Morphological analysis or general morphological analysis is a method for exploring possible solutions to a multi-dimensional, non-quantified complex problem. It was developed by Swiss astronomer
Fritz Zwicky.
[Ritchey, T. (1998)]
General Morphological Analysis: A general method for non-quantified modeling
. General morphology has found use in fields including
engineering design
The engineering design process, also known as the engineering method, is a common series of steps that engineers use in creating functional products and processes. The process is highly iterative – parts of the process often need to be repeat ...
,
technological forecasting,
organizational development
Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational chan ...
and policy analysis.
Overview
General morphology was developed by Fritz Zwicky, the Bulgarian-born, Swiss-national
astrophysicist based at the
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...
. Among others, Zwicky applied morphological analysis to astronomical studies and jet and
rocket propulsion
A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to Acceleration, accelerate without using any surrounding Atmosphere of Earth, air. A rocket engine produces thrust by Reaction (physics), reaction to exhaust ex ...
systems. As a problem-structuring and
problem-solving
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
technique, morphological analysis was designed for multi-dimensional, non-quantifiable problems where causal modelling and simulation do not function well, or at all.
Zwicky developed this approach to address seemingly non-reducible complexity: using the technique of
cross-consistency assessment (CCA),
[ the system allows for reduction by identifying the possible solutions that actually exist, eliminating the illogical solution combinations in a grid box (sometimes called a morphological box) rather than reducing the number of variables involved.
]
Decomposition versus morphological analysis
Problems that involve many governing factors, where most of them cannot be expressed numerically can be well suited for morphological analysis.
The conventional approach is to break a complex system into parts, isolate the parts (dropping the 'trivial' elements) whose contributions are critical to the output and solve the simplified system for desired scenarios. The disadvantage of this method is that many real-world phenomena do not have obviously trivial elements and cannot be simplified.
Morphological analysis works backwards from the output towards the system internals without a simplification step.[Modelling Complex Socio-Technical Systems Using Morphological Analysis (Ritchey 2003-0]
The system's interactions are fully accounted for in the analysis.
References in fiction
Robert A. Heinlein has his characters use a "Zwicky box" in '' Time Enough for Love'', to figure out what's available to break the ennui of his 2000-year-old character.
David Brin
Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American science fiction author. He has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, used "Zwicky Choice Boxes" in '' Sundiver'' as a means to help solve a murder mystery.
See also
* Corporate strategy
In the field of management, strategic management involves the formulation and implementation of the major goals and initiatives taken by an organization's managers on behalf of stakeholders, based on consideration of Resource management, resources ...
* Futures studies
Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and wor ...
* Influence diagrams
An influence diagram (ID) (also called a relevance diagram, decision diagram or a decision network) is a compact graphical and mathematical representation of a decision situation. It is a generalization of a Bayesian network, in which not only p ...
* Market research
Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers. It involves understanding who they are and what they need. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining com ...
* Scenario analysis
Scenario planning, scenario thinking, scenario analysis, scenario prediction and the scenario method all describe a strategic planning method that some organizations use to make flexible long-term plans. It is in large part an adaptation and gen ...
* Scenario planning
Scenario planning, scenario thinking, scenario analysis, scenario prediction and the scenario method all describe a strategic planning method that some organizations use to make flexible long-term plans. It is in large part an adaptation and gen ...
* Socio-technical systems
Sociotechnical systems (STS) in organizational development is an approach to complex organizational work design that recognizes the interaction between people and technology in workplaces. The term also refers to coherent systems of human relatio ...
* Stakeholder analysis
Stakeholder analysis in conflict resolution, business administration, Environmental health, environmental health sciences decision making, industrial ecology, public administration, and project management is the process of assessing a system and po ...
* Strategic planning
Strategic planning is the activity undertaken by an organization through which it seeks to define its future direction and makes decisions such as resource allocation aimed at achieving its intended goals. "Strategy" has many definitions, but it ...
* TRIZ
TRIZ (; ) is a methodology that combines an organized, systematic method of problem-solving with analysis and forecasting techniques derived from the study of patterns of invention in global patent literature. The development and improvement of ...
* Wicked problem
In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fix ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*Duczynski, Guy; dov Bachmann, Sascha; Smith, Matthew; Knight, Charles (August 2023). "Operational and Strategic Progress in Ukraine: Identifying the Condition Changes". Naval Post-Graduate School, Insights, Monterrey. available at
ECCO Insights - Global ECCO - Naval Postgraduate School
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Portal bar, Philosophy, Psychology
Morphology
Problem solving methods