Application and Evaluation of SSM as a Problem Solving Methodology

Usage of SSM applications:

Any complex, organizational situation where there is high social, political and human activity component.

Steps in Soft System methodology:

There are seven stages in SSM they are given below:

1. Investigate the unstructured problem.
2. Express the problem situation through “Rich Pictures”.
3. Root definitions of relevant system.
4. Conceptual model.
5. Comparison of 4 with 2.
6. Feasible, desirable changes.
7. Actions to improve the problem situations.

(1) Investigate the unstructured problem:

It is first stage of managers and/or employees (problem owner) deciding the review or change of tasks and the way they are performed is required, and an analyst (problem solver) was called in. Soft system believes that “the problem situation” is more appropriate since there might be many problems which are perceived need to be solved.

(2) Express the problem situation through “Rich Pictures”:

In this first stage people think that there might be a problem or room for improvement, and initiate the analysis or review. In this stage they analyst collects and sorts information and provides some description of the problem situation. These are the information that we are looking for are given below:

• The structure of the organization: those factors that do not change easily (e.g. building, locations, environment).
• Processes or transformations which are carried out within the system: many of these are changing constantly.

• Issues that are expressed or felt by organizational members (complaints, criticisms, suggestions, endorsements).
• The first and second stages are an expression phase during an attempt is made to build the richest possible picture, not of the problem but of the situation in which there is perceived to be a problem.

Rich pictures: 

These pictures are used to provide a model for thinking about the system and to help the analyst to gain appreciations of the problem situations. It provides representation of the how we can look at and think about the system. It can be refined as our understanding of the system becomes clearer, and what we want becomes clearer. These pictures are artistic and individualistic expressions, and therefore not right or wrong.

(3) Root definitions of relevant system:

A root definition is expressed as a transformation process that takes some entity as input, changes or transforms that entity, and produces a new form of the entity as output. Each root definition involves two important things. The first is that we must involve a certain view of the world. Definition of the world view is not always trivial. Also, not all world views may be desirable to the definer. Rich pictures will involve a variety of world views. Each root definition involves a transformation of one input to one output.

CATWOE:

Root definitions’ are written as sentences that elaborate a transformation. There are six elements that make up a well formulated root definition, these are given below:

• Customer: everyone who stands to gain benefits from a system is considered as a customer of the system.
• Actor: the actors perform the activities defined in the system.
• Transformation process: this is shown as the conversion of input to output.
• Weltanschauung: the German expression for world view. This world view makes the transformation process meaningful in context.
• Owner: every system has some proprietor, who has the power to start up and shut down the system.
• Environmental constraints: external elements exist outside the system which it takes as given. These constraints include organizational policies as well as legal and ethical matters.

CATWOE is used for the analysing the analysis of root definition sentences, but may be used as building block for derive of root definition. It is also recognizes the need to account for ownership, performance, beneficiaries, victims and external constraints, which are important things to account for in documenting the system.

(4) Conceptual model:

Given a root definition of a system, a conceptual model can be drawn. A conceptual model is a human activity model that strictly conforms to the root definition using the minimum set of activities. System thinking is applied in this development.

System Thinking: is an iterative process that combines three concepts. They are:

• The perceived world: each one of us has our own views of the world.
• Ideas: we perceived the world through the framework of ideas that are internal to us.
• Methodology: there are many of these for thinking about the world.

Formal system model:

This model is applied to the development of conceptual model. It serves as a guideline for checking the conceptual model we draw. Lets S represents a human activity system. S is a formal system if and only if it’s the following criteria:

• S must have mission.
• S must have a measure of performance.
• S must have decision making process.
• S must have components which interact with each other.
• S must have resources at the disposal of its decision making process.
• S must be bounded from the wider system.
• Components of S must be systems having all the properties of S (sub-system).

Monitoring a system:

This system consists of three activities:

• Define a measure of performance: we can use any or all of the three Es for measurement of operational system.

1. Efficacy- does it work.
2. Efficiency- how much of work completed given consumed resources.
3. Effectiveness- Are goals being met.

• Monitor the activities in the operational system, in accordance with the metrics defined in step 1.
• Take control action: use the outcomes of these metrics to determine and execute action to control the operational system.

However the three Es are not the only metrics that can be used. Many firms will use metrics including economical, ethical, elegant, and other metrics which may be dependent on the context of the work being done.

(5) Comparison of 4 with 2:

This is stage back to reality world. At this stage, conceptual models built at stage 4 will be compared with real world expression at stage 2. The work at this stage may lead to reiteration of stage 3 and stage 4. Previous experience of using SSM indicated that the comparison at this stage is not in fact a proper comparison of like with like. There are four ways of doing comparison from number of experiences.

Four ways of doing comparison are given below:

• Using conceptual models as a base for ordered questioning.
• Comparison history with model prediction.
• General overall comparison.
• Model overlay.

(6&7) Feasible, desirable changes and Actions to improve the problem situations:

In stage 6, feasible and desirable changes are identified and discussed, and they will be put in action in stage 7. The purpose of comparison stage is to generate debate about possible changes which might be made within the perceived problem situation. The outcome of stage 6 and 7 for both hard and soft system is the creation and implementation of a system. It is more likely to be introduction of a more modest change. Normally, there are three kinds of changes:

• Changes in structure, which is the changes made to those parts of reality which in the short term, in the on-going run of things, do not change.
• Changes in procedure, which is the changes to the dynamic elements.
• Changes in readiness to rate certain kinds of behaviour good or bad relative to others.

                                        Basic Framework of SSM

                                               

 Newport Business School (NBS):

Newport Business School is a part of university of Wales Newport. It is governed by UK government. NBS is the best institution for under graduates and post graduates business courses. NBS ranked best in Wales and second in UK for student satisfaction. In NBS they encourage students and support them to enable fulfils their highest potential. In NBS students came for studies all over the World. Like every school NBS has also soft problems. In this report we will see the problems of NBS through SSM.

