Methodologies to Solve Wicked Problems
Abstract
Many areas of our environment have changed, including technology, the economy, communication, transportation, and education. Over time, these evolutions, which concern human social life, have produced interweaving issues. It may seem impossible to address wicked situations, but the key to doing so is to study the features of the crisis, which can help put the problem in a different perspective. Many human resources, including time and money, are needed to solve these complex problems. Particularly in the field of design and its community has grown more broadly in which designers now address social issues and those related to the area of design. This paper discusses design thinking, an iterative approach that encourages using various tools to frame challenges and create working prototypes of solutions, and WKID innovation, a process developed by NASA to address problems outside the realm of aerospace.
1. Wicked Problem
Rittel and Webber from the University of California studied "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," which discusses problem definition and planning issues, and they came up with the name "Wicked problems" (Wong, 2022). Wicked problems are difficult-to-define socio-complex issues with numerous layers of problems that can be triggered when we attempt to solve one. For instance: Take into account overpopulation, which links to education, wars, climate change, and resource overexploitation. That is why wicked problems cannot have an optimal solution because it deals with social problems or, in some worst case, they do not have a solution at all (Horst and Webber, 1973).
1.1 Characteristics of Wicked Problems
There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem. Through multiple iterations, general problems are relatively simple to solve; wicked problems, on the other hand, are challenging to define. We can characterize the problem more precisely by coming up with a solution. Designers can better comprehend the issue with this cycle or iteration. Every iteration might offer designers fresh perspectives on the issue at hand. The author has also talked about the traditional system method used by the military and space programmes, which involves following predetermined processes to solve a problem(Horst and Webber, 1973). The system engineering approach, which entails the processes of "understanding the mission, "collecting information," "analyzing," "synthesize," and "finding a solution," will also not work with a wicked challenge because it is challenging to comprehend the issue in the initial instance.
Rittel and Webber's broad theory of planning, "Dilemmas," put out the features of wicked problems. These characteristics clarify why the issues are wicked, which is another word for tricky, aggressive, or vicious (Horst and Webber, 1973)
Wicked Problems have no stopping rule. It is not simple to tackle societal problems; there may be no clients or other stakeholders involved, which places solvers under pressure to find a solution quickly. Each step in the problem-solving process is linked to the problem's context, which means several connections to the issue. As a result, it may take some time to comprehend the issue's real context. Anyone who tries to solve these planning issues can contribute life resources, including time, money, and knowledge. When they believe they have "done all they could" or have reached their limit, they stop trying to solve the problem.
Solutions to wicked are not true-or-false but good-or-bad. People put themselves in a position to solve complex problems when it comes to social issues; they bring forward their feelings, ideas, and ideals. Due to the restriction, people solving wicked situations may devise various solutions. According to Horst and Webber (1973), those answers can only be evaluated using quality standards, such as "good" or "poor," rather than "true" or "false," because the required solution to wicked situations can differ from person to person.
There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem. In order to determine whether a potential remedy is workable, general problems necessitate potential testing solutions. Since proposed solutions for wicked problems could have unforeseen repercussions, they cannot be tested or put into use (Whelton and Ballard, 2002)
Every attempt counts significantly. When a solution to a wicked problem is used, it may have unintended effects. These consequences might affect both the solver's internal and external circumstances. External factors: When applying the solution in public, the atmosphere may be frustrating or otherwise unpleasant, which could have an irreparable effect. Internal variables include the time, money, or effort that the team has put in. Every trial counts, which is explained by these two factors (Horst and Webber, 1973). Another branch of wicked problems can be formed by the effects brought on by the components that have been addressed.
Every wicked problem is essentially unique. Take two issues as an example; they might share similar characteristics in certain aspects. However, when explored deeper, their course of wickedness is distinguishable. Thus, every problem is unique, and it is impossible to categorize wicked problems.
2. Design Thinking
Design thinking is the wide range of procedures and approaches used by the design community and design research to solve design issues. Design thinking is a collaborative process where the design team can contribute prospective ideas and methodologies and use critical thinking to address issues (Taylor and Francis, 2005). Additionally, because design thinking emphasizes human-centered design, it necessitates user research to identify problems, user needs, and pain points (Dam and Siang, 2022b). Design thinking supports and incorporates the technical and scientific aspects of the issue (Pavie and Carthy, 2015), which can aid designers and stakeholders in developing a deeper understanding of the problem's external points, such as social and economic factors; these multiple sources of data can benefit the organization in effectively generating solution ideas. As shown in the Fig. 1 Empathy is the first stage of the five-stage design thinking process, during which the team can perform primary or secondary research to gather information based on the issue. User interviews can aid problem solvers in empathizing in cases of wicked problems because the data provided by participants is open-ended.
