Total System Intervention for System Failures and Its Application to Information and Communication Technology Systems

Total system intervention (TSI) for system failure (SF) is proposed for preventing further occurrences of SFs. TSI is a meta-methodology in critical system thinking for managing complex and differing viewpoints. First, the authors introduce meta-methodology called ‘system of SFs (SOSF)’ as a common language among various stakeholders to improve their understanding of SFs. Then, we propose the actual application scenario, or ‘TSI for SFs’. TSI for SF identifies the stakeholders in the failure using a matrix that shows for each stakeholder the entity and/or the factor that is thought to have caused the failure. This helps to clarify the stakeholders' views and to identify stakeholders with opposing views. The SOSF meta-methodology and related methodologies are used in the course of the subsequent discussion and debate to agree upon who is responsible for the failure and to identify the countermeasures and/or preventative measures to be applied. An application example in ICT engineering demonstrates that using the proposed meta-methodology as a critical system practice helps prevent future SFs by learning from previous SFs. Three actions were identified for preventing further SFs: close the gap between the stakeholders, introduce absolute goals and enlarge system boundary.