About IDP lab
Learn more about the idea behind IDP lab and the people who work with it.
About IDP lab
IDP means "ill-defined problems".
Well defined problems are problems in which the initial state, the target state as well as the methods which lead to the latter are generally known. This definition is applicable to the majority of testable problems, i.e. mathematical problems on school level, and also comlicated problems such as chess.
Ill defined problems, on the other hand, can be characterised by the fact that the initial state, the target state and the methods are fuzzy. They are therefore commonly labelled as 'ill defined problems'. For example, what exactly 'waste' in organisations is - in opposite to 'risk management' - is regularly subject to controversial discussions. Equally disputed are measures by which the success of a certain action could be identified. Further there is rarely consensus which measures are effective and efficient in order to get from an initial state to a target state.
In modern societies, ill defined problems are regularly managed by assigning them to professions or semi-professional groups. One core task of physicians and lawyers - as representatives of classical professions - consists in redefininig ill defined problems according to their fields of competence to make them manageable. Hence a headache gets transformed into an orthopaedic or neurological (or, or,...) problem. Similarily a dispute between neighbours is being turned into an administrative or criminal (or, or,...) law case. In the same way professional occupations like consultants start with an 'analysis' in order to make organisational problems manageable according to their toolset. The question, if said problems are being solved in a sustainable way, is still an open question.
IDP lab takes a different approach: hypotheses about the causes of problems are tested in short-cycle iterations in order to identify the actual causes of the problems. The results of these processes are made available to the general public so that solutions to problems can be implemented more quickly and effectively for other organisations in the future. IDP LAB therefore sees itself as an experimental and non-profit organisation.
IDP lab is therefore not an organisation, but an experiment. An experiment consisting of one person and a network of partners from industry, the non-profit sector and academia who are trying to solve organisational problems not superficially, but sustainably.
The people at IDP lab
Prof. Dr. Rainer Erne
Product, Process and Project Management
Rainer Erne is professor for Product, Process and Project Management at Nuertingen-Geislingen Universioty near Stuttgart.
Before that, Rainer Erne was engaged for over 15 years in abovementioned topics in various indusrtial companies such as IBM and the Bosch Group.
Besides that he supported for over 15 years Nonprofit Organisations, especially churches, in the identification and minimisation of waste.
Prof. Dr. Rainer Erne
Mail: rainer.erne@idp-lab.org
Prof. Dr. Claus Hüsselmann
Project, Project Portfolio and Process Management
Prof. Dr. Claus Hüsselmann
Mail: claus.huesselmann@idp-lab.org
Stefanie Langhardt
Project Management and Coaching
Stefanie Langhardt is a freelance consultant for Project Management and Coaching.
She supports in the critical reflection and application of agile and waterfall processes with the aim to to leverge Project Management in a valued-added way.
Before that she was engaged for over ten years as a Project Manager in Profit and Nonprofit Organisations as a certified IPMA Project Manager.
Stefanie Langhardt
Mail: stefanie.langhardt@idp-lab.org