Engaging With Wicked Problems: Patterns of Success and Failure

Some of the toughest problems corporations, organizations, and societies face are wicked problems. Conventional or “tame” problems have right answers and best choices that can be determined using analytical methods. In contrast, wicked problems ( Rittel & Webber, 1973 ) are impossible to solve definitively but can only be managed because they are big, messy, laden with unintended consequences, and filled with conflict between stakeholders who have multiple competing interests. Analytical methods designed for conventional problems won’t work effectively against problems like illegal drugs, societal inequality, poverty, debt, war, or homelessness. We conducted an investigation of 32 actual wicked or near-wicked problems to identify practices that seemed effective and those that failed to work or even got in the way of progress. We found that progress depended on revising goals, aligning the goals of multiple stakeholders, and reframing the way the situation is understood. From this investigation, we formulated a set of recommendations. These include judging whether a problem is wicked, and if so shifting mindset to a flexible perspective, and making use of relevant tools, along with mistakes to avoid. We also suggest a potentially positive perspective on wicked problems—that in some situations they can support change and adaptation rather than rigidity and conformity.