The entire situation can be viewed as though one is attempting to peel away impeding layers of an onion in an attempt to reach a solution embedded at its center. The first or outer layer to be peeled away is labeled "awakening." Once there is an awakening to the situation, the second layer, "awareness," appears. As awareness in depth is attained, the third layer, "strategy," must be dealt with.

When the strategy is developed, the next layer to be peeled away is "models" for how to implement the strategy. When specific complex problems are dealt with there will be certain "limits" not dealt with in general models that are impediments. The fifth layer consists of "insights into the limits and their vulnerabilities." At this point, the problem-solver is in position to be effective, but the sixth layer, "supporting environment," must yet be handled in order to create appropriate external conditions.

When all these layers are stripped away, it is possible that in spite of our best efforts we will find at the core that the complex problem has no solution. Our world offers no guarantees. It is an act of faith to work toward solutions of complex problems in the absence of guarantees that solutions exist. But in this respect complex problems are not different than any of millions of other challenges that face people in their daily lives.

The strategy will have four components. Two of the four components involve framebreaking and re-modeling, conceived to be implemented in one way for preparatory institutions and in another for practitioner organizations. A third component of strategy involves participative design, and stresses, in its application that there should be specific provision for overcoming all relevant members of a set of limiting factors, known to be vulnerable to particular design tactics. A fourth component of strategy stresses the institutionalization of interactive management in both kinds of organizations.

The models that are developed to enable wide implementation of the strategy will be sufficiently definitive that they provide ample basis for learning both what to do and what not to do to promote complex problem solving, and will be informed by an array of contrasting possibilities for change.

Hopefully, through the application of the models in organizations, society can find success in the struggle to achieve a more humane, more effective, and less threatening human environment.

In the Appendix, the seven Consensus Methodologies are presented as tools for implementation of problem-solving strategies.

Christakis, A. N. "Planning, Design, and Implementation: The Sigma Five Strategy." Presented at the 1983 New Towns Conference, Cairo, Egypt, April 17. Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia. (1983). 28 p. [IASIS 83/005]

Human settlement planning, design and implementation of action represents a complex situation. The methodological approach applicable to human settlement design must differ drastically from that of the traditional rationalistic approach, and as such it raises severe challenges to some of our most common and well accepted conceptions underlying the meaning of science. The Interactive Management paradigm and the "Sigma 5" strategy have evolved over the last ten years with the explicit capacity to support group activity in the participative design of complex systems, such as human settlements. One of the principal ideas behind this strategy is that it is not meaningful to transfer case studies among different national entities, but instead to transfer the generic process of design.

Warfield, J. N. "Principles of Interactive Management." Proc. 1983 International Conference on Cybernetics and Society, Bombay and New Delhi. December 30, 1983-January 7, 1984. IEEE, New York. (1983). 46-750. [IASIS 84/014]

Interactive Management (IM) is a component to be added to the theory and practice of management. It is possibly the first system of management decision making (MDM) even to be consciously designed around a comprehensive concept of MDM (in this instance, the one set forth by H.A. Simon over twenty years ago). Theoretical contributions from relevant disciplines have been incorporated and integrated in the design of IM, with emphasis on a studied balance of technical and human concerns.

Designed to be used as an aid in resolving complex problems and issues, it has been applied in real management situations involving such problems. Anecdotal evaluations indicate that it is clearly superior to management methods applied in the past in comparable situations.

Interactive Management stresses balanced attention to content, problem-solving context, and problem-solving processes, to carry out MDM operation of intelligence, design and choice. By including design, IM is distinguished from narrower "management science" concepts the deal only with what Simon called "final choice." The MDM activities flowing out of the use of IM add significantly to management effectiveness, and thereby contribute to the building of an effective society served by that management.

Interactive Management is carried out largely through the careful design and conduct of "Sigma Five" meetings. Such meetings are designed to maximize the integrative benefits of the five types of meeting components: informed participants, a highly-trained facilitator, the computer and peripherals, a specifically designed situation room, and a set of Consensus Methodologies chosen to match numerous selection criteria.

The discussion of IM is organized around a set of eighteen Principles. These furnish the rationale for the design, development, and application of IM.

Warfield, J. N. "Progress in Interactive Management." Proc. Sixth Intnl. Congress, World Organization - General Systems and Cybernetics. Paris. September 9-15. Association Française pour la Cybernétique Economique et Technique (AFECT), Paris, France. (1984). XXIX-XXXV. [IASIS 84/015]

Interactive Management is a formalized, tested system of management that can be found installed in several organizations. It is an advanced form of participative management that incorporates the best available mix of technical, behavioral, and organizational knowledge, as applied to problem-solving and decision-making groups. Designed to be responsive to major criticism of common management practices, it incorporates both theoretical and empirical research results. It has evolved over a ten-year development period into a formidable means of dealing with complex issues and problems form a management perspective. Installation in organizations should be preceded by specialized facilitator training and the construction of an appropriate physical working environment.

Wood, W. C. and Christakis, A. N. "A Methodology for Conducting Futures-Oriented Workshops." Technological Forecasting and Social Change 26. (1984). 281-297. [IASIS 84/017]

The design and implementation of a planning partnership between a state natural resource agency and some of its stakeholders required adoption of a planning process framework compatible with interactive planning. Specifically, by combining four interactive planning methods, it was possible to develop a methodology for the design and implementation of futures-oriented citizen workshops. The participative methodology is capable of explicating the discrepancy between a probable future for a region of a state, as conceived by the state agency, and a desirable future, as conceived by 23 area citizens. The information from the workshops provides policy orientation and specific content for socially and regionally sensitive strategic and programmatic plans. The four methods used are Nominal Group Technique, Interpretive Structural Modeling, Options Field and Options Profile Method and Field Anomaly Relaxation.

Christakis, A. N. "Participative Technology Assessment." In Technology Assessment Proc. 9th Science Symposia, Lois Beaver (Ed.). Food and Drug Administration. Washington, D.C. (1985). 29-43. [IASIS 84/019]

The Technology Assessment (TA) movement emerged in the United States during the early 1970's and has been evolving ever since. Its evolution has been hampered by a variety of political, technical and methodological barriers.

Some of these barriers are strongly coupled to the lack of a capability to design and conduct participative TA's. Recent developments in the theory and practice of Interactive Management (IM) have made it possible for the practitioners of TA to overcome this fundamental barrier and to practice participative TA with the involvement of the relevant and interested stockholders.

Broome, B. J. and Keever, D. B. "Facilitating Group Communication: The Interactive Management Approach." Presented to the annual convention of the Eastern Communi-cation Association, Atlantic City, New Jersey. April 23-26, (1986). [IASIS 85/017]

This paper describes some of the major communication problems associated with the task of complex problem-solving by groups. Interactive Management is introduced as a means for overcoming these major communication problems through five synergistic components.

Broome, B. M. and Keever, D. B. "Next Generation Group Facilitation: Proposed Principles." Management Communication Quarterly 3:1. (August 1989). 107-127. [IASIS 89/011]

This article suggests that the effectiveness of group problem solving using facilitated processed appears to have reached an intellectual and methodological plateau. The time has come to move our thinking about group facilitation research and practice beyond this "plateau." Warfield's (1986) Domain of Science Model is seen as providing the appropriate frame from which to construct a new set of principles for group facilitation. These principles are set forth for designing an approach to facilitation of communication in problem-solving groups that is appropriate for dealing with the increasingly complex problems characteristic of today's organizations.

Warfield, J. N. A Science of Generic Design: Managing Complexity Through Systems Design. Intersystems Publications. Salinas, California. (1990). 610 p. [IASIS 90/004]

This book presents a science of generic design and the justification for and application of the science.

The book is in four parts: (1) Justification, in which the need for such a science is discussed, along with the philosophical and scientific basis for developing the science; (2) Presentation, in which the science is exhibited; organized into foundations, theory, and methodology; (3) Application, in which numerous case studies of its use are described, and (4) Amplification, in which additional aspects of the science and its teaching are discussed. The aim of the book is to offer a tested means to manage complexity, through systems design founded in sound scientific thinking.

