The impact of soft OR-methods on problem structuring

In this article the impact of a soft OR-method on problem structuring is investigated. A game/simulation was used to test the impact of the method in a quasi-experimental setting. The game was run several times with representatives from different municipalities. In three municipalities the method was applied (experimental group) and in three other municipalities the game/simulation was run without the intervention (control group). On the basis of different types of measurements hardly any positive effects of the problem-structuring method were found. A secondary analysis on available data was conducted to explain the little impact of the method. It shows that the impact of the method is related to the type of problem-structuring process. The soft OR-method had little impact when conflicts about tasks or interests were dominating, but it had more impact when the problem-structuring process focused on information exchange between participants.