O. Petkova’s research while affiliated with Central Connecticut State University and other places

This paper reviews current research on context in problem solving and existing two-dimensional frameworks for expressing project contexts in Systems Thinking and Software Engineering. It makes the case for modeling of context with Problem Structuring Methods. The authors present lessons learnt from applying such methods in the context of their experience with several complex management interventions in Information and Telecommunications Technologies. The paper aims to contribute to the understanding of project contexts in complex problem solving in Information Technology.

It is widely agreed that no single approach for software or systems development addresses all problems and contexts. This chapter summarizes three software development and systems approaches that are often viewed as somewhat unrelated: soft system methodology (SSM), work system method (WSM), and agile development. Next it presents a framework linking stakeholder interests and problem contexts known as the System of Systems Methodologies (SOSM) from Jackson and Keys (1984) and frameworks from Bustard and Kennan (2005) and Alter and Browne (2005) for visualizing various Information Systems (IS) contexts. It uses SOSM to position and explore alternative sets of IS project contexts described by Bustard and Kennan (2005) and Alter and Browne (2005) using their own frameworks. Comparison of these contexts in relation to SOSM leads to observations about the suitability of SSM, WSM, and agile development in different project contexts. Contributions of this research include identifying and comparing alternative contexts for software and system development and identifying possibilities for including within one project combinations of methodologies that are often viewed as unrelated.

It is widely agreed that no single approach for software or systems development addresses all problems and contexts. This chapter summarizes three software development and systems approaches that are often viewed as somewhat unrelated: soft system methodology (SSM), work system method (WSM), and agile development. Next it presents a framework linking stakeholder interests and problem contexts known as the System of Systems Methodologies (SOSM) from Jackson and Keys (1984) and frameworks from Bustard and Kennan (2005) and Alter and Browne (2005) for visualizing various Information Systems (IS) contexts. It uses SOSM to position and explore alternative sets of IS project contexts described by Bustard and Kennan (2005) and Alter and Browne (2005) using their own frameworks. Comparison of these contexts in relation to SOSM leads to observations about the suitability of SSM, WSM, and agile development in different project contexts. Contributions of this research include identifying and comparing alternative contexts for software and system development and identifying possibilities for including within one project combinations of methodologies that are often viewed as unrelated.

The article explores some issues related to the process of a systemic intervention using our experience in three projects in the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector carried out in South Africa between 1997 and 2002. The projects served as a testing ground for exploring some theoretical and practical aspects associated with the process of facilitating the intervention. The paper presents reflections on some of the lessons learned regarding the process in each of the three cases associated with complex developmental decision-making issues.

The paper shows that systems thinking is needed in research efforts in Community Informatics. It analyses briefly Virtual Community Informatics, Community Informatics and the broader field of (Virtual) Community Informatics as suggested by Bieber and Gurstein. The links between Community Informatics and Community Operations Research and indirectly in that way with systems thinking, are explored as well as the potential lessons for (Virtual) Community Informatics from the evolution of the Group Support Systems area. Taking as a starting point the recent work agenda in Virtual Community Informatics by Lee, Vogel and Limayem, this paper outlines possible directions for expansion of the research in (Virtual) Community Informatics aiming at the development of deeper holistic understanding of the needs for computerised support of virtual communities.

This paper shares experiences of the authors with combining Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and techniques from soft systems approaches for decision support at particular stages of complex problem solving. These are based on their involvement in three projects within the Information and Communications Technology sector. The justification for the combined use of MCDM and separate techniques from systems thinking is discussed. The contribution of this paper is in the demonstration of how combinations of methods that are parts of soft systems methodologies and MCDM may support multiple perspective representations of complex managerial problems, and in the lessons learned from the three cases.

This paper describes a methodology for using scoring rubrics to assess student learning. The artifact used to assess learning is projects in interrelated information systems' courses. An overview of the role of educational projects in student learning is presented. The various aspects of defining rubrics in interrelated courses are discussed. A methodology for the use of such rubrics in assessing student learning in interrelated courses is proposed and is illustrated by example. The paper concludes with suggestions on the potential of the approach and its limitations along with some ideas for future work.

The paper reviews paradigm incommensurability issues and possible ways of overcoming it. One of the open problems of pluralist systemic intervention theory, on which there is no uniform understanding in the literature, is whether work across paradigms represents some kind of a meta paradigm or whether it belongs to a completely new paradigm itself or should it be grounded within the theory of existing paradigms. Another issue that requires additional investigation is the use of methods within different paradigms from those for which they were created originally. Our understanding of those issues was informed by the developments in Critical Systems thinking in the past decade. It was further developed through by our involvement in three interventions in the fields of rural telecommunications and software development. They involved mixing of techniques from several soft systems approaches and multi-criteria decision analysis. We justified mixing of methods using the theory of the three worlds by Habermas. Our work was influenced by the Multimethodology ideas of Mingers and those on Critical Systems Practice by Jackson. We derive an integrated approach towards the resolution of paradigm incommensurability on the basis of the literature and our experience. Our practical experience in the three cases of concern confirmed our theoretical findings on the feasibility of mixing methods in the same intervention and showed that it is possible to implement the interventions in a way that enables a conversation between the methods involved within the intervention and not from above. Further work is needed however to confirm our exploratory findings from applying pluralist ideas in systemic interventions.