A Critical Heuristic Approach to the Establishment of a Software Development Process

Donaires, Omar Sacilotto

doi:10.1007/s11213-006-9033-5

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In CSH theory, as described in (Ulrich & Reynolds 2010) and exemplified in several case studies (e.g. (Córdoba & Midgley 2006), (Donaires 2006)), the method is suitable for exploring and improving emancipatory issues related to planned social interventions. There is an assumption that the planners, including experts and decision makers, have the agency to act, and that there is a danger that those who will be affected by the intervention, including beneficiaries and witnesses (those indirectly affected) will not have enough voice -the emancipatory aspect.…”

Section: Interpretation Of the Reflective Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and cities: problem structuring methods and critical perspectives on low-carbon districts

Freeman¹,

Yearworth²

2017

Energy Research & Social Science

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Cities around the world have set climate change mitigation targets, yet actions to implement these targets have so far proved inadequate. Better methodology is needed to support this impetus for action.Problem structuring methods (PSMs) enable improvements to be made in wicked problem situations; they appear to have potential to improve climate change mitigation actions but they are difficult to carry out in highly pluralist problem contexts. A case study (STEEP) that applied a PSM to support lowcarbon urban energy master planning in three cities is presented. The STEEP methodology was effective in reducing the wickedness of the problem but issues of a lack of clarity on problem ownership and lack of interessement were seen. A reflective boundary critique study found that there was a mismatch between power and interest amongst key stakeholders towards the low-carbon vision. Three key issues identified in the case study were discussed through the lens of critical systems thinking: (i) the need for new competencies, (ii) dealing with wickedness, and (iii) behavioural complexity and discordant reference systems. The paper suggests how these issues might be improved through the application of non-PSM theories which can support the use of PSMs in improving city-level climate change mitigation.Key Words: Problem structuring methods; problematisation; Boundary Critique; climate change mitigation; critical systems thinking IntroductionRecent decades have seen slow and insufficient progress on climate change mitigation -the reduction of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions to below a "safe" level, as recommended by climate science (Edenhofer et al. 2014). Climate change mitigation has been described as a "wicked" problem (Rittel 2There is much potential for cities to play an active role in climate change mitigation. A 40% reduction in carbon emissions from UK cities could be possible by 2020 just from investing in cost-effective lowcarbon technologies (Sullivan et al. 2013). City governments often control some of the key factors related to carbon emissions such as land use planning, building regulations, public transport, and waste management (Kousky & Schneider 2003). Across the world, cities are joining together to support each other in the goal of transitioning to a low-carbon future (for example, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (www.c40.org) and Local Governments for Sustainability (www.iclei.org)). In reality, however, low-carbon cities are difficult to achieve. A study of eight new-build eco-cities found that the idea of building smart, sustainable cities is still relatively new and unproven, with projects being To guide the reader through the rest of this paper, a brief description of the main sections follows:• Section 2, Background -Perspectives on Urban Climate Change Mitigation: A review of the literature on the nature of the problem of climate change mitigation at the city level, including barriers to mitigation, ideological perspectives from social science, and governance mechanisms that ha...

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Section: Interpretation Of the Reflective Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change and cities: problem structuring methods and critical perspectives on low-carbon districts

Freeman¹,

Yearworth²

2017

Energy Research & Social Science

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“…Various methodological designs have been proposed in applying CSH. It is now regularly used as an analytical framework to retrospectively explore and critique understandings of qualitative data (Donaires 2006;Gadsby et al 2022;Levin et al 2017;Tavella 2016). One of the benefits of this approach is the ease with which it can be applied -interviews need not adhere to CSH's boundary questions, and the research output is not dependent on the effectiveness with which boundary critique is practiced during data collection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Perspectives on Agroecological Transition in Scotland with Critical Systems Heuristics

Hutcheson,

Morton,

Blair

2023

Syst Pract Action Res

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Critical systems heuristics (CSH) is a framework that facilitates reflective practice in exploring and solving complex management problems. Several applications have demonstrated the utility of CSH for addressing problems concerning the environment and sustainability. As such, we apply CSH to explore perspectives on agroecological transition in Scotland. In interviews with 10 farmers, agricultural professionals, and researchers, we demonstrate the utility of boundary critique as a practice for unpacking the judgements that underpin perspectives on Scottish farming. Moreover, we derive a series of practical insights and recommendations to progress agroecological transition in Scotland, including: support for a greater diversity of farming systems; action across the entire food system to avoid ‘lock-ins’; improved tools to measure farming outcomes; and nuanced and precise conversations regarding the nature and purpose of agroecological farming. We hope that our accessible and transparent approach might encourage the uptake of CSH research among systems researchers and practitioners.

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“…Complexity arising from environmental challenges, multiple stakeholders across the supply chain, and technological innovation means such issues in agriculture are challenging to unpack and as such are well suited to exploration with CSH. Other notable areas in which multiple CSH studies have been conducted include health (Buse 2013;Gadsby et al 2022;O'Hara and Taylor 2023;Tavella 2023), public services (Flood and Jackson 1991;Johnstone and Tate 2017;Levin et al 2017;Torun and Torlak 2022), intervention design and evaluation (Hart and Paucar-Caceres 2014;Midgley 1997b;Ormerod 1997;Parrilla and Neyra Belderrain 2023), and technology (Donaires 2006;Duboc et al 2020;Loveridge and Saritas 2009;Raza et al 2019). Finally, several of the papers reviewed are not practical applications of the framework but contributions to theoretical and methodological discussions about CSH (Jackson 2001(Jackson , 2005Midgley 1997a;Ormerod 2004;Romm 1995;Ulrich 1993Ulrich , 2001Ulrich , 2003Ulrich , 2004Ulrich , 2012a.…”

Section: Problem Contextsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical Systems Heuristics: a Systematic Review

Hutcheson,

Morton,

Blair

2023

Syst Pract Action Res

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Critical systems heuristics (CSH) has been influential in the development of critical systems thinking. However, it is a relatively underutilised method compared with soft systems approaches such as soft systems methodology (SSM) and cognitive mapping. This may be in part due to the complexity of ideas underpinning CSH. Core ideas with which users must feel confident include boundary critique, coercion, emancipation, and “is” vs “ought to be” framings. These ideas were the subject of the early discourse surrounding CSH, which considered the role of boundary critique in systems research, the extent to which CSH could meaningfully address coercion, and the claims of CSH as an emancipatory approach. The purpose of this review is to provide clarity on these key concepts by reflecting on how they have been addressed in the CSH literature to date. We find that CSH has been applied in a range of problem contexts and is most frequently applied to address coercion or power asymmetries. CSH research is frequently associated with advocacy for marginalised groups, and we believe this is a natural extension of the methodological emancipation to which CSH aspires. In providing an overview of the key ideas underpinning CSH, we hope to lower the barrier to application for systems researchers and practitioners.

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A Critical Heuristic Approach to the Establishment of a Software Development Process

Cited by 8 publications

References 2 publications

Climate change and cities: problem structuring methods and critical perspectives on low-carbon districts

Climate change and cities: problem structuring methods and critical perspectives on low-carbon districts

Exploring Perspectives on Agroecological Transition in Scotland with Critical Systems Heuristics

Critical Systems Heuristics: a Systematic Review

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