Soft Systems Methodology - Overview

Overview

It is a common misunderstanding that SSM is a methodology for dealing solely with ‘soft problems’ (i.e., problems which involve psychological, social, and cultural elements). SSM does not differentiate between ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ problems, it merely provides a different way of dealing with situations perceived as problematic. The ‘hardness’ or ‘softness’ is not the intrinsic quality of the problem situation to be addressed, it is an aspect of the way those involved address the situation. Each situation perceived as problematic has both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ elements. The very notion of a problem is contingent on a human being perceiving it as such. e.g. One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.

SSM distinguishes itself from hard systems approaches in the way it deals with the notion of ‘system.’ Common to hard systems approaches is an understanding of systems as ontological entities, i.e., entities existing in the real world. As such, in hard systems approaches when one speaks of a computer system, an information system, a telecommunications system, or a transport system, one refers to these as bounded entities with a physical existence which can be formally described or designed to fulfill a given purpose.

In contrast, SSM treats the notion of system as an epistemological rather than ontological entity, i.e., as a mental construct used for human understanding. If we look for example at a particular organisation as a system, we can describe this organisation as a system to make a profit, or a system to transform raw materials into a commercial product, or a system to provide jobs to the local community, or a system to pollute the environment. Depending on what perspective we take, we will have a very different understanding of this particular organisation.

None of these descriptions is right or wrong, they are merely different ways of understanding what is going on. This requires us to become conscious of our particular perspective and values, and these in turn determine what aspects of the situation we understand as being part of the system of our concern. For instance, if we are trying to understand this organisation as a system to transform raw materials into a commercial product, we are likely to include the providers of raw materials and the customers who buy the end-product in our understanding of this system. However, if we look at the organisation as a system to provide jobs to the local community, we are likely to include different elements such as the local transport infrastructure which allows members of the community to access the organisation. As such, depending on our perspective we draw different boundaries around what we perceive the system to be.