Characteristics of Wicked Problems
The wicked problems can be characterized by following 10 points:
- There is no definite formulation for wicked problems.
- Wicked problems do not have any stopping rule, hence there is no way to figure out if the solution you came up with is final.
- Wicked problems do not have a solution in Boolean format (true or false) the solutions are only either good or bad.
- It is not possible to test any solution to a Wicked problem immediately.
- Wicked problems have one shot operation solutions. It is not possible to use trial and error method in solving a wicked problem.
- Wicked problems do not have a defined number of potential solutions.
- Every wicked problem is essentially unique.
- For every wicked problem, there is a synonym wicked problem.
- Wicked problem has more that one explanation and these explanations vary from person to person
- Wicked problems have more than a single explanation due to the individual perspectives.
Wicked Problems and How to Solve Them?
If you are faced with something unsolvable then you are likely to be dealing with something called a Wicked Problem. The term “wicked problem” was coined by two of the greatest design theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber referring to problems that have many independent factors that are either incomplete or undefined and require a deep understanding of designers in order to be fixed. Problems like Fundamentalism, global warming, economic crisis, or aging societies are called Wicked Problems because we ourselves, our beliefs and values, and our habits are part of these problems and they cannot be solved in the traditional way, we need new approaches, novel ideas, and fresh minds to solve them. In this article, we will discuss what are Wicked Problems and how we can solve them.