| Name | Regulative Cycle |
| Reference | Towards a Methodology of Psychological Practice (van Strien, 1997) |
Originating in psychological practice, the regulative cycle (Towards a Methodology of Psychological Practice (van Strien, 1997)) has been extensively applied as a methodology of (clinical) practice, geared towards the "interested" regulation of the behaviour of groups or organizations in the desired direction.
The work system (real site work system in the figure) under consideration typically consists of the activities of a delineated group of ''actors,'' mutually related in an organisation, a territory, a sector, a supply chain, etc. Positioning the regulative cycle with respect to the three realms. For the worksystem, one typically aims at improving the operations1
Monitoring & Evaluation yields the problems and gaps. For the selected real site work system, the Monitoring/Evaluation compares performance and properties with a site specfic reference model that has been derived (via Translation) from a reference model. Change (Intervention/Implementation in the figure) is the focus of the regulative cycle (improvement initiative).
Whereas the intervention intention of the regulative cycle make it a regulative interaction, the cycle includes a number of semiotic interactions: Problem Identification; Analysis and diagnosis; Plan of action, Selection or design of the therapy (treatment); and Monitoring & Evaluation (comparing observations of the real site work system (and/or the intervention's impact) with desired values expressed in the site specific reference model).
The activities evaluation, problem identification, and diagnosis are part of the Monitoring & Evaluation realm. Plan of action, and intervention (therapy (treatment)) are part of the Change realm.
Socio-economic scope
| Actants | |
| - Roles | Clinician, stakeholders of the work system |
| - Tools | Evidence-provision for clinical practitioners, such as what the Cochrane Collaboration is doing for health care. |
| - Services | Information services and communication enablers. |
| Inputs/Outputs | I: Problem Statement; O: Problem Solved |
| Target Outcome | Successful intervention in the work system. |
Dynamic context
As part of any improvement or development initiative, for a person (health, knowledge, skills), an organisation, or a social group (society).
Operations have constraints (the laws of the natural, social, or technical order2) and causal dependencies, which affect intervention options and the incentives for producing or providing certain assets. In theory, these constraints should be least stringent in the social and technical order.
The lean (low-cost) performance of regulative cycles is a key outcome that this interaction dictionary should achieve, by introducing collaborative approaches in the Monitoring & Evaluation and the Change Realm.
| Action Realm | All three realms: Operations Monitoring & Evaluation Change |
| Part of | Collective regulative bundle |
| Parts | evaluation (of work system operations with respect to an instrument or via benchmarking), problem identification (selection from a problem mess), diagnosis (of the problem situation – analysis), plan of action (design), and therapy (treatment) (intervention, implementation). |
| Preceeding Interactions | The sensing of a problem or undesired condition in the work system of interest. The one sensing the problem or experiencing the condition is often part of the work system. |
| Succeeding Interactions | Monitoring or evaluation: after the cycle has been concluded, either the intervention could be evaluated, or the condition of the system can be further monitored. |
| Alternatives | Comparable methods for change management in an entity such as an organisation, or a person. |
| Risks | Addressing the wrong problem (a sympton, rather than a root-cause); Bypassing diagnosis; jumping to solutions. |
Siblings under Regulative Interactions:
Regulative Cycle is generalization of:
