Wicked problems
By Alfons Cornella

As a society, we have to face increasingly complex problems. Unique problems, difficult to define and interlinked with other problems. Moreover, these problems become harder to solve because the different components implicit in their potential solutions each pull in different directions: the complexity of the problem itself, multiplied by the social complexity of its context, shatters the potential for collective intelligence.

The problems that worry us today are multidimensional. How can we solve the destruction of the environment? How can we fight online terrorism? How can we forge a dialogue between the West and Islam? Which is the best way to resolve a crisis – implement state stimuli or promote entrepreneurial activity? How can we improve the quality of our children’s education? How can we ensure that a corporation’s different (vertical) divisions collaborate on transversal projects? All these problems are very difficult to describe succinctly, and cannot be resolved with a linear, algorithmic approach or a mechanical process.

Science, due to its empirical method based on reductionism (making the object of analysis small, manageable, and able to be studied), has made great advances in its understanding of the world, and in answering questions through technology. Building a bridge across the Strait of Gibraltar might take up time and resources, but in the end it comes down to mathematics.

But many problems that concern us as a society are neither accessible nor resolvable using scientific reductionism. In fact, they may not even be definable. There is no one solution (the solution), only a potential partial solution. In contrast to conventional problems, which are definable and resolvable (such as calculating a square root), known as tamed problems, we are coming across more and more complex and perverse problems, which we call wicked. Problems that require a heuristic approach, via trial and error, applying prototypes and testing, in a process made of learning and approximation.

Some characteristics of wicked problems are: the nature of the problem is not fully known until a partial solution has been found; there is no way of determining when the problem is completely resolved (there is no end point to the resolution process); solutions cannot be correct or incorrect, only partially correct and incorrect; each solution is new and unique, because there are no two uncontrollable questions the same; each solution implies the acceptance of its limitations (there is only one bullet in the chamber), and there is not one other option, but many.

The intrinsic indefinability of the problem and the inexistence of the solution imply that to resolve a problem requires the ability to socialise the solution. In other words, everybody involved in the acceptance of one solution must agree that it is a good solution. To do this, it is vital to establish a shared understanding of the problem (“at least we agree on some of the elements of the problem”), which leads to a shared vision of where to look for a partial solution. Therefore, we need new methods, ideas and tools so that well-diversified groups can work together in the search for the best partial solutions to many wicked projects.