Public policy, complexity and rulebase technology

A recent audit of accuracy at Centrelink revealed that an estimated one million mistakes had been made by the agency over a four-month period - an example of how burgeoning complexity has caused a deterioration in accuracy. Howard Pender describes the forms complexity takes, examines the problems it causes and discusses 'rulebase technologies' which, in some situations, enable it to be better dealt with. He also explores the relationships between public policy objectives, complexity and rulebase technologies. A summary is available online.