Warfield, J. N. and Hill, J.D. "The DELTA Chart: A Method for R&D Project Portrayal." IEEE Trans. Eng. Mgt. EM-18:4. (November 1971). 132-139. [IASIS 71/002]

Flow charts and network methods are vital tools used to facilitate clear concise planning and scheduling of large projects. The limited flexibility and vocabulary of existing tools do not allow the flexibility required for planning and depicting research and development (R&D) projects. DELTA charts described in this paper have been designed to incorporate not only events and activities but also decision and logic functions that enable representation of alternative approaches and feedback paths, both of which are essential in R&D project planning.

A precise syntax for the DELTA chart components is defined in order to make them capable of presenting a clear precise picture that is self-explanatory to a wide audience.

Two examples of DELTA charts are presented, the first of which is a DELTA chart that indicates the procedure for making a DELTA chart.

Warfield, J. N. "Intent Structures." IEEE Trans. Syst, Man and Cybern. SMC-3:2. (March 1973). 133-140. [IASIS 73/006]

The process of goal formation is presently inefficient--suffering form neglect, confusion of nomenclature, problems of group dynamics, and other difficulties. Intent structures furnish a practical mechanism for use in individual or group formation of goals. Such structures can become a kind of portrait of an organization, characterizing it much more effectively than an organization chart. Intent structures can also serve as a basis for managing complex system programs. Examples of intent structures are given which relate to education and new city design.

Warfield, J. N. "On Arranging Elements of a Hierarchy in Graphic Form." IEEE Trans. Syst., Man and Cybern. SMC-3:2. (March 1973). 121-132. [IASIS 73/007]

Hierarchies are fundamental in the study of many kinds of complex systems. Methods are presented that assist in the development of hierarchy or a set of hierarchies. Once the element set and the relations among the elements are established, the rationalizing procedure presented allows computer determination of how many separate hierarchies are represented by the relations among the elements. An example of the rationalization process is given. Two methods--the element method and the level method--are given for developing a hierarchy for a connected subordination matrix. Each method is illustrated with an example.

Warfield, J. N. "Crossing Theory and Hierarchy Mapping." IEEE Trans. Syst., Man and Cybern. SMC-7:7. (July 1977). 505-523. [IASIS 77/013]

Techniques are introduced which are applicable to machine construction of digraph maps. These techniques are oriented toward reduction of the number of crossings in a map as a means of improving the readability of hierarchical structures. Permuting, psi-factoring, rotating, twirling, and absorbing are among the techniques considered. Examples are given to illustrate these techniques. When these and related procedures are fully developed for use with machine-interactive processes, they will facilitate group modeling efforts.

Warfield, J. N. "Complimentary Relations and Map Reading." IEEE Trans. Syst., Man, and Cybern. SMC-10:6. (June 1980). 285-291. [IASIS 80/023]

When a group has applied the interpretive structural modeling process to develop a map of a theme or issue, they typically inspect visually the map they have produced to see whether it is intuitively satisfactory. While this practice is useful and may play a role in map amendment, a more thorough approach is recommended. The working space of the map consists of the ordered element pairs belonging to the Cartesian product S X S, where S is the set of elements modeled through a contextual relation represented by a binary relation R. In a systematic modeling effort it is desirable to establish the completeness of the relation R without requiring mathematical sophistication on the part of the modeling group. (If R is not complete, only part of the knowledge germane to the working space is embedded in the model.) Moreover, some of the useful knowledge content of the working space may only be implicit in R. If the modeling group is to take full advantage of the knowledge embedded in a map, it is essential that the group understand a systematic procedure for reading maps. Such a procedure is presented, and it is postulated that the group knows how to use it. A method is then developed whereby a computer can generate, from a knowledge of R, two additional maps (one of which can be null in special cases) such that: (a) if R is complete, the group can determine this by reading the additional maps and can read all of the knowledge content of the working space from the map of R and two additional maps, or (b) if R is not complete, the group can be cued by the computer to supply the additional information required to establish completeness of R. With the aid of this method, it is shown that the entire content of the working space can be read from the final set of (at most) three maps for each primary relation R being explored.

Warfield, J. N. "Organizations and Systems Learning." With an Appendix: The Consensus Methodologies. General Systems XXVII. (1982). 5-74. [IASIS 83/016]

Everyone has an obligation to help enhance the human environment. Some elect to discharge this obligation by working in a problem-solving mode. Opportunities come to them disguised as problems. Problems, uncovered, are seen as opportunities and are mapped into challenges. This is how the seeds of innovation are planted.

Large, complex problems map into large and complex challenges. Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety tells us that problem variety must be matched with variety in our philosophy and methods.

The organization is the arena in which complex problems are attacked. Systems learning in our preparatory institutions offers an opportunity to gain the capacity to join the battle.

The capacity and vision of people working through practitioner organizations, subject to the organizational environment, carrying out systems learning in that environment, and translating that learning to action represent society's primary resources for solving complex problems.

Few organizations are meeting the challenges. Most of our preparatory institutions and most of our practitioner organizations are not positioned to be effective in working on complex problems.

First, there must be an awakening to the existence of the complex problems as distinguished from normal problems. Some of our most brilliant scholars have recognized the existence of complex problems. Scholars have described them as "double-loop problems," "horizontal problems," "immensely complex problems," "messes," "unprogrammable decisions," and "wicked problems."

Studies show that public understands the failure of the hierarchical organizations to deal with the complex problems. Extensive networking reflects spontaneous public attempts to find ways to cope with such problems.

Sensitive awareness of the situation is required to begin to uncover the subtle aspects. Scholars have pursued the situation aggressively to extract the essential features, to illuminate the reasons for failures, and to suggest ways for correcting deficiencies.

Factors that are impeding progress include the following:

The entire situation can be viewed as though one is attempting to peel away impeding layers of an onion in an attempt to reach a solution embedded at its center. The first or outer layer to be peeled away is labeled "awakening." Once there is an awakening to the situation, the second layer, "awareness," appears. As awareness in depth is attained, the third layer, "strategy," must be dealt with.

When the strategy is developed, the next layer to be peeled away is "models" for how to implement the strategy. When specific complex problems are dealt with there will be certain "limits" not dealt with in general models that are impediments. The fifth layer consists of "insights into the limits and their vulnerabilities." At this point, the problem-solver is in position to be effective, but the sixth layer, "supporting environment," must yet be handled in order to create appropriate external conditions.

(When all these layers are stripped away, it is possible that in spite of our best efforts we will find at the core that the complex problem has no solution. Our world offers no guarantees. It is an act of faith to work toward solutions of complex problems in the absence of guarantees that solutions exist. But in this respect complex problems are not different than any of millions of other challenges that face people in their daily lives.)

The strategy will have four components. Two of the four components involve framebreaking and remodeling, conceived to be implemented in one way for preparatory institutions and in another for practitioner organizations. A third component of strategy involves participative design, and stresses, in its application, that there should be specific provision for overcoming all relevant members of a set of limiting factors, known to be vulnerable to particular design tactics. A fourth component of strategy stresses the institutionalization of Interactive Management in both kinds of organizations.

The models that are developed to enable wide implementation of the strategy will be sufficiently definitive that they provide ample basis for learning both what to do and what not to do to promote complex problem solving, and will be informed by an array of contrasting possibilities for change.

Hopefully, through the application of the models in organizations, society can find success in the struggle to achieve a more humane, more effective, and less threatening human environment.

In the Appendix, the seven Consensus Methodologies are presented, as tools for implementation of problem-solving strategies.

Warfield, J. N. "A Role for Values in Educational System Design." Proc. 1980 IEEE Conference on Cybernetics and Systems. Boston, Massachusetts. October 7-9. IEEE, New York. (1980). 234-241. [IASIS 80/028]

A common complaint in social system research and design is that values are not made explicit. In designing an educational system for carrying out environmental education, it is possible to make explicit values that bear on decisions. To achieve this the educational system is represented by a set for structural models, several of which require reference to values. One model identifies decision making levels in the educational system and another identifies major types of decisions relative environmental education.

A consistent set of values is introduced directly form the educational philosophy of Ralph Baton Perry. The use of values from a professional philosopher helps assure that an educational system design is consistent with long-term concerns and that designer bias is minimized. Also the quality of expression of values is enhanced because of the scholarly orientation from philosophy.

