Building A Multidisciplinary Group Using Soft Systems Methodology: Describing the Process

Abstract

This paper discusses the multidisciplinary nature of socio-technical change research and the challenges of building a multidisciplinary team to address the issues of socio-technical change in information and communication technology. Soft Systems Methodology was used to develop the team and to foster the group learning of qualitative research approaches among engineers and IT experts. This case study provides a detailed account of the first stages of developing this group including the challenges involved in overcoming the disciplinary separations traditionally inhibiting cross-faculty, cross-disciplinary collaboration.