An Idea Ahead of Its Time: The History and Development of Soft Systems Methodology

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Systemic Practice and Action Research, Vol. 13, No. 6, 2000

Received March 15, 2000This paper, part of the Festschrift for Peter Checkland, provides an outline of the

history and development of soft systems methodology. It includes a personal reflection

on my experiences of SSM, as well as a more objective evaluation of its achievements

and limitations.KEY WORDS: development of soft systems methodology; Peter Checkland; SSM.1. INTRODUCTIONThis paper appears in this special Festschrift edition of Systemic Practice and

Action Research to honor the work of Peter Checkland over 30 years in developing soft systems methodology (SSM). As such, it is permissible and indeed

highly appropriate that at least some of the paper is more personal than is usual,

reflecting on my own experiences of SSM and Peter himself, and the effect that

they have had on my intellectual development over the years. It is appropriate

both because I have been asked to address the theme of the history and development of SSM (and I have been personally involved since 1976) and because

I am sure that my own experiences are in many ways typical of a large number of others. So, this paper is organized into three main sectionsthe first a

personal reflection on SSM, the second a fairly descriptive account of its history and development, and the third a more objective attempt at evaluating its

importance, and its limitations.2. A PERSONAL REFLECTION ON SSMMy personal background, along with many adherents of SSM including

Peter himself, was basically scientific. My first degree (1972), at Warwick Uni-1 Warwick Business School, Warwick University, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. e-mail: j.mingers@

warwick.ac.uk. Fax: [phone].An Idea Ahead of Its Time: The History and

Development of Soft Systems MethodologyJohn Mingers17331094-429X/00/00/1200-0733$18.00/0 2000 Plenum Publishing Corporation734versity, was in Management Sciences and therein I specialized in operational

research (OR) and computing (although I also met for the first time systems

thinking). At the time, OR was a relatively new subject and I engaged wholeheartedly with its underlying premiseOR was the science of rational action.

In order to make a decision about some action, define the objective (usually

assumed to be minimizing costs or maximizing profits), collect relevant data,

build mathematical or computer models of the various options, and choose

the optimal one....