Vom Teufelsquadrat zum nachhaltigen Engelsdiamanten und holistischen Bow-Tie-Modell: Methodenentwicklung für die ganzheitliche Analyse, Gestaltung und Entwicklung von nachhaltigen Arbeitssystemen

To counteract global crises such as climate change or Covid-19, it is becoming increasingly important to make work systems more sustainable and resilient. This applies not only to ecological sustainability, but also to economic, social and security policy sustainability. Against this background, the task arises of critically reflecting on, adapting and further developing established research methods. In this theoretical paper, approaches to value-based system design and development were analyzed, with a particular focus on anchoring sustainability as a fundamental value in system design. Two models were developed that can provide an initial qualitative approach: The “angels diamond” diagram shows sustainability on the same level as time, costs, functions and quality described in the classical devil’s square diagram. The “holistic bow-tie model” shows the connections and interactions between a local sociotechnical system and its global metasystems like organizations, societies, and environment. The practical application of the models as part of a NATO workshop demonstrates the relevance and effectiveness of both models in the context of designing an AI-based safety system.

Practical Relevance: The practical relevance of the contribution lies in the development and application of models that contribute to the systematic integration of sustainability aspects into the design of work systems. They make it possible to consider the effects on ecological, economic, social and security policy sustainability in system development decisions and promote a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions between local and global systems. The application of the models helps to analyze complex interactions and to make decisions about the ecological, economic and social impacts of products or systems.