Cheat-sheet · Explore → Produce · ODCP Batch 23 · Group 3

Which method, when

Once a lens shows you where the trouble sits, there's a method built to act on it. You don't run all five — you start where it hurts most. Here's each one, worn as a different "hat", worked through on our case.

The case

India's urban gridlock. Decades of wider roads, flyovers and new metro lines — yet the commute keeps getting slower. Peak-hour times roughly double, an urban commuter loses ~94 hours a year, and vehicles drive ~40% of Delhi's particulate matter. The question isn't "how do we add capacity?" — it's "why does the problem keep coming back?"

Lens 1 · Mechanical

Vanguard Method

Value demand vs failure demand
The Customer Advocate
Asks: What demand is entering the mobility system — and how well is it responding to it?
In focusCommuters, metro & bus passengers, state transport, traffic-control systems
ToolsDemand analysis · flow mapping · capability measures
Use when the goal is clear but the system is inefficient or keeps missing it.
Lens 2 · Interrelationships

System Dynamics

Cause-effect & feedback loops
The Scientist
Asks: What feedback loops keep congestion coming back — even after we widen the roads?
In focusVehicle owners, urban planners, developers, government
ToolsCausal loop diagrams · stock & flow models · system archetypes
Use when behaviour is driven by how the parts interact over time, and quick fixes rebound.
Lens 3 · Organismic

Viable System Model

Is the system viable? (S1–S5)
The Doctor
Asks: Who is actually coordinating the whole mobility system — and can it adapt?
In focusTraffic police, metro authority, transport dept, municipality, urban development
ToolsVSM mapping · communication analysis
Use when the issue is structure, coordination, resilience or staying viable.
Lens 4 · Purposeful

Soft Systems Methodology

Multiple realities & perspectives
The Journalist
Asks: Whose problem is this really — and how does each group define it?
In focusCitizens, businesses, government, environmental groups, bus operators, taxis & auto-rickshaws
ToolsRich pictures · CATWOE
Use when people genuinely see the problem differently and need shared understanding.
Lens 5 · Societal / Env.

Critical Systems Heuristics

Power & inclusion
The Judge
Asks: Who benefits from how the problem is currently defined — and who's left out?
In focusPolicy makers, car owners, pedestrians, cyclists, disabled citizens
ToolsBoundary critique · stakeholder analysis · boundary questions
Use when fairness, inclusion or sustainability is at stake.
Rule of thumb → Score each lens 0–4 for how troubled it is. Start with the method that fits your highest score, and bring the others in as the situation shifts. No single method tells the whole story.
ODA · Systems Thinking Teach-Back ODCP Batch 23 · Group 3 · Triple Loop Learning