2 nd International Conference on Systems Thinking in Management, 2002 Interdisciplinary Design of Systems for Management and Architecture Mark Mobach Research Fellow, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands E-mail: M.P.Mobach@bdk.rug.nl ABSTRACT Within the systems movement most methodologies are applicable to various areas in the real world. These methodologies produce results with a high degree of generality useful to reflect upon the real world and improve our understanding of it. However, they mostly do provide the practice with limited information on details. Implementation of our conclusions may therefore be problematic. Following this complaint it may be useful to refresh our methodological tools in tune with specific real world problems. It is expected that such fine-tune may contribute to the effectiveness of the existing systems methodologies. This may involve a synthesis of paradigmatic differences and new research across scientific and professional disciplines. In this paper design question for a new organisational building are used in that particular way. It may help us to develop new tools, to foster learning processes, to synthesise hard and soft approaches in that area and which may finally contribute to an improved understanding of the real world and improved implementation of our conclusions. Keywords: Architecture, Hard Systems, Management, Organisation, Soft Systems 1.0 Introduction A serious weakness of systems science is that the findings seldom have any chance of implementation that sometimes relegates that our pronouncements have no consequence for the professional practice (Van Gigh 2001). We may therefore try to develop methodologies with an improved fine-tune with professional practices. As such are the professional practices of management and architecture, entwined in the design process of a building, a useful example to illustrate such possibilities. The manager seeking to reflect his organisational vision in the building such as the organisation of human activities and the architect trying to immerse himself in the user perspective and finding opportunities for his own specific architectural design ideas. Core problem situation is the transformation of fluid organisational concepts into more tangible concepts applicable for the design and construction of a new building The differences in properties of technical and social systems complicate this interdisciplinary design process. Whereas the technical system is basically fixed, is the social system basically fluid and kaleidoscopic in nature (Checkland and Holwell 1998). We would expect manager and architect to overcome this difference and to design both systems in close harmony and to aim at a fit of organisation and building in the design process (Mobach and Rogier 1995). However, both professions are supported by their own related but different design methodologies. Systems science, especially an interdisciplinary synthesis of hard and soft approaches on the subject still to be developed, may contribute to the methodological support of both professional practices, since human and technical design questions of construction will always emerge as an interdisciplinary interconnected system of hard and soft problems. But within systems science, two separate and contrastive traditions support human decision-making in the design of technical and social systems. Although some systems ideas of a synthesised framework are present in rudimentary form, an elaborated framework applicable for this specific design process does not yet exist. B1 – Page 1