I have not seen it mentioned yet but Rittel developed a method called
Issue-Based Information System (IBIS) to provide a formal structure for
discussion of wicked problems. A groupware product called CM/1 is
available that manages IBIS in a network environment. For anyone
interested, CM/1 was developed by Corporate Memory Systems in Austin,
Texas (512-795-9999).
My personal take on a wicked problem is one in which complexity is such
that after the usual data gathering and analysis, you can not know if a
solution, or any solution will work, up front. Indeed, you must attempt
solutions in order to observe the reaction of the system so as to further
characterize the problem. A really wicked problem is one that you can not
fully understand until it is solved, i.e. "the last thing we did, was
right".
-- Paul Lindsey Tracor Aerospace PEL@eng2.tracor.com (512)929-2815