Resilience in Sociotechnical Systems: The Perspectives of Multiple Stakeholders

Abstract

We often design sociotechnical systems with the explicit intention that they will exhibit “resilience” in the face of unpredictable change. But there is often great uncertainty about how to define resilience—or achieve it. This article explores what design can learn about resilience by eliciting, combining, and contrasting multiple stakeholder perspectives within a single sociotechnical system. During one-on-one interviews, we asked participants to structure their ideas about resilience into a map of the overall system they work within. The maps were then used to analyze the system according to three key resilience characteristics. We found that the nature of their viewpoints was influenced by their ideas about the system’s boundaries, purpose, and timescale. Our findings give rise to a better understanding of the nature of change in sociotechnical systems and how to design for their resilience.

Keywords

• Resilience
• Sociotechnical systems
• Stakeholder perspectives
• Design communication
• System change