Warfield, J. N. "Selecting Participation Methodologies for Systems Design." Proc. 1983 International Conference on Cybernetics and Society, Bombay and New Delhi. December 30, 1983-January 7, 1984. IEEE, New York. (1983). 762-764. [IASIS 84/016]

Participative design can be carried out effectively. To make this possible requires a combination of factors, one of which is adequate methodology to support participation. In order to make good selections from the large variety of methodologies that are being recommended for participative activity, it is necessary to develop, refine, and apply selection criteria. A set of criteria for making good selections is presented.

Warfield, J. N. "Structural Analysis of a Computer Language." Proc. 17th Annual Southeastern Symposium on Systems Theory, Auburn, Alabama. March 24-26, 1985. IEEE, New York. (1985) 129-234. [IASIS 85/008]

One of several reasons for the high cost of maintenance of computer software lies in the complexity of the computer language. To explore language complexity, a study was carried out on the design of the language ALGOL 60, from the point of view of several laws of design, to see whether this language shows any sensitivity to what is known about good design. The results of this study indicate that ALGOL 60 is not designed well, in terms of fundamental generic design principles, even though it may be appealing to specialists. As a precursor to several of today's popular procedural languages, conclusions that apply to ALGOL 60 can be examined in terms of more recently designed languages, to shed more light on the quality of computer language design. If standards for computer language are ever formalized, it is recommended that the Backus-Naur form be augmented by mandatory graphic representations that show the structural features of the languages.

Warfield, J. N. "On the Choice of Frames for Systems Studies." Proc. 1985 International Congress for General Systems Research, Annual Meeting of SGSR, Los Angeles. May 27-31. Vol. I. Intersystems Publications. Seaside, California. (1985). 294-299. [IASIS 85/007]

Every system study should have an articulated frame. The choice of a frame is significant in terms of the scope and interpretation of the results for the study. Yet publications often appear in which there is no articulated frame, and no apparent connection to the accumulated body of knowledge.

While there is wide latitude in the conceptualizing of candidate frames for systems studies, the imposition of natural constraints eliminates many of these frames from further consideration. Moreover if one adopts certain discipline upon the report of the study that is tailored to serve a potential audience, the Freedom to Frame is further constrained.

A variation of Popper's Three Worlds idea provides a basis for framing, and with that basis one can consider three other frames as candidates for a great many systems studies.

Warfield, J. N. "Developing a Design Culture in Higher Education: Some Laws and Principles of Design." General Systems XXX. (1987). 63-68. [IASIS 85/006]

The sciences and the humanities are well established as two cultures in the universities. Now we need to build a third culture in the universities focused on design. The design culture must be built on the existing foundation provided by the sciences and humanities. However, it is required that design be seen as a distinct culture.

We live in an age of design, where survival depends on design, and where the quality of life depends on the quality of design.

Presently design is largely undisciplined in the large, though often heavily constrained in the small. We need to totally restructure our thinking about design. It should often be a group process, tailored to respect for three design laws. The Options-Field, Options-Profile Method already provides a process basis for design which has been sufficiently tested to show that it will function well. Designed to accommodate the three design Laws, this process will surely provide a sufficient basis for initiating a design culture and starting its evolution into its ultimate form.

Bishop, R. A. and Christakis, A. N. "The DELTA Chart Portrayal of the Generic Design Methodology." Presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Society for Cybernetics, Virginia Beach, Virginia. February 20-23, (1986). [IASIS 86/017]

Generic Design Methodology (GDM) has been developed explicitly to enable a design team to cooperate in the participative design of complex systems. The application of GDM entails a variety of activities, actors, roles and decision points, making it difficult to convey through prose alone. The DELTA chart provides a powerful graphic means for portraying: (a) the actors responsible for specific roles, and (b) the sequence of activities, decisions, and the associated logic. Thus, it is the ideal framework for the presentation for GDM.

A four-level hierarchy of design ideas has been defined as a "Quad." This hierarchy is based on an inclusion relationship and refers to the relative generality for specificity of each level. In the first level (the most general) there appears only one element: the "Object Design" which is a generic name for whatever is to be the object of the design effort. The fourth level for the Quad (the most specific) contains the Design Options, those choices that could be made in carrying out the work leading to the Object Design.

The Quad itself can be used as an element of hierarchy of Quads. This hierarchy is also based on an inclusion relationship with the topmost Quad being the most general. The number of levels in this hierarchy of Quads depends on the particular design situation. Different actors can be mobilized for design hierarchy of Quads. The choice of actors depends on: (a) their knowledge-base, and (b) their availability in terms of time. The overall strategy for building the hierarchy of Quads is portrayed in the DELTA chart.

Warfield, J. N. "Education in Generic Design." Proc. of the 1986 International Conference of the Society for General Systems Research, Philadelphia. May 26-30. Intersystems Publications. Salinas, California. (1986). H46-H59. [IASIS 86/005]

Education in design can be organized around a separation of design into generic design and specific design. Specific design is practiced in various professions, and characterized by the use of methodology that is very limited in scope, being restricted to a class of applications found within an academic discipline. Generic design provides a conceptual basis for any design, thus, when taught early in a college curriculum, gives unity to design as an academic subject and lays the basis for specific design in any discipline. In order to offer such education, a reconceptualization of design is necessary, along the lines discussed. The reconceptualization is based on a concept of a domain of science that includes a Foundation, Theory, Methodology, and a class of Applications. Harmonizing and integrating these four subdomains gives the basis for content of and environment for carrying out education in generic design.

Christakis, A. N. "The Cosmology of Design." Proc. of the International Conference of the Society for General Systems Research, Philadelphia. May 26-30. Intersystems Publications. Salinas, California. (1986). H1-H14. [IASIS 86/015]

A theory of design has been developed leading to methodology for generic design, including roles and applications. The theory is based on a reconceptualization of design, developed from fundamentals. The fundamentals include a new cosmology capable of doing away with the dualistic attitude towards the cosmos. The new cosmology partitions the cosmos into three blocks: (a) the "Library" containing everything that is recorded, (b) the "Phaneron" containing the collective thoughts and ideas, and (c) the "Residue" containing whatever is left in the universe. The merging of the descriptive and prescriptive science pathways is made transparent on the basis of the cosmic partition. The importance of the "Phaneron" in generic design activity is also made explicit. Generic design is perceived as a cooperative social venture--not an individual affair. The venture of global peace is explored as an example of how the new cosmology and the Generic Design Theory and Methodology can be applied to this critical topic of evolutionary vision.

Warfield, J. N. "A Typology of Law." Presented at the Annual Meeting of The American Society for Cybernetics, Virginia beach, Virginia. February 20-23, (1986). 13 p. [IASIS 86/018]

The question of what makes a law legitimate is explored in a comprehensive context. The classical image of a law is too narrow to permit adequate usage of this term. By exploring various characteristics of laws, it is concluded that the term "law" can be thought to include both physical laws and legislative laws or even "common law," since there are certain essential characteristics that all these terms share. On the other hand, physical laws typically can be distinguished from other forms in terms of the care with which the context of the law is developed. The Domain of Science Model offers a general form for such contexts.

In contrast to what some might believe, laws can be either descriptive or prescriptive in this more encompassing context, and the question of how to evaluate them is resolved by noting the particular role that laws play in the large context of a Domain of Science.

Certain fields such as design involve laws that are largely prescriptive in nature. Nevertheless these prescriptive laws can be legitimized in precisely the same way as descriptive laws; namely by recognizing the position of laws within a Domain of Science, and the various purposes that must be met by the key elements of such a Domain. In the final analysis, laws are legitimized by their relevance in applications, and thus by practitioners who grapple with real world situations.

Warfield, J. N. "Dimensionality." Proc. 1986 International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Atlanta, Georgia. October 14-17. Vol. 2. IEEE, New York. (1986). 1118-1121. [IASIS 86/003]

New definitions of "dimension" and "dimensionality" are set forth that dominate older definitions. Among the benefits of the new interpretations of these terms are: greater effectiveness in describing and understanding systems, ability to accommodate quantitative and qualitative factors in the same framework, and the possibility of disciplining the design and management of complex systems, to avoid calamities of the type that occur too frequently in modern society.

Christakis, A. N., Keever, D. B. and Warfield, J. N. "Development of Generalized Design Theory and Methodology." Presented to the National Science Foundation Workshop on Design Theory and Methodology. February (1987). [IASIS 88/014]

This paper recapitulates conceptual thinking and practical applications of a generalized design theory and methodology which have been spanning almost ten years. Four major themes are discussed: A Domain Model for the Evolution of a Design Science; Building Design Theories; Generalizability and Design Activities; and the Dimensionality of a Design Situation.

Warfield, J. N. "What Disciplines Large Scale System Design?" Proc. of the 1987 Conference on Planning and Design in Management of Business and Organizations, Boston. August 17-20. P. C. Nutt (Ed.). Bk. No. 100240. Amer. Soc. Mechanical Engineers. New York. (1987). 1-8. [IASIS 87/010]

The incidence of large system failures that involve (a) substantive loss of life, or (b) substantial waste of financial resources, or (c) great human anguish, or (d) all of the above is growing at a pace that threatens communities, nations, and possibly civilization. The extreme impact of such failures warrants an exploration of the question: what disciplines large-scale system design?

The very existence of massive design failures allows us to infer that current practice is not working. Therefore behavior needs to be changed. The change in behavior that is desired is a reordering of the priority structure that disciplines design.

The set of elements disciplining large-scale system design today can be at least larger in size by three than the set that can be inferred from reading Greek mythology. Nonetheless the same three elements (situation, design target, and process) dominate the design approach today.

In light of the failures all around us, there is a need to reorder the priority structure that disciplines design in order that standards of behavior, history of critical incidents, and insight into human limitations affecting designer ability take precedence over design situation, target, and process.

Warfield, J. N. "Implications of Scale for System Design." Proc. of the Annual Meeting of the International Society for General Systems Research, Budapest, Hungary. June 1-5, 1987. ISGSR, Budapest. (1987). 1205-1211. [IASIS 87/007]

Prevailing practice in large-scale system design implies the acceptance of certain unreasonable beliefs. These include: (a) practices that are useful in ordinary-scale design readily extrapolate to large-system designs, (b) what is important in design is professional territory, and (c) design practice does not need to reflect any human mental limitations such as bounded rationality stemming from a modest span of immediate recall.

Nevertheless, there is abundant evidence that these beliefs are invalid, and must be replaced entirely by a new set of beliefs that is responsive both to experience and to scientific knowledge.

Specifically, large-scale design typically involves sociotechnical systems, not just technical systems; the economics, the consequences of failure, the cognitive burden, the role of science, and the ethical basis are all different.

The increasing and highly publicized series of financial and casualty-producing incidents involving large-scale systems should be teaching us that we must begin at once to develop standards for large-scale system design, to test these over time against experience, and ultimately to strive for world-wide legislation to promote responsible design and protect humanity against the evils of prevailing practice.

Warfield, J. N., and Christakis, A. N. "Dimensionality." Systems Research 4:2. (1987). 127-137. [IASIS 87/003]

New definitions of "dimensionality" and "dimension" are set forth that dominate older definitions. Dominance means not that older interpretations are violated, but that the sense of the new interpretation extends substantially the sense of older interpretations, thereby opening up the use of the term in a much broader class of situations.

Among the benefits of the new interpretation of dimensionality are: greater understanding of situations, greater effectiveness in describing situations, more lucid descriptions, better system design, substantive cross-discipline problem-solving activities that cannot now be carried out in a common framework, and the potential for a more coherent community of scholars.

Warfield, J. N. "Dual-Basis Design." Presented at the International Congress on Planning and Design Theory, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Boston, Massachusetts. August 17-20, (1987). 10 p. [IASIS 87/004]

Dual-basis design is a response to those shortcomings in the science and practice of design which are illustrated by prevailing practices in large system design, and by frequent catastrophic failures in these systems.

Among the primary shortcomings are underconceptualization both of design science and design practice; the latter both in its management and its professional state. An upgrading in these areas (already completed through a first iteration) will make possible the application of "due process" in design, providing a basis for identifying and monitoring responsible management practices. This may, over time, lead to substantial improvements in practice, which will lead to better designs, lower rate of catastrophic design failures, better correlation of outcomes of designs with situational requirements, and elimination of much of the waste that currently characterizes large system designs.

Warfield, J. N. "On the Design of Language for System Design." Cybernetics and Systems, R. Trappl (Ed.). Kluwer, Dordrecht. (1988). 133-140. [IASIS 88/003]

The human being, language, and reasoning are Universal Priors to all science for without any one of these there could be no science. The quality of any science is sensitive to how the strengths and weaknesses of these three are managed in developing the science. Today there is a need for a language for a science of system design that parallels the continuing need for a language of science in general (first set forth by Leibniz). A language for system design is especially needed to promote the development of high quality in the area of large scale system design. Better designs at lower costs are needed, along with documentation for those designs to serve a variety of purposes. Languages can be constructed from basic language types. Each of the seven basic types is suited to a particular function that is valuable in design work. Design of language requires familiarity with structural forms of language, as these allow critical comparisons to be made among proposed languages and provide steering for language design. To see how language can be organized to serve best the purposes of design, one needs to view design science as involving: (a) specific design science, (b) generic design science, and (c) general design science. Each of these three component types of science has its own needs and steering requirements.

Warfield, J. N. "Criteria for a Science of Design." Proc. 19th Annual Pittsburgh Conference on Modeling and Simulation. May 5-6, 1988. Instrument Society of America. Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. (1988). 643-646. [IASIS 88/001]

Development of a science of design can be based largely on four encompassing criteria. These are: (1) Design science should be organized for Referential Transparency, (2) Design science should overtly incorporate the Universal priors, especially in the Foundations, (3) Steering of the blocks for the design science should be a major component of the science, and (4) Representations in the design science should reflect thorough recognition of the Universal Priors. In this respect, situational and design target dimensionality as presented in its new interpretations should be dealt with formally, in order to make the representations functional throughout the design process, in implementation, and in application of the design target to human activity.

Warfield, J. N. "The Magical Number Three - Plus or Minus Zero." Cybernetics and Systems: An International Journal 19. (1988). 339-358. [IASIS 87/009]

Research by Miller (1956) and Simon (1974) shed light on limitations of human beings in carrying out various operations on information. Both authors concluded that the span of immediate recall of people is in the range between five and nine, Simon concluding that it is closer to five than to nine. Both authors approached the issues through results of experimentation on human subjects, and neither connected any of the work to ideas from a mathematical logic having to do with the organization of information. Although this prior work was of considerable significance, the full significance of the work will never be recognized until it is possible to relate it to human performance in such society-steering roles as those filled by powerful mangers, designers of large systems, and public opinion-makers, for the purpose of improving significantly the quality of what they do. The work of Simon and Miller is reinterpreted here from the perspective of mathematical logic, with special emphasis on means of structuring information using the lattice as the organizing unit. Two different types of lattice are examined, and their connection to human capacity to integrate information and make decisions is interpreted in the light of the work of Simon and Miller. It is concluded that there are substantive reasons for viewing three as the magical number, especially in system design theory.

Warfield, J. N. "Design Science: Experience in Teaching Large System Design." Proc. ASEE 1989 Annual Conference, Lincoln, Nebraska. June 25-30. American Society of Engineering Education. Washington, D.C. (1989). 39-41. [ IASIS 89/003]

In a series of activities extending from the year 1968, my colleagues and I have developed a Science of Generic Design. It has been applied and tested using a management system called Interactive Management. A brief overview of this system is gained through a concept called Sigma-Five, which refers to the five principal components that are necessary in order to practice Interactive Management. These factors are: a group of participants who are informed about an issue which is the focus of the work, a set of "Consensus Methodologies," a computer with associated software under the control of an operator who serves the group, a specially-designed situation room called "Demosophia" (wisdom of the people), and an individual called the "Pilotos": a person who has attained certain specific knowledge and experience, as a consequence of education and training in Generic Design Science and in the practice of Interactive Management. (Extensive literature is available concerning the foregoing. Information concerning it can be obtained from the author.)

During the past ten years, about a dozen college classes have been taught involving the Generic Design Science by the author or his closest associates. Other classes involving the material have been taught at other locations. This paper will report only on that particular subset of these classes which was team taught, with the author presenting the lectures and directing the class, and with his colleagues managing the group decision activity in the Demosophia.

