Discussion on the "New Agora": Thoughts on SDP

Below is a link to a discussion on SDP, an idea on how to develop better group communication toward a truly democratic system.

http://www.harnessingcollectivewisdom.com/sdp_process.html

Proponents of SDP are suggesting more than just a new process, but rather an entire paradigm shift in language and how we communicate about problems and ideas. The steps of SDP draw from centuries of beliefs and observations of functional and dysfunctional group dynamics. Some known problems such as Group Think (see space shuttle Challenger disaster investigations) which destroy sound decision making are accounted for using different strategies for moving decision making to a more democratic style. Deliberate tear down of power rankings is another key component. No one stakeholder's views should have any more weight than another's simply by position, power, or wealth. This differs from the Delphi study method where some participants are considered experts in their particular area. This arguably gives undue credence to their input before it is even evaluated. This is undesired in the SDP model.

This "New Agora" for democratic design and decision making could prove useful in developing new technology. One of my immediate criticisms is that this concept seems to be aimed at complex, even global problems such as social systems. It seems to cumbersome for solving a business problem or product design. The underlying theories and principles however, have been used effectively in these situations. It seems then, that the concepts could be used to develop a new culture for problem solving for an innovation think tank type of environment. I'm not sure that it would follow the SDP process exactly as defined in the article above, but certainly ideas such as one person/one vote for gathering ideas is sound logic. The product user may be the best person to ask about product design, not the engineering "expert".