly the argument for Open Space Technology. We need people working in these ways to solve these problems, OST provides the space in a very short period of time to exercise the strategies that contribute to solving wicked problems. In fact, the time constraints in Open Space (1.5 hour conversations over a day or two) mean that there ISN’T time to engage in linear thinking, and this may be why OST creates the conditions for people to access the depth and resourcefulness that is needed to move forward on this tough issues.

UPDATE: Johnnie Moore liked the paper too, and found this quote:

It suggests that humans are oriented more toward learning (a process that leaves us changed) than toward problem solving (a process focused on changing our surroundings).

Fantastic.