Design Research Methods: Wicked Problems

Understanding wicked problems in design research.

1. Design Research Methods: 

Wicked Problems"
Professor Teal Triggs!

2. John Heskett (2002) Design: A Very Short Introduction.

Oxford: Oxford University Press.!
What is design?"
‘’…design, stripped to its essence, can be defined
as the human capacity to shape and make our
environment in ways without precedent in nature,
to serve our needs and give meaning to our
lives.’ (Heskett, 2002)!

3. Christopher Crouch and Jane Pearce (2012) 

Doing Research in Design. London: Berg.!
What is design research?"
‘Design research is the investigation of how
materials, ideas and systems operate and intersect
in the process and objects established by
design.’ (Crouch & Pearce, 2012)!

4. Ted Cadsby (2011) 

‘The Wickedness Behind Most 21
st
-Century Leadership Failures. Harvard
Business Review Blog http://blogs.hbr.org/!
What is the role of design research in an "
ever- increasing complex world?"
‘…But we are now living in a world where
multivariate and non-linear causal connections
hide below the surface of our immediate
perceptions, and diverge to different possible
interpretations.’ (Cadsby, 2011)!

5. Richard(Buchanan((1992)(‘Wicked(Problems(in(Design(Thinking’((
Design(Issues(Vol(VIII,(Number(2(Spring,(pp.(5G21.(
Wicked Problems "
‘…class of social system problems which are ill-
formulated, where the information is confusing,
where there are many clients and decision makers
with conflicting values, and where the ramifications
in the whole system are thoroughly confusing.’!
- Horst Rittel, 1960s!

6. Wicked Problem: Mumbai landfill!