Warfield, J. N. "A Course in Generic Design." In Projektowanie i Systemy (Design and Systems), Wojciech Gasparski (Ed.). Polish Academy of Sciences. Warsaw. (1990). [IASIS 87/002]

A course in generic design has been offered on three occasions. The course offers substantial economy of scale in teaching design, while providing numerous pedagogical benefits. It is based on a reconceptualization of design, developed from fundamentals. Theory of generic design leads to methodology for generic design, then into roles and applications. A specially designed laboratory, equipped to support the other components of the design process, enhances efficient, effective group work. Students emerge from such a course well prepared for learning to carry out specific design in a very wide variety of disciplines and professions.

Warfield, J. N. "Presuppositions." Cybernetics and Systems '90. R. Trappl, (Ed.). World Publishing. Singapore. (1990) [IASIS 90/003]

It is hypothesize that a significant percentage of the failures of large systems is caused by underconceptualization of the designs of these systems. This hypothesis incorporates both those systems that are formally designed and those which are commonly thought just to be evolving, since the latter also are designed, though the design is uncoordinated. This view does not imply that there exists even one large system whose performance is completely determined by a design process. Rather it applies to that portion of the design that is a consequence of human decision-making, whether or not such activity is formally described as design.

Behind underconceptualizations, one finds a contributory hypothesis; that such underconceptualization is a consequence of "bases," which are of two types. One type consists of suppositions that are consciously acknowledged and articulated. The other type consists of presuppositions that are unconsciously held, hence are not part of the articulate verbal repertoires of the designers. Much, though not necessarily all, human behavior originates from such bases.

While the bases (suppositions and presuppositions) may act collectively, the presuppositions are potentially the most dangerous of the two types because they go unrecognized by the holder of them. In the absence of any process that stimulates the emergence of these presuppositions, or which otherwise acts to make them part of the conscious mind of the designer, they may be responsible not only for major design disasters, but also for the propagation of belief that stems from them into the acts of other designers or into broader social contexts. The behaviors that these presuppositions may engender can be emulated by less-experienced actors, whereupon their impact may go well beyond the sphere of the particular designer who holds the presuppositions.

Some of the presuppositions that appear to be at work in the design of large-scale systems are identified. It is argued that the recently-developed science of generic design, when applied to steer design processed, will help disable erroneous or inadequate presuppositions during the design process, thereby helping to avoid potentially disastrous impacts of underconceptualized, large-scale, invasive systems.

Warfield, J. N. A Science of Generic Design: Managing Complexity Through Systems Design. Intersystems Publications. Salinas, California. (1990). 610 p. [IASIS 90/004]

This book presents a science of generic design and the justification for and application of the science.

This book is in four parts: (1) Justification, in which the need for such a science is discussed, along with the philosophical and scientific basis for developing the science; (2) Presentation, in which the science is exhibited; organized into foundations, theory and methodology; (3) Application, in which numerous case studies of its use are described; and (4) Amplification, in which additional aspects of the science and its teaching are discussed.

The aim of the book is to offer a tested means to manage complexity, through systems design founded in sound scientific thinking.

Christakis, A. N. "The National Forum on Nonindustrial Private Forest Lands." Systems Research 2:3. (1985) 189-199. [IASIS 85/002]

A National Forum for Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners was convened by Secretary John B. Crowell, Jr., of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in St. Louis, Missouri from 31 October to 3 November 1983. Using the Interactive Management approach, an Agenda was designed, whereby the Forum would be conducted with the specific intent to achieve consensus on a wide variety of issues, and to ensure ample opportunity for the Participants to make their views heard. In view of the fact that there were 160 Participants, of whom about 20 were designated Active Participants, the achievements of this Forum, reported in this paper, were remarkable. The Active Participants were engaged directly in the identification, structuring, and resolution of public policy issues confronting the Forestry Community, while the Supportive Participants were able to observe the facilitated discourse by means of TV monitors dispersed throughout the conference room. Numerous caucuses were held, whereby Supportive Participants gave their views to the Active Participants. One of the most positive and productive outcomes of the Forum was the engagement, for the first time, of the various segments of the Forestry community in collecting ideas on problems and opportunities, developing options for realizing those opportunities, and deciding who should act on those opportunities.

Christakis, A. N. "High Technology Participative Design: The Space-Based Laser." General Systems XXX. (1987). 69-75. [IASIS 85/018]

The arena of high-technology design is inherently complex. It requires a variety of inputs from diverse knowledge disciplines and fields. When a group of experts engages in system design, new problems emerge for the designer(s) of having to cooperate with other designers. Yet, without the simultaneous participation of other designers, the "Law of Requisite Variety" will be violated. Each participant designer is expected to learn to cooperate with other designers and to appreciate the pluralities of realities relevant to the object of design. Yet each designer is physiologically and/or psychologically constrained by the "Law of Requisite Parsimony." These two fundamental laws of design are superficially incompatible or contradictory to each other. For the efficient conduct of participative design, the two laws must be reconciled. The paper discusses how the application of an Interactive Management (IM) approach reconciles this contradiction. A specific application of IM to the conceptual design of the space-based laser system is presented.

Keever, D. B. "Design for Improving University-Industry Cooperative Research Projects." Proc. International Congress for General Systems Research. Los Angeles. May 27-31. Intersystems. Seaside, California. (1985). 934-943. [IASIS 85/016]

Changes in the external environments associated with academia and industry have reawakened interest in industry/university research partnerships as one area where cooperation may be mutually advantageous. Each faction has "commodities" desired by the other, although presently there is a lack of incentives, numerous disincentives, and inadequate exchange mechanisms which keep the two apart. Traditional approaches of breaching this gap have had popular appeal, but have had limited success and sometimes inconclusive and contradictory impact on the improvement and innovation, technology transfer, and productivity. In order to improve the potential benefits of bringing together academia and industry, creative interventions need to be designed, utilized, and evaluated.

The Interactive Management (IM) approach for consensus building is being presented as a means for closing this gap. By utilizing IM it appears plausible to form and maintain new cooperative university/industry research partnerships and, at the same time, explore the appropriateness (i.e., "successfulness") of this intervention for the process of forming cooperative partnerships. Two past successes, involving other applications of IM for boundary-spanning activities, indicate a high likelihood for success in forming cooperative university/industry research partnerships.

Warfield, J. N. "A Complexity Metric for High-Level Software Languages." Proc. 1987 International Conference on Systems, Man and Cybernetics. Washington, D.C. October 21-23. IEEE, New York. (1987). 438-442. [IASIS 87/001]

The computer software field is notable for the absence of metrics that allow numerical assessment and comparisons of its products and its processes. It is further notable for largely ignoring the cognitive burden placed on individuals who work with its products and processes. This paper strives to initiate activity that relates to both of these shortcomings. Specifically, we introduce a metric for assessing and comparing high-level computer languages, which aims to measure the cognitive burden placed on the individual who strives to learn and fully use such languages.

We apply this metric to assess and compare three high-level languages, ALGOL 60, Pascal, and Ada. Using an approximate algorithm in lieu of the full computation, the metric takes the value 8 for ALGOL 60, 10 for Pascal, and 20 for Ada. Based on the validity of the stated assumptions, this would mean that Pascal is roughly two orders of magnitude more complex than ALGOL 60, and that Ada is roughly 10 orders of magnitude more complex than Pascal.

If these estimates are accurate, we would expect certain consequences: failure to use the entire language, favoring selectively those parts that do not involve the major source of complexity, and significant incidence of software failure due to inability to apply the language correctly.

Warfield, J. N. "Technomyopia Threatens Our National Security." Invited presentation to the Washington, D.C., Section of the IEEE joint chapters on Computers and on Social Implications of Technology. Arlington, Virginia. June 22, 1988. 25 p. [IASIS 88/026]

The United States Department of Defense is wasting very large sums of money on systems that exceed the scale of human comprehension. These expenditures, together with the diversion of talent into areas that are not very productive, are helping to make us a second-rate economic power, and threatening thereby our national security.

While many case studies could individually illustrate the situation just mentioned, the recently issued Report of the Defense Science Board Military Software Task Force serves as a representative example to illustrate how our system is not serving us well.

The contents of the Report are excerpted from it, and the 38 Recommendations are examined as a way of dealing first with the Report in its own constrained context. Following this, it is critiqued in respect to that context, and some priorities are proposed for the classes of Recommendations that I identify.

A set of what appear to be implicit assumptions behind the Report is offered, and it is suggested that these form part of the basis for assigning the term "technomyopia" to refer both to this Report and the larger surrounding situation with regard to defense systems acquisition.

