I have been furiously rummaging through the books in my problem-solving
library ever since the first inquiry regarding "wicked problems" (because
I had just recently read an article referring to the concept). Today, I
found it.
The original citation has already been given, by Woody Ahmad in LO2359,
responding to Carol Ogdin's inquiry in LO2358, but it bears repeating:
Horst Rittel (1972). On the planning crisis: Systems analysis of the
"first and
second generations." Bedrifts Okonomen, 8, 390-396.
The citation I found appears in an article in a special issue of the
Performance Improvement Quarterly, published by the National Society for
Performance and Instruction (which recently changed its name to the
International Society for Performance Improvement). This special issue
concerned itself with matters of design, especially the design of human
performance systems. The article in which the Horst Rittel citation
appears is titled "The Necessity of Being 'Un-disciplined' and
'Out-of-Control': Design Action and Systems Thinking." The author is
Harold Nelson of Antioch University in Seattle, Washington, Director of
the Graduate Programs in Whole Systems Design.
Nelson provided a summary of the wicked problem's characteristics similar
to the one provided by Moody Ahmad in LO2359 but with enough differences
to warrant citing Nelson's list. To wit . . .
1. Cannot be exhaustively formulated.
2. Every formulation is a statement of a solution.
3. No rule for knowing when to stop.
4. No true or false.
5. No exhaustive list of operations.
6. Many explanation for the same problem.
7. Every problem is a symptom of another problem.
8. No immediate or ultimate test.
9. One-shot solutions (no second tries).
10. Every problem is essentially unique.
So much for the citation; now for the comment.
I don't believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or the Easter Bunny, and
I also don't believe in "Wicked Problems."
It strikes me that solving problems hinges first on defining the results
to be achieved (i.e., specifying the so-called "solved state"), and second
on identifying the structure of the problem situation (i.e., the set of
variables, their connections, and relationships that must be manipulated
so as to bring about the desired results). Failure to do either of these
will certainly result in "wicked problems."
I hope everyone finds this useful, even if not to their liking.
-- Fred Nickols Exec Dir, Operations Staff Educational Testing Service Princeton, NJ 08541 (609) 538-6265 fnickols@ets.org