Events

Seminars

How to Solve a Complex Problem

Trevor Hilder and Keith Laws
May 23

The world is beset by seemingly intractable complex problems. Obvious examples are:

Environmental degradation
Social exclusion
The breakdown of traditional family structures
The poor ability of medicine to deal with chronic illnesses
The repeated failure of grandiose, expensive technical projects

No doubt each of us can think of an example which touches us personally.

Contrary to common opinion, there is a well established body of knowledge about why these problems are hard to solve and what can be done to help.

This seminar will introduce you to ways in which to distinguish a complex from a simple problem and how to organise a team of people to solve it.

Trevor Hilder runs an information technology company; he researches and applies cybernetic and systems approaches to practical problem-solving.

Keith Laws is a freelance computer systems designer. His 20 years experience has shown that, despite advanced technology, our ability to solve problems - or to fail to do so - is cultural, not technical.

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