Enriching Idealized Design: A Multimethod Framework Integrating Systems Thinking Tools

Complex and wicked problems characterized by high levels of uncertainty motivate the use of multimethodology (or methodological pluralism) in which different methodologies and methods are combined to better approach problems and develop solutions. This methodological pluralism has been applied across disciplines, including the systems thinking field, where scholars employed complementary methodologies and methods. Idealized design and interactive planning represent one such systems methodology that offers a structured action-oriented approach to redesigning a system toward an idealized state rather than attempting to predict it. Although conceptually well-established, idealized design has been noted for its limited practical guidance, particularly in identifying where and how to intervene in a system. The present paper addresses this gap by proposing an enriched idealized design framework that integrates rich pictures from soft systems methodology and causal loop diagrams, system archetypes, and the leverage points framework from system dynamics. Each tool is integrated at a specific phase of the idealized design process, forming a progressive cascade while preserving the original sequence of the idealized design approach. A retrospective empirical demonstration drawing on a longitudinal study on computational thinking (CT) education is presented to illustrate the conceptual coherence of the framework, and potential directions for future work, including prospective validation, are discussed.