Systems Design Thinking: Theoretical, Methodological, and Methodical Considerations. A German Narrative

The chapter presents a facet of the hidden histories of systems design. It focuses on the German development, especially the trajectories that emerged from the Heidelberg-based Studiengruppe fur Systemforschung (SfS) (1958–1975). The group gathered a number of important systems researchers and contributed, at least indirectly, to the development of the author’s theoretical and methodological position. System concepts are examined from a design perspective and the crucial notion of the “inquiring system” is elaborated, the latter providing the basis for dealing with the mix of facts and values inherent in design research. This sets the stage for methodological developments, especially the generic APS model of design and research processes: Analysis – Projection – Synthesis (Jonas W. Viable structures and generative tools – an approach towards ‘designing designing. In: Proceedings of EAD conference, Stockholm, April, 1997a; Jonas W. N-th order design? Systemic concepts for research in advanced methodology. Submitted to Design Issues special issue on design research (unpublished), 1997b) and its practical implementation. Three authors will be presented in some more detail. Their approaches complement each other and provide a flexible model and toolbox for systemic design processes.

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