Solving Complex Problems

When you're planning something big, problems appear rather quickly. We hear of them on a daily basis. The bigger or more complex a task, the more we have to deal with complicated, multidisciplinary task formulations. In many cases it is architecture, including urban and spatial planning, but also politics and all types of organizational forms, irrespective of whether they are public authorities or private enterprises, which are expected to deliver functional solutions for such challenges. This is precisely where this book is helpful.It introduces a methodology for developing target-specific, systematic and problem-orientedas well as action-oriented solutions. In doingso, knowledge is created that goes beyonddiscipline limits while conflicts of values andof interests are integrated into the solutionprocess. Only if one knows exactly where tostart and what must be borne in mind is thetask of solving complex problems doable andultimately successful.This book is addressed to architects as well asto urban and spatial planners, and likewise topoliticians and managers. After all, all these differentprofessionals are repeatedly confrontedwith the task of handling complex, multidisciplinaryproblems which cannot be solved byapplying routine solutions but, indeed, can besuccessfully addressed by applying the problem-solving system described in this book. von Schönwandt, Walter