160 Formulating the Mess themselves.Itisthisqualitythatmakesamessanintractable henomenon. p The prevalent powerlessness and impotency in dealing with the mess lead to the inevitable denial on which messes thrive. Formulation of the mess is a three-phase process of 1. Searching 2. Mapping 3. Telling the story 2 8.1 SeARChing Searching is the iterative examination that generates information, knowl- edge,andunderstandingaboutthesystemanditsenvironment.Itisabout watching how a system actually behaves, learning its history, and under- standing why it does what it does. The search phase of mess formulation involves three kinds of inquiry: 1. Systems analysis 2. Obstruction analysis 3. System dynamics The three inquiries evolve iteratively (Figure 8.1). With each successive cycleofiterations,wetrytoachieveahigherlevelofspecificity.Inthefirst