Designing a Water Resources Management Decision Support System: An Application of the WSR Approach

Abstract

The wuli, shili, renli (WSR) systems methodology (an oriental systems approach to the dynamic unification of the study of the objective world, organization, and human factors during intervention) is discussed. After a brief description of WSR, the paper concentrates on its application to the development of a computer-supported water resources management system. The working process of the WSR approach is illustrated through this case study. Also, the "added value" of WSR is made clear: in contrast with other Chinese methodologies which might be applied to handle a "technical" project of this nature, WSR makes the need to deal with human relations more visible. It therefore embodies the insight, common to Western systems methodologies, that human relations are integral to the success of interventions—but in a manner that is both philosophically and practically meaningful to a Chinese audience.