Soft Systems Methodology in an Educational Context—Enhancing Students Perception and Understanding

Abstract

This study was performed within a graduate course in the Organizational Development and Consulting graduate program. The course draws a comparison between the systems analysis processes used in computing systems (hard systems) and the organizational analysis methodologies applied in soft systems, such as Checklands' Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). Since most students' previous academic experience is in social sciences, abstract concepts related to computing systems were difficult to comprehend. The SSM that is mainly used for unstructured and poorly defined problems was exercised for identifying the students' difficulties. Using SSM for analyzing the students' perceived learning system revealed their specific difficulties, while providing a real life example on using the methodology. After understanding the students' difficulties, the course structure was changed for better addressing these difficulties. This paper describes the course, the methodology and the results obtained after implementing the proposed changes to the course

Snail Meat Consumption in Buea, Cameroon: The Methodological Challenges in Exploring Its Public Health Risks

“…Inspired by the problem-solving approaches of Maqsood et al (2003), Yadin (2013) among others, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) was chosen for its capacity to structure and conceptualize complex human situations (Checkland & Poulter, 2006; Proches & Bodhanya, 2015). Maqsood et al (2003) presents five case studies dealing with confused situations involving humans and organizations, Yadin (2013) analyzed real life examples of students' perceived learning systems by revealing their specific difficulties. In contrast to hard systems where the problems can be well-defined with optimal solutions, SSM attempts to explore and appreciate problems using models of human activities in real-world situations where people act purposefully (Checkland & Poulter, 2006; Proches & Bodhanya, 2015).…”

“…“Soft” system thinking permitted an exploration of the erratic and unstructured nature of our obtained information, by moving from the real-world situation to a model system, then back to the real world. Inspired by the problem-solving approaches of Maqsood et al (2003), Yadin (2013) among others, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) was chosen for its capacity to structure and conceptualize complex human situations (Checkland & Poulter, 2006; Proches & Bodhanya, 2015). Maqsood et al (2003) presents five case studies dealing with confused situations involving humans and organizations, Yadin (2013) analyzed real life examples of students' perceived learning systems by revealing their specific difficulties.…”

Immersive Learning Design for Technology Education: A Soft Systems Methodology

“…SSM can capture stakeholders' perspectives while addressing the "hard" and "soft" aspects of the learning experience can facilitate the design and evolution of teaching modules in academic institutions. Yadin (2013) applied SSM to design an information systems course, while it was proved that students' perception and understanding were successfully enhanced. Most existing studies focus on the technological deployment for the typical immersive technologybased teaching, regardless of the management of change.…”

Sistem Pengembangan Asuransi Usaha Ternak Sapi/Kerbau di Provinsi Aceh

“…SSM sudah digunakan di berbagai bidang disiplin ilmu, seperti kesehatan (Augustsson et al 2019;Lame et al 2020), sistem informasi (Fountas et al 2015;Asadi 2020), seni dan budaya (Shahabi et al 2020), teknologi (Diaz-Parra et al 2014, manajemen (Liu et al 2012;Fadhil et al 2018), pendidikan (Yadin 2013;Kusumaningrum et al 2019), ekologi (Suriya & Mudgal 2013;Nguyen et al 2019), industri (Kang et al 2015;Karami et al 2020), pertanian (Prasetyaningtyas et al 2019;Papilo et al 2021), sumber daya manusia (Fadhil et al 2017), dan berbagai disiplin ilmu lainnya, termasuk bidang keilmuan pada ruang lingkup pertanian. SSM memiliki kemampuan untuk membuat kerangka kerja dalam proses memahami masalah yang dihadapi, bahkan masalah yang kompleks sekalipun (Daellenbach & McNickle 2005).…”