 Problem situation expressed:

As we mentioned earlier NBS has also face many problems in terms of student’s prospective view. These problems are faced by students. Some of the main problems are given below:

• The size of class is big in most of the batches there are more than 50 students.
• There is no work placement after completion of course.
• No tie-ups with industries for employment.
• Less contact hours each weeks with tutors.
• Waiting for staff to meet them.
• No sufficient notes.
• Insufficient information.
• Library books are small in numbers and always borrowed.
• No guest lectures.
• Problems in MLE notes.
• Resources are short.
• No seminars.
• Safety is not good as they are using old technology.
• No industries visit.
• Tutors are very busy.
• Important information of results is not given properly.
• No course representative.
• Small number of presentation compared to other schools.
• Not good facilities compare to other universities.
• No help for weak students.
• Finance department is not in the school students have to go to Caerleon campus and miss the lectures.
• No facility of transportation after 6pm as it is far from city centre.
• Fewer case studies.
• Research is very low.
• Less information evenings for students.
• Tutors didn’t give real problems to solve them.

Rich picture:

Rich picture of NBS

Communication:

• Problem of interaction between student and tutor.
• No communication in case of emergency.
• Tutors are busy.
• Important information of result, meetings and module.

Teaching:

• Absence of presentation.
• No seminars.
• No guest lecture.
• No industry visits.

Resources:

• PowerPoint, off-heads, cases, handouts.
• MLE, library, IT suite.
• Shortage of books, modules not available on MLE.

Structure:

• Tall structure

Safety:

• Security, CCTV cameras.
• Poor technology.

Feedback:

• Hard to measure improvements.
• No course representative.

Root Definition:

There is need for stronger management participation to solve the problems of the students of NBS. They have to ask the students about their problems and appoint there representative who can give suggestions to the management.

CATWOE Analysis:

Customer: Students and Parents.

Actors: Tutors and Management.

Transformation: Participation of tutors, stronger and better involvement in student’s problems.

World view: From the world point of view NBS is doing very well that’s why it ranked first in Wales and second in UK for student satisfaction.

Owner: UK government.

Environment constraints: UK government and Wales’s government to promote the business school and other existing business schools.

Conceptual model:

It comprises a representation of the minimum activities necessary to carry out the needed transformation within the stated World view. The five Es evaluation, we have to verify that our conceptual model contains the five Es efficiency, efficacy, effectiveness, ethicality and elegance. We have tried to form the conceptual model that how we can development the standard of education. What factors involved to developed the high standard of education. What are the things we have to keep in mind and what steps we can take to solve the problems? The conceptual model is given below:

CONCEPTUAL MODEL

The comparison 
 

Suggestions and recommendations for development of NBS:

• For improvement of teaching new strategies should be applied. Tutors should take suggestions from the students like what they want, what type of teaching they need.
• There should be more presentations, seminars, industries visits and guest lectures in the school.
• For improvement in communication process more methods should be used to communicate with students like e-mail, letters etc.
• In emergency tutors contact student.
• All the important information should be sent on MLE and check that if it is working or not.
• In library more books should be available and if the book is not available they make arrangement on next day.
• All the modules notes should be available on MLE notes.
•  There should be a class representative who can tell the tutors about problems.
• For safety advance and modern technology is used for future.
• Class size should be small so that weak students get proper attention and help.
• There should be tie-ups with consultants so that after finishing the course students get job as soon as possible.
• There should be more contact hours in a week.
• Proper transportation facilities for late hour’s students.
• More information evenings for students.

Strengths of SSM: Benefits:

• SSM gives structure to complex organizational and political problem situations;
• SSM forces the user to look for solutions that is more than technical.
• Rigorous tool to use “messy” problems.
• Specific technique.
• SSM is best used in a participatory manner by mixed teams of stakeholders.
• SSM is a problem solving approach; it is designed to focus on the kinds of soft, intangible problems which beset organisations.

Assumptions of SSM: Conditions:

• In this we assumes that most of the management and organizational problems cannot be seen as pure “system problems” as the system is far to complex to analyze.
• Nevertheless applying a systematic approach in a non-systematic situation is valuable.

General Critics:

• SSM lack of comprehensiveness, particularly at the later stages of analysis and design process.
• SSM method is applied rather than the underlying structure and rationale of the methods.
• SSM method is implicitly, a rational or systematic approach that allows soft emotional factors to be taken into account.
• Technically oriented critics complain that SSM doesn't actually tell you how to build a system, that there is no real method.
• .  Management oriented critics worry that the open ended nature of SSM makes it impossible to manage.
• SSM assumes that all members of the enterprise have choice, in fact equal choice.
• SSM involves manipulation by the consultants that, like “human relations” management, can trick the participants into thinking they are happy with the consultant's hidden agenda.

References:

• Wilson, Brian (1990), System: Concept, methodologies and applications. John Wiley, New York
  

• Checkland, Peter and Jim Scholes (1990).  Soft Systems Methodology in Action.  Toronto, John Wiley and Sons.

• Macaulay, Linda A (1996).  Requirements Engineering.  London.  Springer.

• Checkland, Peter (1981).  Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. London, John Wiley & Sons.

•  Atkinson C, Eldabi T, Paul R, and Pouloudi A (2001) Integrated Approaches to health informatics research and development. Logistics Information Management 15, 138-152.

• Winter , M. C., Brown, D. H. and Checkland, P. B., 1995, "A Role for Soft Systems Methodology in Information Systems Development," European Journal o f lnformation Systems, 4(3), 130-142.