Matters relating to the software dilemma and its management are discussed, with reference to prior nationally-significant institutional foul-ups in the steel and auto industries, which are historical versions of myopic vision that has cost us dearly.

Some of the major problems related to current DOD practice are then discussed, and a few new recommendations are offered. These are believed to be more fundamental than those given in the subject Report.

Ohuchi, A., Kaji, I., and Warfield, J. N. "Structural Analysis and Complexity Metric for High-Level Software Languages." Proc. of the 1988 Conference of the Japan Information Processing Society. Kyoto, Japan. September 12-14, (1988). 646-647. [IASIS 88/010]

This paper is written in Japanese.

Broome, B. J., and Christakis, A. N. "A Culturally Sensitive Approach to Tribal Governance Issue Management." International J. of Intercultural Relations 12. (1988). 107-123. [IASIS 88/007]

There are a number of obstacles to stronger tribal governments, including the prevailing cultural attitude toward Indian groups and the historical lack of support for efforts of Native Americans to build their own governmental systems. However, there is a growing realization among Indian tribes of the need to take firm control of many governmental functions. In working to resolve this situation, careful consideration must be given to the appropriateness of the approach utilized. The cultural traditions of the Indian community, based an consensus, often collide with the dispute resolution approaches imposed by non-Indian law and tradition. Utilizing a culturally sensitive approach to complex problem-solving, twelve tribal leaders participated in a problem-solving session designed to focus on the tribal government problematique. (The term "Problematique" is used here to connote that the tribes are faced with a system of interlocking issues.) The participants identified the significant tribal governance issues for the next decade, organized these issues for appropriate action, and developed a preliminary field representation of the options/initiatives for leaders in the Indian community to consider for action. Participants' structuring of tribal governance issues resulted in a strongly coupled problematique, with a complexity metric significantly larger than problematic situations faced by most large organizations.

Warfield, J. N., and Ayiku, A. N. B. "Sociotechnical Modeling for Developing Nations." SCIMA (Systems and Cybernetics in Management) 18:1-2. (1989). 25-40. Society of Management Science and Applied Cybernetics. New Delhi, India. [IASIS 89/006]

In order to have an opportunity to catch up with more highly developed nations, the less-developed nations must work smarter in areas where developed nations have clear deficiencies.

One approach to improving effectiveness in developing nations is to develop, display widely and be constantly informed by sociotechnical models of key development relationships.

Warfield, J. N. "Cybernetics, Systems Science, and the Great University." 7:4. (1990).
[IASIS 90/001]

It is time that the related fields of cybernetics and systems science begin to make a significant contribution to the design of organizations. A good place to begin is with the design of the Great University.

The Great University does not presently exist, either in any institution or in a conceptual form. If it can be designed conceptually, the possibility exists that it may be realized in practice, and that it could serve as an example to existing institutions.

The Great University represents a sufficiently sophisticated concept that its design and operation both can serve as tests of the quality and utility of concepts from systems science and cybernetics.

The Great University is founded on the Leibniz Principle of Reason. In order to reflect this Principle, it is animated by and organized around three objectives of education set forth by Ralph Barton Perry, which are founded in the aim to prepare people for the exercise of citizenship in a free society.

Evaluation of the Great University will lie in the performance of university graduates in society. The Great University will strive to create and implement exemplary practices that reinforce high-quality performance of university graduates and correct the factors that promote low-quality performance in university graduates.

In creating an organization and programs that are responsive to the Leibniz Principle of Reason and the Perry objectives, the Great University will set behavioral standards of the highest ethical quality, and its internal incentive system for faculty and student performance will be designed to promote balanced attention to the three objectives. In order to achieve this, a double infrastructure will be required to meet the vastly different requirements of subsumptive and supersumptive activity, both types being essential in the Great University.

Warfield, J. N. A Science of Generic Design: Managing Complexity Through Systems Design. Intersystems Publications. Salinas, California. (1990). 610 p. [IASIS 90/004]

This book presents a science of generic design and the justification for and application of the science.

The book is in four parts: (1) Justification, in which the need for such a science is discussed, along with the philosophical and scientific basis for developing the science; (2) Presentation, in which the science is exhibited, organized into foundations, theory, and methodology; (3) Application, in which numerous case studies of its use are described, and (4) Amplification, in which additional aspects of the science and its teaching are discussed.

The aim of the book is to offer a tested means to manage complexity, through system design founded in sound scientific thinking.

Warfield, J. N. "Developing a Design Culture in Higher Education: Some Laws and Principles of Design." Proc. of the 1985 International Conference of the Society for General Systems Research. Los Angeles. May 27-31, Vol. II. Intersystems Publications. Seaside, California. (1985). 725-729. [IASIS 85/006]

The sciences and the humanities are well established as two cultures in the universities. Now we need to build a third culture in the universities focused on design. The design culture must be built on the existing foundation provided by the science and humanities. However it is required that design be seen as a distinct culture.

We live in an age of design, where survival depends on design, and where the quality of life depends on the quality of design.

Presently design is largely undisciplined in the large, though often heavily constrained in the small. We need to totally restructure our thinking about design. It should often be a group process, tailored to respect for three design Laws. The Options-Field, Options-Profile Method already provides a process basis for design which has been sufficiently tested to show that it will function well. Designed to accommodate the three design Laws, this process will surely provide a sufficient basis for initiating a design culture and starting its evolution into ultimate form.

Christakis, A. N., and Prabhu, Y. "A New Role for Systems Scientists." Proc. of the 1986 International Conference of the Society for General Systems Research. Philadelphia. May 26-30. Intersystems Publications. Salinas, California. (1986). A48-A62. [IASIS 86/016]

A new role for systems scientists becomes transparent through a reconceptualization of Karl Popper's three "worlds" based on a new cosmology proposed by John Warfield. Warfield partitions the cosmos into three separate blocks: (a) the "Library" containing everything that is recorded; (b) the "Phaneron" containing the collective thoughts and ideas, and (c) the "Residue" containing whatever is left in the universe. The paper defines and describes a new role for systems scientists in the context of the Warfield cosmology and the emerging Theory of Generic Design. The name of the role is "Pilotos," defined as a person who has acquired the behavioral and technical skills to use computer-assisted methodologies in order to efficiently extract and organize ideas residing in the collective Phaneron and Library, in accordance with the dictates of complex problem situations of the Residue, which are amenable to change through design activity.

Christakis, A. N., Krause, L. K., and Prabhu, Y. "Synthesis in a New Age: A Role for System Scientists in the Age of Design." Systems Research. 5:2. (1988). 107-113. [IASIS 87/021]

Ongoing research in generic design science has provided evidence regarding its capacity to make valuable contributions towards the resolution of the global problematique. This paper defines and clarifies a role for systems scientists in the context of these contributions. The results of an actual generic design session exploring this role in the context of a global problematique is presented for discussion to further work towards implementing generic design science in the systems community.

Warfield, J. N. "Universal Priors to Science: How the Liberal Arts Could Revitalize Science." Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Integrative Studies. Arlington, Texas. October 20-22. 1988. 13 p. [IASIS 88/005]

James Bryant Conant's warning that the American public is likely to mistake engineering and invention for science has largely come true. Political invention of technological system concepts that lack scientific integrity is the most recent and disturbing example of how far technology strays from science.

All science depends for its existence on these Universal Priors: the human being, language, reasoning through relationships, and archival representation. These are areas that belong to the liberal arts and humanities (in partnership with the social sciences and mathematics) as subjects for scholarship.

It is time now to dispense with the tired language of "excellence" and similar epithets that do not property externalize the merits of liberal arts and humanities in ways to which science can be critically related. The liberal arts and humanities can revitalize science, but it will take more than empty slogans and superficial rhetoric to achieve this goal, which is becoming progressively more vital to world civilization.

A Futures Workshop for the North Piedmont Area. A report prepared for the Virginia Division of Forestry. The Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. March 29, (1982). 51 p. [IASIS 82/020]

During the workshop, participants were involved in generating and organizing goals for the area for the year 2000, and identifying trends that could help achieve these goals.

