On soft complexity

In systems thinking, a problem situation can be described as exhibiting soft complexity (SC) and SC can be captured in the form of a rich picture in Soft Systems Methodology. The concept of soft complexity is depicted in the following note:

These 4 systems ideas: (a) 2-dimensions of complexity, (b) social systems model of Ackoff, (c) soft systems view of organization and (d) rich picture diagramming in Soft Systems Methodology (of Checkland) all explain the nature of soft complexity and these 4 systems ideas are compatible and related theoretically. Soft means inter-subjective in this case (with different stakeholders holding different viewpoints that can be incompatible and interests that are conflicting; complexity mainly refers to the dense inter-relatedness of many elements involved. As a consequence, stakeholders are facing a problem situation [with soft complexity] without a consensus view on "what to do" about the problem situation.