Peeling Away Constraints: Horst Rittel's Method of Systematic Doubt and Its Application to Collective Creativity

6 Pages Posted: 22 Jan 2020

See all articles by Jeffrey V. Nickerson

Jeffrey V. Nickerson

Stevens Institute of Technology - School of Business

Date Written: March 12, 2017

Abstract

Over-constrained design problems can be solved through a method of systematic doubt articulated by Horst Rittel in the 1970s. This method peels away constraints by negating phrases in a problem statement. The technique is amenable to parallelization, and thus might be used in collective creativity: crowds or communities could peel off constraints, and generate ideas in the modified design space, in parallel.

Keywords: Systematic doubt, collective creativity, crowds, Horst Rittel, design methods, constraints

JEL Classification: O31, C44

Suggested Citation

Nickerson, Jeffrey V., Peeling Away Constraints: Horst Rittel's Method of Systematic Doubt and Its Application to Collective Creativity (March 12, 2017). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2931939 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2931939

Jeffrey V. Nickerson (Contact Author)

Stevens Institute of Technology - School of Business ( email )

Hoboken, NJ 07030
United States

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