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Peter Checkland
10 quotes
“We have no aces to what the world is, to ontology, only to descriptions of the world... that is to say, epistemology... We should never say something in the world: 'it is a system'; only: "it may be described as a system'.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Checkland 1983, p. 671 cited in Stephen K. Probert (1998) "The Metaphysical Foundations of Soft and Hard Information Systems Methodologies". In: Robert Macredie (1998) Modelling for Added Value. p. 86
“We reduce the complexity of the variety of the world in experiments whose results are validated by their repeatability, and we may build knowledge by the refutation of hypotheses.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 51 cited in: Rosário Macário (2011) Managing Urban Mobility Systems. p. 52
“A methodology will lack the precision of a technique but will be a firmer guide to action than a philosophy. Where a technique tells you 'how' and a philosophy tells you 'what', a methodology will contain elements of both 'what' and 'how'.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 162 cited in: Rob Pooley, Pauline Wilcox (2003) Applying UML: Advanced Applications. p. 50
“In a certain sense human activity systems do not exist, only perceptions of them exist, perceptions which are associated with specific Ws.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 219 as cited in: Robert L. Flood, Norma R.A. Romm (1997) Critical Systems Thinking. p. 206
“The core of a root definition of a system will be a transformation process (T), the means by which defined inputs are transformed into defined outputs. The transformation will include the direct object of the main activity verbs subsequently required to describe the system.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 223 as cited in: Gillian Ragsdell, Daune West, Jennifer Wilby (2002) Systems Theory and Practice in the Knowledge Age. p. 82. In the original quote Checkland summarised his earlier work with Smyth published in 1976.
“Making drawings to indicate the many elements in any human situation is something which has characterized SSM from the start. Its rationale lies in the fact that the complexity of human affairs is always a complexity of multiple interacting relationships; and pictures are a better medium than linear prose for expressing relationships. Pictures can be taken in as a whole and help to encourage holistic rather than reductionist thinking about a situation.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Cursory inspection of the world suggests it is a giant complex with dense connections between its parts. We cannot cope with it in that form and are forced to reduce it to some separate areas which we can examine separately'. ..”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 60 cited in: Frederik Pretorius (2008) Project Finance for Constructions and Infrastructure. p. 36
“In an unrestricted science such as biology or geology, the effects under study are so complex that designed experiments with controls are often not possible. Quantitative models are more vulnerable and the chance of unknown factors dominating the observations is much greater.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A root definition describing a notional system chosen for its relevance to what the investigator and/or people in the problem situation perceive as matters of contention.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 319 cited in: Raymond W. Y. Kao (2010) Sustainable Economy. p. 411
“The concept of action research arises in the behavioural sciences and is obviously applicable to an examination of human activity systems carried out through the process of attempting to solve problems. This core is the idea that the researcher does not remain an observer outside the subject of investigation but becomes a participant in the relevant human group. The researcher becomes a participant in the action, and the process of change itself becomes the subject of research. In action research the roles of researcher and subject are obviously not fixed: the roles of the subject and the practitioner are sometimes switched: the subjects become researchers... and researchers become men of action.”
Peter Checkland (1930–2026) first seen 2001 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: p. 152 as cited in: R.L. McCown (2001) "Learning to bridge the gap between science-based decision support and the practice of farming". In: Aust. J. Agric. Res., Vol 52, p. 560-561