Socio-technical systems: From design methods to systems engineering

Abstract

a b s t r a c tIt is widely acknowledged that adopting a socio-technical approach to system development leads to systems that are more acceptable to end users and deliver better value to stakeholders. Despite this, such approaches are not widely practised. We analyse the reasons for this, highlighting some of the problems with the better known socio-technical design methods. Based on this analysis we propose a new pragmatic framework for socio-technical systems engineering (STSE) which builds on the (largely independent) research of groups investigating work design, information systems, computer-supported cooperative work, and cognitive systems engineering. STSE bridges the traditional gap between organisational change and system development using two main types of activity: sensitisation and awareness; and constructive engagement. From the framework, we identify an initial set of interdisciplinary research problems that address how to apply socio-technical approaches in a cost-effective way, and how to facilitate the integration of STSE with existing systems and software engineering approaches.

Advancing socio-technical systems thinking: A call for bravery

“…Socio-technical systems theory has achieved some success in helping inform the design of new technologies and technology-led change (e.g., Baxter & Sommerville, 2011). The principles have helped guide designers on the potential roles of users and on developing an understanding of how new technology may be used and integrated with existing (and planned) social systems (Mumford, 1983;Klein, 2005).…”

“…Socio-technical systems theory has enjoyed around 60 years of development and application internationally by both researchers and practitioners (e.g., Baxter & Sommerville, 2011;Carayon, 2006;Cherns, 1976Cherns, , 1987Clegg, 2000;Eason, 1988Eason, , 2007Mumford, 1983Mumford, , 2006Pasmore & King, 1978;Trist & Bamforth, 1951;van Eijnatten, 1997;Waterson, 2005). The over-arching philosophy, embracing the joint design and optimization of organizational systems (incorporating both social and technical elements), has maintained its practical relevance and has seen increasing recognition and acceptance by audiences outside the social sciences (Eason, 2008).…”

Ensuring resilience and agility of complex organizational-technical systems

“…Another difference is that the organizational and technical subsystems within an OTS are intermingles, whereas in socio-technical systems each of the constituent subsystems has rather clear borderlines despite their interrelation [4].…”

From Offshore Operation to Onshore Simulator: Using Visualized Ethnographic Outcomes to Work with Systems Developers

“…Thus, we argue that systems design should prioritize cooperative work practices. It is important to re-engineer maritime simulators to support the cooperative work of marine operators before they move into the real workspace [2,[28][29][30]. However, it is also important to note that systems developers in the maritime domain are systems architects, software engineers, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, and telecom engineers.…”