Macro-Design · Several weeks to months of consulting and design

U-Procedure

A sociotechnical and phenomenological process for organizational development that moves through technical, social, and cultural subsystems to diagnose and redesign an organization.

When to use U-Procedure

Effective for organizational restructuring, cultural alignment projects, and workflow optimization within established institutions.

How U-Procedure works

Instructional designers can use this as a diagnostic framework to ensure that a training intervention addresses the underlying cultural and social values of an organization rather than just the technical skills.

Phases of U-Procedure

  1. Observation of phenomena: Analyzing workflows, resources, and facts: The group examines the technical subsystem as it is now: processes, resources, facilities and results. Participants collect facts and observations without judging them.
  2. Forming a picture: Understanding the social subsystem and role distribution: Participants describe the social subsystem: structure, roles, relationships and how people work together. Images or metaphors help capture the organisation's character.
  3. Understanding values: Identifying the implicit rules and policies shaping the organization: The group uncovers the cultural subsystem: values, principles and unwritten rules behind the current way of working. The facilitator asks what beliefs explain the patterns seen.
  4. Judgment: Evaluating if the current state aligns with desired outcomes: At the bottom of the U, participants judge which values and patterns to keep and which to let go. This decision turns diagnosis into redesign.
  5. Defining future values: Establishing new guidelines and cultural principles: The group formulates the values and principles the organisation should work from in future. These become the guidelines for the redesign.
  6. Visioning: Designing new functions and social roles: Participants design the future social subsystem: structures, roles and relationships that express the new values. Draft organisational designs are discussed and refined.
  7. Developing future phenomena: Planning new processes and technical implementations: The group designs the concrete processes, resources and practical changes, and plans implementation. The facilitator links each measure back to the chosen values.

Key principles

  • Phenomenological diagnosis of the present state
  • Recursive reappraisal of organizational subsystems
  • Integration of technical, social, and cultural layers

Best for

  • Organizational development
  • Change management
  • Workflow redesign

Considerations

  • More structured and analytical than the later 'Presencing' model
  • Focuses heavily on internal organizational subsystems rather than global ecosystems

Attribution & sources

Developed by Friedrich Glasl, 1975

Primary source

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