This issue of Journal has the special part, that is prepared by Dr. Doncho Petkov, Dr. Olga Petkova, Guest Co-Editors, our Partners in framework of this International Scientific Edition, Specialists in area of Computer Sciences and Information Science. Presented papers subject is very important in Engineering domain both from theoretical and from applied view point.

 

Preface of the Guest Editors

The international journal "Problems of Nonlinear Analysis in Engineering Systems" invited to present for publication the papers for special issue on the topic: "Alternative Operations Research Approaches to Technical Problems".

Here the selected papers are presented as special part:

D.L.Olson, M.Johnson, M.Shipley, P.Dimitrova-Davidova, N.Yankov (USA, Bulgaria). Soft systems and system dynamics to construct a transition firm model, 124-137.

T.Nepal (RSA). Evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa, 138-149.

T.N.Andrew (RSA). Soft systems thinking in engineering in developing countries, 150-161.

The aim of this special issue part is to provide a representation of current or completed research applying various soft systems approaches to practical problems or theoretical issues related to their application to technology development and management. The methods involve one or more of the following (the originators' names of the methods are in brackets): soft systems methodology (Checkland), Strategic Assumptions Surfacing and Testing (SAST) (Mason and Mitroff), Interactive Planning (Ackoff), Interactive Management (Warfield), Strategic Choice (Friend), Robustness Analysis (Rosenhead), SODA (Eden), Critical Systems Thinking (Jackson, Flood, Midgley, Mingers, Ulrich) and other related methods. Most of these methods are explained in Rosenhead and Mingers (2001) and Jackson (2003).

Complex "messy" problems are characterized by multiple stakeholders, by not having a clear beginning or an end, by involving soft and hard data and most importantly - the human element. They have been widely applied in organizational management and in Community Operations Research but not so often in resolving technical problems and this is one of the challenges to engineering disciplines. The typical application areas involving the above methods may include one of the following or related topics applied to technical systems: Systems Design, Systems Management, Design of Large Scale Systems, Design of Telecommunication Systems, Management of Telecommunications and other technical systems. The papers presented in this special issue part reflect most of the ideas discussed above.

The first paper (by Olson et al.) shows how soft systems thinking can be used as a sense making tool of problem of modeling a winery, a complex technical system. Subsequently, the model is built using Systems Dynamics, a well established systems methodology of quantitative nature. The complexity of the technical problem was appreciated better through the application of Soft Systems Methodology in the initial stages of the project discussed in the paper.

The second and the third paper demonstrate the applicability of Critical Systems Thinking for justifying mixing methods in the same intervention, called also Multi-methodology (Rosenhead and Mingers, 2001).Critical Systems Thinking emerged over the last 20 years initially overlapping with the emancipatory, neohumanist paradigm but more recently being associated with pluralist ideas on mixing methods (Jackson, 2003).

The paper of T.Nepal is an illustration of how Critical Systems Thinking can be applied as a basis for mixing methods in the same intervention. The problem this time is the evaluation of the exiting infrastructure for rural telecommunications in the province of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. This case study applies techniques like Rich Pictures and CATWOE analysis from Soft Systems Methodology, Boundary Judgement Questions from Critical Systems Heuristics and a Multicriteria Decision Analysis approach, The Analytic Hierarchy Process, (Saaty, 1990) to the evaluation of rural telecommunications infrastructure. It is a problem that demonstrates the inapplicability of traditional engineering thinking if the results are to be considered legitimate and acceptable by the users of the telecommunications infrastructure.

The paper of T.Andrew presents a broader overview of the relevance of Soft Systems Thinking and pluralism in mixing different methods in management interventions to engineering practice in developing countries. The paper discusses among other things the nature of engineering practice. The particular multi-methodology approach to planning of rural telecommunications is a contribution to systems thinking as it combines Ackoff's Interactive Planning with Warfield's Interactive Management and some elements from SSM and Critical Systems Heuristics. The novel treatment of traditional engineering problems shows a potential direction for development of engineering theory and practice not only in the context of developing countries.

 

 

M.C. Jackson. (2003) Systems Thinking: Creative Holism for Managers, Wiley, Chichester.

J.Rosenhead, J.Mingers. (2001) Rational Analysis for a problematic world revisited, Wiley Chichester.

T.Saaty. (1990) Multicriteria Decision Making - The Analytic Hierarchy Process, 2nd ed. RWS Publications, Pittsburgh.

 

Doncho Petkov

ANS Academician, Prof., Eastern Connecticut State University, USA,љљљ petkovd@easternct.edu

Olga Petkova

Prof., Central Connecticut State University,љљљљ petkovao@ccsu.edu