Jonathan Rosenhead

Problem structuring methods in action

This paper provides a review and evaluation of the use of problem structuring methods (PSMs) in practice. It starts by describing the origins of PSMs, the type of problem situation for which they are suitable, and the characteristics of some leading methods. An overview of the practice of PSMs is provided from a number of angles, including case studies and surveys of applications. A number of issues in the application of PSMs are discussed, in particular an account of the debate about evaluation of the success of PSMs; the selection of an appropriate method; multimethodology; and a variety of aspects of the maintenance of relationships with the client organisation(s). Finally, some possible future developments are suggested, especially through productive interactions with similar or related practices.

Looking in the wrong place for healthcare improvements: a system dynamics study of an accident and emergency department

Accident and Emergency (A&E) units provide a route for patients requiring urgent admission to acute hospitals. Public concern over long waiting times for admissions motivated this study, whose aim is to explore the factors which contribute to such delays. The paper discusses the formulation and calibration of a system dynamics model of the interaction of demand pattern, A&E resource deployment, other hospital processes and bed numbers; and the outputs of policy analysis runs of the model which vary a number of the key parameters. Two significant findings have policy implications. One is that while some delays to patients are unavoidable, reductions can be achieved by selective augmentation of resources within, and relating to, the A&E unit. The second is that reductions in bed numbers do not increase waiting times for emergency admissions, their effect instead being to increase sharply the number of cancellations of admissions for elective surgery. This suggests that basing A&E policy solely on any single criterion will merely succeed in transferring the effects of a resource deficit to a different patient group.

Past, present and future of problem structuring methods

To be able to exploit the future opportunities for Operational Research (OR), we need to prepare for them now. To conceptualize alternative futures for OR, we need to understand the potentialities of the present. To understand the present, we need to have a grasp of the past history that gave us the OR that we have, rather than some other analytic practice. OR was thrown up by a situation where traditional management methods were proving inadequate to handle the growing complexity of organizational arrangements. Problem structuring methods (PSMs) in turn were generated out of a sense that the trajectory of OR had led it away from important areas of social decision-making. PSMs have made great strides but are still encountering barriers to acceptance. This paper will explore the factors that presently constrain PSMs, and what developments could take them into new fields.

Project review and learning in the construction industry: Embedding a problem structuring method within a partnership context

Abstract Problem Structuring Methods have most commonly been employed in one-off interventions to address non-routine problem situations. This paper argues that problem structuring methods are by their nature also appropriate for routine use within multi-organizational partnerships as a means of supporting inter-organizational learning. An experience of the use of a problem structuring methods approach in this mode is reported, within a UK construction industry partnership context. The approach which was developed has been called the Cross Organizational Learning Approach (COLA). COLA uses Strategic Choice-based workshops to identify and review critical incidents and project successes, in order to generate a limited set of key actions to feed back both to project partners and to future joint projects. The paper describes and discusses the process of developing and using this approach, with particular concentration on the apparent success in embedding it as a continuing business practice.

Operational research in health services planning

Abstract Some of the characteristics which distinguish social planning from planning in the private sector, or in publicly owned industry, are identified. A survey of OR investigations (both tactical and strategic) in the area of health services planning supports the case that the mainstream OR contribution does violence to the nature of the system under study. In particular, problems are formulated in terms of (or transformed into) single objectives, to be optimized; aspects of the social world are subject to wholesale quantification, with resulting distortion; models make implausible data demands; project definition and execution reinforce the ‘scientisation’ of political debate; problems are formulated on the assumption of a single hierarchically powerful decision-maker; and problems are formulated as if they must be solved in toto at one point in time. It is suggested that we should look to the converse of these qualities for new directions in the application of operational research in social planning. Some examples are given of techniques and approaches, drawn both from within health services planning and from other areas, which exhibit these alternative characteristics.

The uses of observation: combining problem structuring methods and ethnography

In this paper, we examine conceptual and practical aspects of carrying out cross-disciplinary, multi-method, interventions that bring together methods from operational research (OR) with ethnographic tools drawn from sociology and anthropology. We note that such methodological hybridization is not a new development, although historically, the role of ethnography in OR has not always been explicit in written accounts. We illustrate such usage by means of a number of concrete examples. We then describe recent work in which we have successfully combined problem structuring methods with ethnographic investigations in order to address disparate problem issues.

A rigorous definition of Robustness Analysis

Robustness Analysis (RA) is a problem structuring method for flexible planning. This paper presents a revised definition of RA which is based on earlier presentations of RA as well as new results derived from empirical research. This paper first identifies the basic concepts that are necessary for a rigorous definition of RA and relationships between these concepts. On this foundation, this paper constructs new definitions of robustness score and discusses their uses.

The role of operational research in less developed countries: A critical approach

Abstract Concern over ORs ‘implementation problem’ in less developed countries has largely focussed on cultural obstacles to the assimilation of techniques from more advanced societies. However, there are other more material factors operating. Underdevelopment is not just a state of mind, or even a set of interlocking vicious circles (poverty, overpopulation, underinvestment…). Underdevelopment is, rather, a set of relationships between developed and less developed countries. In this paper ORs problem is treated within this context as one example of technology transfer. A selective survey indicates the limited extent to which this framework has been incorporated into ORs practice and attempts at self-understanding. Some characteristics are suggested of a more ‘appropriate’ OR technology — which would also have advantages for categories of OR work in more developed countries.

Reflections on fifty years of operational research

This paper provides a particular perspective on developments in operational research (OR) over the past 50 years and attempts to pick out significant milestones in that trajectory. Emphasis is placed on the UK experience (rather than taking a supposed perspective independent of interactions with any specific social context); on the significance of techniques and where they came from; and on the role of social, political, intellectual, and economic factors in what has been happening to and within OR.

Robustness analysis for sustainable community development

This paper presents some alternatives for the improvement of the conditions of life for poor communities based on self-management and sustainability in food production. A complex decision process is necessarily involved, and a soft OR approach, more specifically, robustness analysis, is used in its analysis. Some new features of the approach arise, not least from its community operational research context. A software called Robus has been developed which helps in the application of the methodology.