Fig. 1. Design thinking Methodology by Stanford dschool
After gathering the required data, we define an issue by analyzing and synthesizing it. Designers can better understand the needs and pain points of users by using techniques like card sorting, empathy maps, and user journey maps. To acquire a deeper understanding of the issue, the goals and pain points are transformed into the problem statement. Designers can generate ideas for solutions in the ideation phase by using the problem description from the define phase. There are numerous ideation approaches available; if a company has to enhance a current product, it can use the SCAMPER ideation process. To determine whether the solution satisfies the problem definition, the solution is further developed into a prototype. This approach provides several strategies, including the 5-stage, double diamond, 4D, Deep dive and many more (Expert, 2021); each of these methodologies uses different ideas and techniques to help solve complex problems. As shown in the Fig. 2 the final objective, however, remains the same for any methodology used; a problem solving strategy is evaluated based on its viability, desirability, and practicality (Pavie and Carthy, 2015). According to Dam and Siang (2022), a solution is viable if it serves business objectives, which in the case of a wicked problem, does not involve generating revenue. This drives the organization to determine whether the solution satisfies the problem definition. User needs are addressed via desirability, and design thinking's main objective is to keep designers at the forefront. Regarding wicked problems, feasibility is about whether the solution can be implemented in the real world and whether it considers current technology factors (Ideo, 2015).
Fig. 2. End goal
3. WKID Innovation
NASA developed and used the WKID innovation framework to address wicked issues (Stavros, 2015). The framework can be expanded to include potential new approaches like design thinking, complex system science, theory of change, artificial intelligence in data science, technology transfer, system engineering, and management. The main characteristic of a wicked problem is that the designer must have a broad understanding of the subject to address it; WKID innovation encourages this in-depth study of one discipline, which makes it successful. System engineering is carried out using the Vee model; we describe the required changes to a system using the mapping technique. The actions are mapped based on the knowledge hierarchy concerning project management. As show in the Fig. 3 knowledge hierarchy refers to the relationship between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom (from bottom to top). Wisdom is the values that emerge from patterns and context (knowledge) based on the information model gathered as facts or data (Stavros, 2015).
Fig. 3. Knowledge Hierarchy – Each level of the pyramid provides responses to queries and enhances the basic data
As shown in the fig. 4 the first step in the WKID innovation is to map the current operations of the system(Stavros, 2015). To make changes to an existing system, we must first understand its current state. To comprehend the operations, we must apply PEST analysis to our business. PEST analysis is a technique for understanding the state of a business based on political, economic, social, and technological factors (Fairlie, 2022). On the other hand, understanding how people behave in the system is an important goal in documenting them with other findings such as PEST analysis. The "change traceability matrix," which lists all necessary changes or long-term goals concerning the knowledge hierarchy, is adaptable documentation. After analyzing and synthesizing it into a matrix, we can transform data into process knowledge mapping (Stavros, 2015). These knowledge mappings collect and share information about a system or organization; the information can be represented in stories, models, symbols, and text (Wexler, 2001). The mapping explains how the user relies on data or information to help decision-makers understand opportunities for improvement. We can convert the change traceability matrix to the product traceability matrix once we know the necessary changes to the system change—all of the goals, objectives, product requirements, and functional and design requirements. One of the most challenging aspects of wicked problems is defining the problem, but by utilizing the continuous product life cycle, we can define the problem and product definition.
4. Conclusion
Fig. 4. WKID Innovation Framework
This study investigated the characteristics of a wicked problem, and the provided properties explain how a solver can approach the situation to devise a solution that has no unintended consequences in the real world. Design thinking methodology is a nonlinear process that assists designers in approaching complicated problems through various strategies while keeping the design process user-centric. Furthermore, design thinking promotes the social and ethical aspects of the challenge linked with wicked problems. WKID innovation, on the other hand, gives a potential possibility to tackle wicked problems by understanding existing operations in the system. These are compared to the PEST model to understand the state of the problem. All data is transformed into a changeability matrix, which provides a solution or suggests improvements to the system. Design thinking and WKID innovation provide designers and non-designers with diverse opportunities and approaches for simplifying wicked problems.
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