The Vanguard Method

Abstract

This chapter shows how John Seddon’s ‘Vanguard Method’ has been developed as a way of understanding and then improving the way that services are designed and managed. Seddon’s method is shown to share several of the fundamental propositions common to the systems thinking tradition, although it has different antecedents. In contrast to the reductionist ‘command and control’ thinking that dominates the management of conventional services, the Vanguard Method helps managers to see their organisations as systems. The chapter explains how command and control methods create ‘failure demand’, a term coined by Seddon to describe a systemic phenomenon which appears as a signal of ineffectiveness. ‘Unlearning’ flawed beliefs about the management of work is enabled through normative change, allowing the development of designs that work systematically better and can systemically be further improved. New designs are then built around an understanding that customers determine what matters to them, with knowledge of demand allowing for systems designed to absorb variety. Published examples of where Seddon’s method has been applied to different types of service systems are cited, and ongoing research into the implications for traditional budget management is outlined.