What Is The Purpose of SSM? What Is The Thinking Behind SSM? Culture and Politics SSM analysis and techniques SSM intervention

1. M O H A M M A D A L I J A A F A R
INTRODUCTION TO SOFT
SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY

2. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF SSM?
SSM is a methodology used to support
and to structure thinking about, and
intervention in, complex organisational
problems.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

3. WHAT IS THE THINKING BEHIND SSM?
• SSM is a process for managing: for
undertaking the process of achieving
organised action.
• SSM practitioners take managing to be the
process of thinking-out and implementing
organised action, and of reacting to
changes in the world which might affect
that action.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

4. THE THINKING BEHIND SSM
• SSM does take the process of management
to be the sole preserve of a class of workers
called 'managers'. Managing, in these
terms, is an activity performed by all sorts of
individuals, at all sorts of levels, in all sorts of
formal and informal organisational
groupings.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

5. THE THINKING BEHIND SSM
• SSM assumes that each individual will see
the world differently. Different world-views
inevitably lead to varying understandings
and evaluations of any situation, which lead
in turn to different ideas for positive action.
These ideas are not necessarily opposed to
each other (there is generally likely to be
some overlap), but they may be different
enough to make the difference a serious
issue when deciding on a course of action.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

6. THE THINKING BEHIND SSM.
• SSM was developed out of systems thinking,
when traditional systems thought was found
to be an inappropriate set of tools for
dealing with problems in which there was no
clearly defined and commonly agreed set
of outcomes.
• SSM was developed to enable rational
action, taking these mismatches into
account.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

7. CULTURE AND POLITICS
• Checkland notes that 'there are few situations where getting the
logic right is enough to bring about action'.
• Any organisation has its own culture (set of shared myths,
perceptions and assumptions about the world and the
organisation) and politics (set of internal power structures). These
are complex and dynamic.
• As argued above, the varying views which result from the culture
and politics of an organisation do not lead to a stable and clear
set of aims or objectives.
• SSM tries to enable more consensual action by moving towards
understanding of the varying perceptions, through a process of
thinking, negotiating, arguing and testing
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

8. WHY ARE SSM ANALYSIS AND
TECHNIQUES USEFUL?
• The methodology was developed to help to make
sense of the difficult problems which contained their
own, internal contradictions.
• Many projects have failed as a direct result of their
failing to take into account the various
perspectives, motivations and vested interests
which are at play within human organisations.
• SSM provides a structure which is engineered to
deal with these difficulties.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

9. WHAT IS AN SSM INTERVENTION?
• In SSM, the structure of an organised intervention is
used to deal with the complexity of an
organisational problem.
• Although SSM has a clear structure, it is for the
practitioner to use in a flexible and knowing way.
• An SSM intervention involves
finding out about the situation;
thinking about systems which are, or might be, employed in
the situation;
comparing the thinking to the systems which exist in the
real world;
taking action according to what has been learned.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

10. CONT.
• It is not a simple matter of performing these
four stages, after which a 'right' answer will
be produced.
• Rather, it is about taking these four as bases
for action, each of which should be kept in
mind.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity

11. REFERENCES
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_syste
ms_methodology.
• Soft Systems Methodology in Action,
Book by Peter Checkland & Jim
Scholes.
Mohammad Ali Jaafar, PhD in
Systems Mgmt, & Complexity