Disclosing differing interpretations of user needs: An application of soft systems methodology

Soft systems methodology was the tool chosen to address an unstructured problem of eliciting user requirements of an Information Technology system in an Occupational Health and Safety Unit in a large public sector organisation. The methodology is characterised. Its application is described up to the point of disclosure of contrasting patterns of thinking which support alternative perspectives on user requirements. The value of such an analysis is briefly discussed and some implications for use of the methodology in a human-computer interaction context are considered.