socioteknisk

Socioteknisk, or socio-technical, refers to an interdisciplinary approach to designing and managing complex systems that emphasizes the interdependence of social and technical factors. It posits that high performance and resilience arise when both the social subsystem (people, teams, work practices, culture, skills) and the technical subsystem (tools, machines, software, workflows) are designed and evolved together rather than in isolation. Technology is viewed as embedded in social contexts, and changes to one subsystem affect the other.

Origins and development: The concept emerged from mid-20th century research at the Tavistock Institute and early studies of industrial work organization, notably by researchers such as Eric Trist and colleagues. These studies showed that optimizing productivity required considering social relations, decision rights, and worker participation alongside technological innovations. The field has since broadened to information systems, organizational design, human–machine interaction, and system engineering.

Key concepts and methods: Central ideas include joint optimization, participatory design or co-design, work redesign, and alignment of social and technical subsystems. Methodologies often involve stakeholder involvement, iterative prototyping, scenario planning, and multi-criteria evaluation to balance efficiency, safety, usability, and learning.

Applications and impact: Sociotechnical thinking informs settings such as manufacturing, healthcare, software and IT system development, automation and Industry 4.0, and organizational change programs. It aims to improve performance while enhancing user acceptance, job satisfaction, and resilience to change.

Limitations: Practical implementation can be complex due to fuzzy boundaries between social and technical factors, measurement challenges, and potential resistance to change. Despite these, the approach remains influential for designing systems that are both effective and adaptable.