This compilation of readings is a practical guide for practitioners involved with managing complex and uncertain situations. At a time when the media continually tells of a world facing many crises, it provides an opportunity to gain understanding of robust approaches to managing complex and ever-changing situations more effectively. The Reader is used as a teaching resource on the new Open University postgraduate course Thinking strategically: system tools for managing change and it provides an introduction to five systems approaches: System dynamics (SD) developed originally in the late 1950s by Jay Wright Forrester, Viable systems method (VSM) developed originally in the late 1960s by Stafford Beer, Strategic options development and analysis (SODA: with cognitive mapping) developed originally in the 1960s by Colin Eden, Soft systems methodology (SSM) developed originally in the 1970s by Peter Checkland, Critical systems heuristics (CSH) developed originally in the early 1980s by Werner Ulrich.
Sue Holwell joined Cranfield University in 1998 and taught on the MSc in the Design of Information Systems and MBA at the Royal Military College of Science. In April 2002 she joined the Systems Department at the Open University. She is currently Senior Lecturer in Information Systems, Centre for Complexity and Change, Technology Faculty, Open University.
Dr Martin Reynolds joined OU in 2000. He previously worked with Gerald Midgley at Hull University co-authoring Operational Research and Environmental Management with support from the Operational Research Society. His interest in critical systems came through PhD work on participatory natural resource-use appraisal in Botswana, based at the Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM).