Introducing the Solution Search Path (SSP)
The Solution Search Path is one of the principal tools in the CSD toolbox. It is a four-step process roadmap, with stakeholder engagement and approval at every step, that establishes the Solution-Discovery process for whatever the issue of concern is at the moment. The four steps of the SSP express the logic of moving from an initial state where only the existence of a problem is recognized, to a final state with full knowledge of the solution. Further, the steps are structured so consensus support for the final result is built incrementally along the way.
The SSP can be viewed in two ways. One view sees the SSP as set of questions, posed to and about the stakeholders, The answers guide the planning for each phase of a CSD project. The other view sees the SSP as the set of tasks to be executed when doing solution-discover for each Phase in the course of a project. Either view is acceptable, depending on the context. Remember CSD is a paradigm, not a cookbook, so be as flexible as will be productive in applying the SSP concept.
The four steps of the general SSP, expressed as tasks in a CSD project, are the four in the following list. Alternatively, to pose each of the steps of the SSP as questions in the planning of a CSD project, simply put the phrase “How do we…” in front of each of the four task descriptions below.
- Identify, recruit and engage all the stakeholders in the issue. Elicit from each of them a statement of interests, concerns, values, priorities, fears and aspirations which, when satisfied, would constitute resolution of the issue in question for that stakeholder.
- From this stakeholder input, construct a Definition of Success which, in aggregate, expresses the qualities of outcome(independent of whatever solution form may be selected) to be delivered by any acceptable solution.
- Determine the method of searching for solution options that will create a menu of such options with high certainty that at least one good one will be included. This sets up the creative process within the CSD project that produces the solution.
- Establish a method of solution evaluation and refinement that will lead to selection of the preferred solution from the menu of options.
Applying the SSP Throughout a CSD Project
The SSP is applied at any spot and any scale within a CSD project where a problem arises that needs a stakeholder-supported solution. It is used to conduct the core solution-discovery activity in each phase of a CSD project that leads to achieving the goal for that phase. It is useful for resolving the little spontaneous problems that pop up along the way in the course of the project. Finally, if the final product of the project (the solution to Problem A) is itself a system for addressing problems, then the SSP can be a part of that solution. An example where the SSP is an inherent part of the delivered solution would be a program for developing mitigations to the consequences of climate disruption in a coastal region.
Iterating the SSP
The SSP is generally applied in an iterative manner. An initial pass is made through each of the four steps. The resulting provisional Solution-Discovery process plan is presented to the stakeholders for comment. Based on the comments, the results of the SSP are updated to improve their fidelity to stakeholders’ needs and desires. This process of review and updating need not proceed in strict numerical order. Rather, each step can be perfected somewhat independently as circumstances dictate. This process continues until a state of overall stakeholder approval for the Solution-Discovery process is reached. At this point in the project, the Solution Discovery process is set and ready to go.
Symbol for the Solution Search Path
The Solution-Discovery process, set up in this manner, then proceeds to address the problem at the root of the issue. However, this exploration of the problem and its possible solutions will, almost inevitably, reveal new information that will expose shortcomings in the current version of the Solution-Search process itself. The entire SSP should be iterated again, leading to improvements that update the Solution-Discovery process. The project participants and leadership must be open to this continual reiteration of the process review and update, because this is a source of excellence in the final result.
Is the SSP necessary and sufficient?
With this image of the SSP and the resulting Solution-Discovery process in mind, two very important and related questions will naturally arise.
- Is this way of building a Solution-Discovery process necessary for success? That is, must the process-building be done in this or an equivalent manner?
- Is way of building a Solution-Discovery process sufficient for success? That is, as it stands, is it complete and in need of no addition?
A rigorous proof that the SSP and resulting Solution-Discovery process are both necessary and sufficient is most likely beyond reach. However, confidence in a “Yes” can come from doing a little mind experiment. Answer, for yourself, two questions.
- What if one or more steps of the SSP were not carried out explicitly and carefully?
- Is there an entirely different process model that can do the same job?
Another, somewhat different approach leading to the same conclusion is to apply the epistemology of systems. Epistemology is the division of philosophy that attends to the questions of “What do we know, how do we know it, and why do we believe it to be true?” From this viewpoint, the task of discovering a solution to a complex and contentious issue is one of acquiring and verifying the information necessary to put a solution in place and operate it to deliver the desired outcome. That task of information acquisition/verification starts from a state of almost complete ignorance. The only knowledge is the vague awareness that a problem exists, causing the state of reality to be different from what it is desired or needs to be. In that state of ignorance, the SSP (or its equivalent) is the key to initiating the knowledge acquisition/verification process.
Does the SSP work within the Adversarial Power Politics (APP) paradigm?
Yes, in a way, it does. Do you accept that the SSP (or its equivalent) is both necessary and sufficient for success with any solution discovery effort? Then
an APP effort must employ the SSP in some degree to be at all successful in creating overall stakeholder satisfaction. However, when addressing an issue via the APP paradigm, the application of the SSP will be at random and chaot, and thereby done very poorly.