Interfaces without Implementation
I'm working on a functional analysis of the systems/organisational design. My idea is to visualise the systems/organisations as a specification of various sub-systems and execution paths primarily as explicitly stated "interfaces". if you imagine a decision tree - every node is a different route you can take in order to reach a certain outcome. I propose that we're very good at designing "empty" implementations without knowing whether they adhere to their specification or even if the implementation exists at all.
A simple example: A CEO of a company that has come under criticism for bad customer services, in particular issuing refunds, is now giving an interview and describes an "interface" that is in place.
- Call this number,
- Talk to an assistant
- Refund issued
But the system doesn't have any testability to ensure that the process really exists or if it's functional at all.
You could have a customer support number and a recorded message on repeat that there's an unprecedented surge in demand for their services… and it would be impossible to ever reach an assistant or have a refund issued.
But there isn't a testing rig for it and there's no legislative framework for scrutinising its working. There might be internal controls and watchdogs, but those are also just interfaces without satisfactory implementation!
The system could be dynamically turned on and off depending on various scenarios. Maybe for demonstration purposes so that the CEO would get through and demonstrate the refund process. Maybe it would be designed so it wears down the callers by making them wait for hours.
It's also possible that barriers would be built into the latter parts of the process, an assistant refusing a refund, the phone line going down, inability to start a refund process because of technical issues or discrepancies and finally - you could have the refund verbally authorised on the phone only that it never materialises and on subsequent enquiry find out that the record of it has been lost or met with a new obstruction workflow.
I suggest that this is a corruption of the system that allows sabotage by design and that its untestability and unaccountability is a form of an overflow that allows the system to get away with inefficiency and deceit until there's an existential threat to itself. There may also be an aspect of incompetence that the system is designed to hide.
I have found the same pattern everywhere politics, judiciary, human rights… Any thoughts on this? Has anyone already worked on this?