Soft Systems Methodology: A Context within a 50-Year Retrospective of Orms

Abstract

Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) has been used in the practice of Operations Research/ Management Science (OR/MS) since the early 70s. In the 90s it emerged as a viable academic discipline. Unfortunately, its proponents have articulated a dichotomy or mutual exclusivity between their approach and that of traditional systems thinking. This paper provides a concise statement of the claimed differences between the two; discusses the complimentarity of one to the other; provides an extensive sampling over the lifetime of OR/MS; demonstrating the rich non-SSM literature addressing the same issues as does SSM; and documents real-world studies that have simultaneously and productively used both approaches throughout time.

Keywords: Soft Systems Thinking, Soft OR, SST, SSM, Operations Research, Management Science, OR/MS