Janes, F. R. Planning for the Future of Engineering Education. A report for the School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia. On meetings held during the Spring Semester, 1983. Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. June 18, (1983). 60 p. [IASIS 83/009]

Strategic Planning for the National Computer Graphics Association. Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. April 20, (1983). 51 p. [IASIS 83/018]

Appendices to: Strategic Planning for the National Computer Graphics Association. Center for interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. April 20, (1983). 25 p. [IASIS 83/002]

The Long Range Planning Process of the National Computer Graphics Association. Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. October (1983). 28 p. [IASIS 83/019]

The method used by staff members of the Center helped the participants to develop a long-range planning process that would provide overall direction for the NCGA and guidance to the staff. Participants were able to arrive at a mission statement, a set of goals, and a set of potential accomplishments to be achieved in the next 5 years.

Workshops on Search and Track SBU Concepts and Local Area Defense Systems Concepts. A report to the Naval Surface Weapons Center. Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. June (1983). 27 p. [IASIS 83/021]

Christakis, A. N., and Keever, D. B. Report of Problem Identification Session and Problem Resolution Session. Center for Interactive Management. University of Virginia, Charlottesville. May 22, (1984). 39 p. [IASIS 84/020]

Selected Group management processes, provided by trained facilitators, helped managers of the Agricultural Research Service to: (a) Identify critical problems confronting the Beltsville area and explore their interdependencies, (b) Generate options for problem solution, (c) Organize these options into categories for future work.

Christakis, A. N., and Keever, D. B. Goals Identification and Structuring Session of the Executive Committee of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. November 30 (1984). 23 p. + append. [IASIS 84/023]

Consensus methodologies enabled the participants to clarify the mission of the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce for the next 5 years, identify and structure goals supporting this mission, and initiate a long-range planning process.

North Pacific Fisheries Forum. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. February 3-5, (1985). 35 p. + append. [IASIS 85/013]

This report documents the results of the NPFF convened jointly by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). The Forum employed Interactive Management processes which enabled the participants to: (a) Identify obstacles to the "Americanization" of Pacific whiting/Alaska pollock, (b) Identify viable options for overcoming each obstacle, (c) Assign responsibility to carry cut the proposed options.

Christakis, A. N. The Emergence of a New GMU Image For 1990. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. April 30, (1985). 37 p. + append. [85/012]

Participants at two Interactive Management sessions were engaged in an identification and clarification of characteristics for the image of GMU (George Mason University) for 1990. Using Nominal Group Technique and Interpretive Structural Modeling, the 13 participants were able to develop: (a) A shared understanding of the myths and realities concerning the future of GMU, (b) A pattern characterizing the future image.

Christakis, A. N., and Heidtman, S. E. Designing Action Plans for Managing Laboratory Quality Assurance. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. June 25-26, (1985). 41 p. + append. [IASIS 85/010]

In an Interactive Management session for the Task Force on Environmental Cancer and Heart and Lung Disease, a group of scientists and administrators from analytical chemistry and health sciences fields worked to design solutions to the management problems facing laboratory quality assurance.

Christakis, A. N., Goal Identification and Structuring Session of the Advisory Council of Public Technology, Inc. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. October 25, (1985). 22 p. + append. [IASIS 85/014]

Using a set of consensus methodologies designed by the Center for Interactive Management, the members of the Advisory Council of PTI were able to identify and structure goals/objectives for the PTI of the future.

Keever, D., and Christakis, A. N. Redesigning the National Marine Fisheries Service for the 1990's. Center for Interactive management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, February (1986). 117 p. [IASIS 86/014]

The application of two consensus methodologies, namely, Interpretive Structural Modeling and Nominal Group Technique, assisted the NMFS executives in the definition of structuring of anticipated problems for the NMFS of the 1990's. Clarification of the long-range goals and objectives of the NMFS as well as development of options for the redesign of NMFS of the future were successfully completed.

Redesigning the National Marine Fisheries Service for the 1990's. A video-recording, produced by the Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service, February (1986). 20 min. Format: VHS Cassette. [IASIS 86/014-VIDEO]

This video tape describes the process and results from a 10-day session held for the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) in the fall of 1985 and the winter of 1986. The tape incorporates interviews with Bill Gordon, Director of NMFS, and Alexander Christakis, Director of CIM.

Curriculum Workshop: Mathematics for Computer Sciences. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. November 10-11, 1986 and May 4 (1987). 52 p. [IASIS 86/009]

An Interactive Management project sponsored by the National Science Foundation, with the objective of designing a learning sequence of mathematics courses which would best prepare students for competence in computer science. Participants in the IM session were mathematicians, educators and engineers.

Designing a Computer Science Curriculum for the 21st Century. A video-recording, produced by the Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. May (1987). 15 min. Format: VHS Cassette. [IASIS 86/0 09-VIDEO].

This videotape describes the process and results from two Interactive Management sessions held in November 1986 and May 1987 and is an accompaniment to the report on the same subject.

Chapman, R. E., and Keever, D. B. Improving the Research and Development Procurement Process for DARPA Related Projects. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. April (1986). 42 p. [IASIS 86/010]

In a conference sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Consensus Methodologies were used which allowed the participants to: (a) understand collectively the effects of recently enacted legislation on the technology-based research and development procurement process, (b) identify ways which could significantly reduce time to contract, (c) propose an action plan for improving the procurement system which could be implemented.

Keever, D. B. Understanding Defense System Management in a Form that Supports Action-Planning. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. December 15-17, (1986). 49 p. + append. [IASIS 86/012]

The Interactive Management system was successfully applied to complex problems facing the Defense Systems Management College. Participants identified problems and options for the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness, and organized these options in a sequence which would support action-planning.

Broome, B. J., and Fiore, M. A. Tribal Governance Issue Management. Center for Interactive Management. Fairfax, Virginia. September 29-30, (1986). 44 p. + append. [IASIS 86/011]

Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) called together Indian leaders from several tribes to discuss tribal governance issues facing the Indian community, using the Interactive Management approach in a quest for solutions.

Bishop, R. A., and Christakis, A. N. Report on the Issues Identification and Structuring Session of the Alliance for Nursing Organizations. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. June (1986). 42 p. + append. [IASIS 86/013]

The effectiveness of the Interactive Management approach in discussing issue management for nursing in Virginia was realized by the participants in a 2-day session conducted at the Center for Interactive Management at George Mason University.

Gurman, N., and Bishop, R. A. Report on the Followup Session of the Alliance for Nursing Organizations. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. November (1986). 28 p. + append. [IASIS 86/008]

Members of the organization met for a 2-day followup Interactive Management session to continue their work from a previous session (6/86) on developing strategies for solving the nursing "problematique." Additional options were generated, clarified and integrated into a final options field.

Moving Toward a Consensus for Nursing in Virginia. A video recording, produced by the Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, in cooperation with the Alliance of Nursing Organizations. (1986). 20 min. Format: VHS Cassette. [IASIS 86/013-VIDEO].

This videotape describes the process and results from two Interactive Management sessions held in June and November 1986, and is an accompaniment to the reports on the same subject.

The Future of Volunteers in Human Services: A Commitment to Action. Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University in cooperation with Fairfax-Falls Church United Way, Fairfax, Virginia. March (1987). 35 p. + append. [IASIS 87/015]

The Interactive Management system helped participants of this public conference to develop a set of critical issues and appropriate means to integrate volunteers effectively into organizational plans and programs over the next several years.

Cromer, I., and Christakis, A. N. Moving Toward the Effective Participation of Tribal Governments in the United States Federal System. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. June (1987). 23 p. + append. [IASIS 87/012]

The Interactive Management process enabled participants to generate and clarify a list of 64 critical barriers to the effective participation of tribal governments and to structure a subset in a sequence for future work.

Broome, B. J., and Cromer, I. Building a Consensus on a Winnebago Self-Sufficiency Plan. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. July (1987). 58 p. + append. [IASIS 87/011]

Consensus Methodologies were utilized to allow participants to: 1) clarify and structure problems, 2) clarify options which would alleviate these problems, 3) assign options to specific problems.

Building a Consensus on a Winnebago Self-Sufficiency Plan. A video recording, produced by the Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, in cooperation with the Winnebago Tribal Council. (1987). 20 min. Format: VHS Cassette. [IASIS 87/011-VIDEO]

Filmed during Interactive Management sessions on the Winnebago Reservation in Nebraska, this videotape is an accompaniment to the report on the same subject.

