Soft systems methodology and dialectics in an information environment: a case-study of the Battle of Britain

Wilson, FA; Robinson, BA

Abstract

In the Checkland and Holwell (1998) book Information, Systems and Information Systems an explanatory framework for soft systems methodology (SSM) is supported by the
deployment of a case study of the Battle of Britain. In this paper the authors conduct an analysis of this historical account and identify the failure of SSM to provide an adequate explanation of these historical events. It is argued that through the use of materialist
dialectics a more satisfactory understanding of the nature of the processes of abstraction and the bounding of problems and systems becomes available. Concepts from dialectics are applied to show how, and why, the differences between the two accounts reflect different methods of conceptualization of an information environment. In this light, we point to similarities and differences between the two meta-frameworks used: SSM and
materialist dialectics.

Citation

Wilson, F., & Robinson, B. (2003). Soft systems methodology and dialectics in an information environment: a case-study of the Battle of Britain. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 20(3), 255-268. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.511

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2003
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2009
• Journal: Systems Research and Behavioral Science
• Print ISSN: 1092-7026
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 255-268
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.511
• Keywords: soft systems; dialectics; information systems boundaries
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/sres.511