{"product_id":"learning-for-action-isbn-9780470025543","title":"Learning For Action","description":"After an explanation of the book’s purpose, the authors provide in Part 1 first an overview of SSM as a whole, then a fleshed-out account with just enough detail and advice to enable the reader to set about using the approach in problem situations of concern. Part 2 describes examples of SSM in action and also pays special attention to one of the most common application areas: that of work in the information system\/information technology field. A final chapter in part 2 discusses the difficulties some people have in grasping the true nature of SSM, drawing attention to the inadequacies in much of the secondary literature. Appendices provide an outline of the theoretical considerations which underpin SSM, a guide to sources of further information and illustrations of some of SSM’s techniques.  \u003cb\u003ePreamble A TEN-MINUTE ACCOUNT OF SOFT SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY FOR VERY BUSY PEOPLE.\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePreface.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eINTRODUCTION.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePART 1 \u003ci\u003eTHE NATURE OF SSM.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 1\u003c\/b\u003e A SKELETON ACCOUNT OF SSM AS A WHOLE.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is SSM?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat is the SSM Process?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat can SSM be used for?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIs SSM mature?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow was SSM developed?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHow does SSM differ from other systems approaches?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 2\u003c\/b\u003e A FLESHED-OUT ACCOUNT OF SSM.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe SSM Learning Cycle:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eFinding Out.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe SSM Learning Cycle:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eMaking\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003ePurposeful Activity Models.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe SSM Learning Cycle: Using Models to Structure Discussion about.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Situation and its Improvement.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe SSM Learning Cycle: Defining ‘Action to Improve’.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Whole SSM Learning Cycle Revisited: seven principles, four\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eactions.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePART 2 \u003ci\u003eSSM IN ACTION.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 3\u003c\/b\u003e SSM IN ACTION IN MANAGEMENT SITUATIONS.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 1: Rethinking the Role of a Head Office Function in Shell.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 2: Evaluating Past Events.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 3: Upgrading the Skills of a Department.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 4: Tackling your own Issues.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 5: Clarifying a Concept.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 4\u003c\/b\u003e SSM IN ACTION IN THE FIELD OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 1: Creating an Information Strategy in an Acute Hospital.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 2: Evaluating a Clinical Information System.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 3: Evaluating a National Initiative in the NHS.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase 4: Providing Information Support for Scientists and\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eTechnologists.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusion.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 5\u003c\/b\u003e SSM: MISUNDERSTANDINGS AND CRAFT SKILLS.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMisunderstanding SSM.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCraft Skills in SSM Use.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTips on Techniques in SSM.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePART 3 \u003ci\u003eSUMMING UP.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChapter 6\u003c\/b\u003e SSM AS A WHOLE – some reminders.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eApproaching SSM: the mindset.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSSM: an aide memoire.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eppendix One: SSM’s Theory.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAppendix Two: The Story of SSM’s Development.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAppendix Three: A Talked-through Example of Activity Model Building.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAppendix Four: A Generic Model of Purposeful Activity Modelling.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAppendix Five: Some Frequently Asked Questions.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"This volume is a concise and definitive account of SSM for all who wish to use, teach or learn about it.\" (\u003cem\u003eCivil Engineering,\u003c\/em\u003e August 2008)   \u003cb\u003ePeter Checkland\u003c\/b\u003e is the recipient of the 'Most Distinguished and Outstanding Contributor' Award of the British Computer Society Methodologies Group, 1994 Recipient of the Gold Medal of the UK Systems Society for 'Outstanding Contribution to Systems Thinking' and 1997 Recipient of a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship. Now retired from full time university work, Peter Checkland continues his research and writing.  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Poulter\u003c\/b\u003e is a practitioner of SSM. He first used SSM formally when working with Peter Checkland in the UK's National Health Service in 1993. A founder member of the Soft Systems Research Group, he has presented papers and other publications on the use of SSM.\u003c\/p\u003e  The approach to tackling messy real-life situations known as Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) was developed in a 30-year programme of action research led by Peter Checkland. The approach is now used and taught around the world, and its development has been described in depth in four books published between 1981 and 1999, which are now regarded as classics in the field.  \u003cp\u003ePeter Checkland and John Poulter now present a concise, crystal-clear and definitive account of SSM written for anyone who wishes to use, teach, or learn about it. This account also corrects the misunderstandings about the SSM approach, which plague its secondary literature.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eLearning for Action\u003c\/i\u003e first provides an overview of SSM and its use, then gives a detailed account of the techniques used within it. It also crisply summarizes many accounts of SSM in action in real situations in both private and public sectors, using the pattern: the situation; the use of SSM; outcomes, with references given to more detailed accounts.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlso covered are the craft skills which practitioners develop, the theory underlying SSM, and the fundamental shift in thinking away from the systems approaches of the 1960s which its development signalled – namely the transition from 'hard' to 'soft' systems thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989521318117,"sku":"NP9780470025543","price":45.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780470025543.jpg?v=1761784442","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/learning-for-action-isbn-9780470025543","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}