Sociotechnical systems design, a research and design approach in work science that originated more than 70 years ago, has gained renewed attention in light of current challenges and developments associated with New Work, networked digitalization, and the socio-ecological transformation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The growing relevance of this approach is evident from its explicit integration into key norms, guidelines, and regulations such as the AI Standardization Roadmap, the VDI/VDE Guideline on “Learning-Conducive Work Design,” and the much-discussed AI Act of the European Union. These developments provide a strong rationale for applying the structured “Procedure for Establishing Validated Work Science Findings” developed and adopted by the German Ergonomics Society (GfA) to the topic of Sociotechnical Systems Design (STS).The article first provides (in Chap. 1) an overview of the state of research and design practice within major European STS competence networks. Chapter 2 presents a working model developed by the GfA project team, distinguishing between a general, binding definition of STS, domains with specific empirical evidence, and emerging research areas that are still exploratory and thus distant from validated findings. This is followed by a presentation of the project team’s conceptual understanding of STS, including several open questions identified during the process.The core of the article (Chap. 3) reports the results of a Scoping Review, coordinated by Ernst Hartmann and first presented at the GfA Spring Congress 2025 in Aachen, which provides evidence of empirical validation, because the literature under consideration contained various findings regarding practical applicability and practical probation. According to the GfA’s structured procedure, this would—pending confirmation by the scientific community—represent the attainment of the third quality level of validated findings. Chapter 4 outlines the ongoing work toward a deeper analysis of the practical validation of the STS approach. Finally, Chap. 5 highlights current topics and open questions that may inspire further research and offer promising perspectives for applying the STS framework in the context of the digital, ecological, and social transformation of increasingly complex, globally interconnected sociotechnical systems characterized by AI integration and the crossing of organizational, industrial, and domain boundaries.Practical Relevance: The results provide a scientifically validated foundation for applying sociotechnical principles in organizational practice. They identify the conditions under which the joint optimization of social and technical subsystems is empirically effective and demonstrate how this approach can be successfully implemented across different sectors. The findings offer concrete guidance for advancing participatory design strategies in the digitalized world of work.

Was weiß die Arbeitswissenschaft zu Soziotechnischer Systemgestaltung?

期刊论文
发表日期：

2025年11月7日

查看全文

Wolfgang Kötter,
Ernst A. Hartmann,
Erich Latniak,
Thomas Mühlbradt

摘要

Sociotechnical systems design, a research and design approach in work science that originated more than 70 years ago, has gained renewed attention in light of current challenges and developments associated with New Work, networked digitalization, and the socio-ecological transformation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The growing relevance of this approach is evident from its explicit integration into key norms, guidelines, and regulations such as the AI Standardization Roadmap, the VDI/VDE Guideline on “Learning-Conducive Work Design,” and the much-discussed AI Act of the European Union. These developments provide a strong rationale for applying the structured “Procedure for Establishing Validated Work Science Findings” developed and adopted by the German Ergonomics Society (GfA) to the topic of Sociotechnical Systems Design (STS).

The article first provides (in Chap. 1) an overview of the state of research and design practice within major European STS competence networks. Chapter 2 presents a working model developed by the GfA project team, distinguishing between a general, binding definition of STS, domains with specific empirical evidence, and emerging research areas that are still exploratory and thus distant from validated findings. This is followed by a presentation of the project team’s conceptual understanding of STS, including several open questions identified during the process.

The core of the article (Chap. 3) reports the results of a Scoping Review, coordinated by Ernst Hartmann and first presented at the GfA Spring Congress 2025 in Aachen, which provides evidence of empirical validation, because the literature under consideration contained various findings regarding practical applicability and practical probation. According to the GfA’s structured procedure, this would—pending confirmation by the scientific community—represent the attainment of the third quality level of validated findings. Chapter 4 outlines the ongoing work toward a deeper analysis of the practical validation of the STS approach. Finally, Chap. 5 highlights current topics and open questions that may inspire further research and offer promising perspectives for applying the STS framework in the context of the digital, ecological, and social transformation of increasingly complex, globally interconnected sociotechnical systems characterized by AI integration and the crossing of organizational, industrial, and domain boundaries.

Practical Relevance: The results provide a scientifically validated foundation for applying sociotechnical principles in organizational practice. They identify the conditions under which the joint optimization of social and technical subsystems is empirically effective and demonstrate how this approach can be successfully implemented across different sectors. The findings offer concrete guidance for advancing participatory design strategies in the digitalized world of work.