An approach to problem formulation in ill-structured situations in information systems development

Information system developers are increasingly confronted with complex situations because they involve larger problems, more critical tasks, and wider constituencies of affected people. This research proposes an approach for problem formulation (PF) in complex situations. The approach consists of a set of principles and guidelines for action which are intended to improve three aspects of the problem formulation phase of existing methodologies: participation and collaboration, systematization of doubt, and judgment support. Specifically the approach seeks to enable the critical constituencies to collaboratively (1) explore and construct the most "robust" problem definition based on the broadest possible knowledge and wisdom that may be brought to bear on the situation; (2) share the insights and understandings of the problem situation's substantive issues among all critical constituencies; and (3) capture, map and manage the multitude of complementary and contradictory issues identified in the problem formulation process. The approach advocated promises a more visible and participatory process of PF resulting in more robust conceptualizations which are more widely shared among the critical constituencies. It does not deal with power issues that are connected to this. Some casework is presented to illustrate the logic of the proposed approach. The research concludes with a number of questions which need to be addressed by future action research on problem formulation.