Interaction and Transformation in SSM

The penetration of Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) into information systems (IS)development is Ð despite several initiatives Ð rather limited as compared to howinnovative and effective SSM has proven as an approach to organizational learning ingeneral. This paper investigates the traditional soft systems concept as a key barrier thatneeds to be transcended to further develop SSM in the context of IS development.All kinds of human activities are in SSM viewed as transformations from one domain(the input) to another domain (the output). This perspective reflects classical floworientedinformation systems based on batch-processing technology while ignoringthe highly interactive nature of contemporary information systems. The paper arguesand illustrates that there is a need for a complementary type of soft system in ISdevelopment, it offers a specific proposal for how to include interaction systems in SSM,and it outlines the implications of doing so for soft systems thinking and practice