Design's Mechanism -- General Morphological Analysis
Abstract
The increasing contact of the U.S. military with wicked problems over the last 20 years has driven the development of Design as a non-linear problem solving methodology. Doctrine provides little guidance on how Design is conducted. Commanders used to the traditional military planning process experience difficulty in leading and implementing a problem solving methodology that lacks structure. This paper presents General Morphological Analysis (GMA) as a Design mechanism that will add structure to solving wicked problems. The paper provides an in-depth presentation of wicked problems, introduces the concept of wicked problem-complexes, presents a general discussion of nonlinear problem solving, and provides a brief history of GMA. It identifies military problems as wicked problems and explains how GMA embodies Design's process and meets Design's goals through the application of Design's fundamentals. The Columbian-FARC problem-complex is modeled to demonstrate how GMA functions as a suitable Design mechanism. Finally, the paper logically links GMA to Design and recommends that GMA become a mechanism for Design.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 04, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA564038
Entities
People
- John L. Miller
Organizations
- Naval War College