On Wicket Problems

Wicked Problems

bók eftir Ken Wilber og Alan Watkins

Wicket problems er hugtak sem á við áhugavert og mikilvægt fyrirbrigði, ekki síst í heimi okkar sem verður æ flóknari og úrlausnarefnin og vandamálin snerta æ fleiri aðila samtímis.

Hér eru stuttir bútar úr bókinn sem vonandi skýra þetta fyrirbrigði, sem við þekkjum öll þegar við sjáum á því lýsinguna.

Rittel and Webber voru tveir prófessorar sem unnu saman og voru aðallega að stúdera skipulag og miðuðu pælingar sínar um wicked problems við það, en ég var að hlusta á þáttinn hans Ævars í útvarpinu þar sem hagfræðingur var að tala um svipað, þó hann nefndi það ekki þeim orðum. Það er að segja vandamálið, sem þjóðhagfræðingar eiga við að etja að um leið og gripið er til aðgerða byggðra á kenningum þeirra, þá breytist viðfangsefnið (veruleikinn) og þá þarf nýja kenning til að ráða við þann nýja veruleika.

Mér sýnist þetta eiga við ansi margt sem þjóðfundir rannsaka, hinn fljótandi veruleika sem breytist með misserunum…  Vandamálin sem þarf að leysa en engin endanleg lausn finnst á.

hér er kaflar út bókinni.

‘The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, because of the nature of these problems. They are ‘wicked’ problems, whereas science has developed to deal with ‘tame’ problems. Policy problems cannot be definitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society, there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about ‘optimal solutions’ to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no ‘solutions’ in the sense of definitive and objective answers.’  Rittel and Webber presented a ten point list of ‘distinguishing properties of planning-type’ wicked problems. In simplified terms the ten properties are: 

1. There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem.

2. Wicked problems have no end point where the problem is considered ‘fixed’. 

3. It’s not possible to identify all the possible solutions to a wicked problem. 

4. Wicked problems have no binary right/ wrong solution, only better or worse. 

5. Every solution is a one-shot operation that can’t be undone or redone. 

6. There is no absolute test to measure the success of the solution. 

7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique. 

8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem. 

9. Wicked problems can be explained in many ways. 

10. Due to the consequences of each attempted solution, social planners can’t be wrong.

…did a phenomenal job at helping us to appreciate and understand wicked problems so that we could begin a dialogue about how best to solve them. Their focus was on the wicked problems that existed in social planning and public policy, such as urban renewal, roadway construction or curriculum design. Of course wicked problems exist outside these thorny areas too. In recognition of this fact Dr Jeff Conklin, Director of CogNexus Institute and specialist in the fields of hypertext and collaborative technology research, sought to simplify and condense these definitions so they would apply to areas inside and outside planning and policy. Effectively Conklin removed the characteristic that referred directly to planning and expanded the context to make the definitions more meaningful to other types of wicked problems. Conklin also posited that the wickedness of the problems we face was multiplied by social complexity (number and diversity of stakeholders) and fragmentation (the fact that those stakeholders increasingly see themselves as more separate than united) that made finding a genuine solution even harder.  One of the implications that both Rittel and Webber and Conklin agree on is that wicked problems are inherently wicked because they deal with societal problems, that is, problems created and exacerbated by people. The former stating, ‘As distinguishable from problems in the natural sciences, which are definable and separable and may have solutions that are findable, the problems of governmental planning – especially those of social or policy planning – are ill-defined; and they rely upon elusive political judgement for resolution.’ They were adamant that wicked problems could never be solved but only re-solved over and over again. And frankly if that was true in 1973 when Rittel and Webber wrote their seminal paper, then it is exponentially true today.

…..

The digital revolution is over. There is no going back, so there is no way that we can somehow batten down the hatches and ride out this crazy VUCA phase (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). Despite how quickly things are changing in business and how volatile and complex the issues we face are now, it may never be this slow again. 

… …

In their paper Rittel and Webber stated, ‘By now we are all beginning to realise that one of the most intractable problems is that of defining problems (of knowing what distinguishes an observed condition from a desired condition) and of locating problems (finding where in the complex causal networks the trouble really lies). In turn, and equally intractable, is the problem of identifying the actions that might effectively narrow the gap between what is and what ought to be. The formulation of a wicked problem is the problem.’  Conklin too appreciated this fact when he said, ‘Part of the pain is a misunderstanding of the nature of the problems at hand.’  Figuring out how to actually define the wicked problems we must address is actually the active ingredient in the wickedness. While this point may seem pedantic or nothing more than a semantic issue, it is not. Figuring out how to accurately define wicked problems is actually the central issue and where most of the initial work is required in solving them.

…… 

–the reason we can’t fix wicked problems is largely because we don’t understand the problem in the first place. Sure wicked problems have a set of characteristics that can help us to identify them; there may be dispute over what those characteristics are and they may change depending on the problem being discussed, but the fact remains that if we can’t map all the contributing, interconnected factors that make the wicked problem wicked, then what we don’t know, or are unaware of, will always derail the solution process.

The wicked problem isn’t climate change; it’s that we don’t understand climate change or enough people don’t understand climate change well enough – if they did we would collectively be taking very different actions than we are to rectify the potentially fatal damage we are doing right now. The problem isn’t gender diversity or a lack of women in business; the problem is we don’t understand gender diversity and why that creates a lack of women in business. The problem isn’t culture; it’s that we don’t understand culture. Too often the solutions put forward for dealing with wicked problems, or any problems for that matter, are much too simplistic. In one online diagram on wicked problems, for example, the authors have stated that a wicked problem requires ‘behavioural change’. But everything requires behavioural change. Most solutions to most problems require some form of behavioural change. Solving wicked problems requires significantly more than behavioural change, both on an individual and collective level. It requires a change of mind or attitude that underlies behaviour, otherwise the change won’t stick and those involved will go back to what they were doing originally. It also requires a change to beliefs – both individually and culturally. Not to mention institutional changes, political changes, social changes – which are all part of the very problem of definition.

Hugmyndin um WP endurskilgreinist svo af fra Wilber og Alan Watkins svona

We suggest therefore that a wicked problem has six key properties (Figure 1.2) that must be understood before real progress can be made: 

1. A wicked problem is multi-dimensional 

2. A wicked problem has multiple stakeholders 

3. A wicked problem has multiple causes 

4. A wicked problem has multiple symptoms 

5. A wicked problem has multiple solutions 

6. A wicked problem is constantly evolving