Introduction: The Why, What and How of Social Systems Engineering

The expression ‘social systems engineering’ is not new. As far as we know, its first appearance in the literature dates from the mid‐1970s. In 1975, the Proceedings of the IEEE published a special issue on social systems engineering (Chen et al., 1975). Here, Chen and colleagues referred to social systems engineering as the application of systems engineering concepts to social problems. Likewise, the special issue seemed to emphasize that the potential contribution of engineering to social issues was predominantly based on the consideration of quantitative modelling as the workhorse for intervention. Although we concur with some of these points, for us the expression ‘social systems engineering’ has a broader connotation, not meaning that we advocate exclusively for the application of engineering methods to social issues, but rather that we stand up for the consideration of design perspectives as a pivotal way to generate knowledge and transform systems. The intrinsic engineering orientation to action and transformation as its ultimate goals for improving a system, for meeting needs, for addressing successfully a specific problematic situation that someone wants to improve, etc. are emphases that this book highlights. Such goals demand the recognition of specific engineering considerations and their implications for addressing social systems. We want to emphasize the complexity of engineering ‘social’ (human) systems (as opposed to engineering mechanical systems, electrical systems, etc.), since such systems are then in fact ‘social’ (formed by purposeful actors that display agency, with diverse, clashing interests and goals) and therefore their design, redesign and transformation, unlike in other engineering domains, cannot be completely determined or planned beforehand. These designs are formal and informal, emergent, always ‘in progress’, adapting and evolving out of diverse dynamics. Introduction: The Why, What and How of Social Systems Engineering