In the Spirit of Total Systems Intervention

Flood and Jackson’s (1991) Total Systems Intervention (TSI) is a meta-methodology that advocates the complementary use of hard, soft and critical systems methodologies. It encourages problem solvers to suspend judgement about which methodology will be used in the study pending the outcome of a creative process during which metaphors are used to illuminate issues of concern. Other factors that impinge on the question of methodology choice include the specific interests that are are being pursued by the problem solvers, and knowledge about various assumptions embodied in the different methodologies.