Cromer, I., and Fiore, M. Defining the Self-Care Situation. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. November 9-10, (1987). 32 p. [IASIS 87/016]

Participants in a 2-day workshop sponsored by the Self-Care Institute take important steps in further operationalizing the concept of self-care, identifying barriers to practice and research, and identifying ways to attract funding resources.

The Future of Volunteers in Human Services: Effecting Change. Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, in cooperation with Fairfax-Falls Church United Way, Fairfax, Virginia. November (1987). 75 p. + append. [IASIS 87/013]

In a follow-up to a preliminary session held in March 1987, the application of Interactive Management provided managers from human service organizations (public and non-profit) the opportunities to learn: (a) new management tools to improve their volunteer programs in the development of job description personnel manuals, volunteer training and volunteer-staff relationships, (b) to expand opportunities to network and communicate ideas.

Keever, D., and LaBerge, T. Special Seminar on Acquisition Management Alternatives. Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and Defense Systems Management College, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. December (1987). 52 p. + append. [IASIS 87/014]

The application of Interactive Management in the field of Defense Systems Acquisition Management helped participants to: (a) define the development activities performed (acquisition work, curriculum initiatives, etc.), (b) design a management structure that facilitate these activities.

Understanding DSAM (Defense Systems Acquisition Management). Center for Interactive management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. (1987). 15 min. Format: VHS Cassette. [IASIS 87/014-VIDEO]

This video recording was produced in cooperation with the Defense Systems Management College at Fort Belvoir, to accompany the CIM report on the same subject.

Christakis, A. N., Keever, D. B., and Warfield, J. N. Development of Generalized Design Theory and Methodology. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. (n.d.) 69 p.

From a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation, this paper recapitulates the conceptual thinking and practical applications of a generalized design theory and methodology which have been spanning almost 10 years.

Definition and Design of a General Training Course for Classification Officers/Analysts. Center for Interactive Management, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, and the Meridian Corporation, Alexandria, Virginia. March (1988) 29 p. + append. [IASIS 88/013]

Sponsored by the United States Department of Energy, this report deals with the initial design and development of a general training course for newly appointed and/or prospective classification officers within the Department of Energy, in order to perform effectively, a project which became feasible by using the Interactive Management process.

Cromer, I., and Christakis, A. N. Forum on the Future of Pediatric Nursing: Looking Toward the 21st Century. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. May (1988). 77 p. + append. [IASIS 88/018]

A Consensus Methodology (Interpretive Structural Modeling) used by the Center for Interactive Management at George Mason University, helped the participants to generate and clarify a list of 125 anticipated needs for pediatric health care consumers in the 21st century, as well as to propose options which will contribute to the fulfillment of these needs.

Keever, D., and LaBerge, T. Designing a National Facility for Advanced Manufacturing and Concurrent Engineering Research. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. June (1988). 41 p. [IASIS 88/012]

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was the sponsor for this Interactive Management session June 9-10, 1988, in which Consensus Methodologies assisted the participants in (a) identifying 51 anticipated issues associated with the implementation of the formation of a university-industry research partnership between West Virginia University and General Electric Corporation, (b) developing means for overcoming these issues.

Fiore, M. Analysis of the Current Situation of the Associated Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University (in cooperation with The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) Fairfax, Virginia. June, (1988). 55 p. [IASIS 88/015]

Interactive Management was recommended to analyze the current problematic situation of the Associated Catholic Charities. This method helped the participants to recognize the causes of the problem and the need of: (a) participative long-range planning, (b) restructuring and additional senior level managerial personnel, (c) evaluation of program performance.

Cromer, I., and Broome, B. J. Designing a New Student Union Program for George Mason University. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. August 15-17, (1988). 60 p. + append. [IASIS 88/016]

With the use of computer-assisted methodologies participants focused on student concerns and interests to: 1) define the intent of the new student union, 2) generate and clarify options contributing to the intent, 3) develop alternative design profiles for a new union program.

Cromer, I., and Kirrish, R. Issue Management Forum for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. July (1988). 50 p. + append. [IASIS 88/017]

Using a set of Consensus Methodologies, participants were able to generate, clarify and organize critical issues facing the tribe, in order to foster and maintain their economic, social and cultural stability in the face of rapid economic and population growth.

Keever, D., LaBerge, T., and Bestimt, L. Human Service Needs: Setting Priorities. Center for Interactive Management, in cooperation with Fairfax-Falls Church United Way, Fairfax, Virginia. September (1988). 24 p. + append. [IASIS 88/019]

Consensus methodologies assisted the participants to clarify a list of critical human needs in the Fairfax-Falls Church community. The need for affordable housing is ranked is the most important issue.

Valderrama S., and Christakis, A. N. Shared Governance in Selected Pennsylvania School Districts: A Workshop Exploring the Inhibitors to Shared Governance and Strategies for its Realization. Center for Interactive management, George Mason University and Center for School Study Councils, University of Pennsylvania, Fairfax, Virginia. August (1988) 36 p. [IASIS 88/020]

This 2-day session to assist the School District Superintendents of the State of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the Center for School Study Councils (University of Pennsylvania), on the field of Shared Governance. Participants identified inhibitors associated with the implementation of the concept of shared governance and developed a sequence of activities and responsibilities for overcoming the inhibitors.

Developing a Design Culture in Higher Education: A Workshop. Center of Interactive Management, George Mason University,(in cooperation with the University of the Aegean, Athens, Greece), Fairfax, Virginia. (1988). 80 p. [IASIS 88/024]

A report from a workshop held on the Island of Chios, in the Aegean, Part I describes the workshop activity, its products, interpretations of the products and conclusions of the workshop. Part II contains a set of appendices that document the work and identifies those involved.

Keever, D., and Chapman, R. Research Initiative in the Photonics Field for the Defense Manufacturing Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. August (1989). 26 p. + append. [IASIS 89/004]

A Report on a conference which had as its objective the establishment of a research agenda for industrial development of the new field of photonics, believed to have potential future as replacement of electronics in the broad functions of data and energy manipulation and sensing. Interactive Management techniques produced a sequence chart of options and initiatives in photonics manufacturing technology and research. The participants here industrial researchers in photonics.

American Public Power Association Fuel Cell Market Workshop. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. October 27-28, (1987). 52 p. + append. [IASIS 87/028]

A two-day Interactive Management session to explore a Market Penetration Strategy in an attempt to commercialize new technology.

Fiore, M. A., and Christakis, A. N. First Report on Smart Munitions Acquisition Management Prepared for the Defense Systems Management College. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. (1988). 47 p. + append. [IASIS 88/027]

Report on the Air-to-Surface Session, August 1-3, 1988.

Fiore, M. A., and Christakis, A. N. Second Report on Smart Munitions Acquisition Management Prepared for the Defense Systems Management College. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. (1988). 65 p. [IASIS 88/028]

Report on the Surface-to-Surface Session, September 12-14, 1988.

Fiore, M. A., and Christakis, A. N. Fourth Report on Smart Munitions Acquisition Management Prepared for the Defense Systems Management College. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University. Fairfax, Virginia. (1988). 75 p. [IASIS 88/029]

Report on the Air-to-Air Session, September 27-29, 1988.

Strategic Human Resource Planning for the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. (May 1989). 41 p. + append. [IASIS 89/014]

A report on three workshops held in October and November 1988 and on May 10, 1989. Topics under examination: Expectations for Managers and Employees, Career Development, Psychological Climate, and Utilization of Human Resources. Group decisions identified and clarified each concept while participants moved closer to perfect consensus regarding their relative importance.

Fiore, M. A., and Christakis, A. N. Third Report on Smart Munitions Acquisition Management Prepared for the Defense Systems Management College. Center for Interactive Management. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. (1988). 62 p. [IASIS 88/030]

Report on the Surface-to-Air Session, September 19-21, 1988.

Several organizations have adopted a few parts or a major portion of the foregoing ideas. In other instances, particular individuals have adopted parts of the foregoing in their work without constructing particular institutional components like the Center for Interactive Management. Several books have been published in a variety of languages that incorporate some or much of the foregoing.

The following organizations are involved in related work:

The following organizations are at the beginning of involvement with Interactive Management processes:

The following have studied at the Center for Interactive Management as visiting scholars:

The following titles were written by authors having no direct affiliation with George Mason University. They treat various parts of the work described in this bibliography. They are listed in chronological order.