Evaluating soft OR: some reflections on an apparently 'unsuccessful' implementation using a Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) based approach

This paper reflects on a case study in which a soft OR problem structuring approach, based on Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), was used to help in the design of an information system for health service users providing care in the community in a part of the South and West Health Region in the UK. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Operational Research Society 2001-02, Vol.52 (2), p.150-160
Main Author: Connell, N A D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Case studies
Case-Oriented Papers
Cognitive models
Communities
Community structure
Computer science
control theory
systems
Epistemology
Exact sciences and technology
Health services
Information management
Information storage and retrieval systems
Information systems
Information systems. Data bases
Memory organisation. Data processing
Operational research and scientific management
Operational research. Management science
Operations research
OR practice
Quadrants
soft OR
soft systems methodology
Software
Subjectivity
systems evaluation
World view
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Summary:This paper reflects on a case study in which a soft OR problem structuring approach, based on Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), was used to help in the design of an information system for health service users providing care in the community in a part of the South and West Health Region in the UK. The paper reflects on why an apparently 'successful' structuring led to an apparently 'unsuccessful' implementation. As part of this reflective process, the paper makes a contribution to the soft OR literature by reviewing some of the approaches taken in the literature to the evaluation of success of problem structuring using soft OR. This review reveals a lack of evaluative criteria, a lack of clarity over the identification of users, and a failure to differentiate criteria associated with 'structuring' and 'implementation' issues. An evaluative framework is proposed, which is applied retrospectively to the case study.
ISSN:0160-5682
1476-9360
DOI:10.1057/palgrave.jors.2601054