Comprehending meta-synthesis system approach in terms of DSS, soft OR and knowledge creation

Proposed by Chinese system scientists in 1990, meta-synthesis approach is a system methodology to tackle complex system problems. Till today, this approach still lacks well understanding at home and abroad which then blocks its development. This paper addresses MSA by DSS, soft OR methods or the relevant computerized support so as to explain the working philosophy of the approach and provide help to apply the approach to practical problem solving or the construction of its practicing platform, i.e. Hall for Workshop of Meta-synthetic Engineering (HWMSE) by adopting available methods or developing new technologies. The latter part briefly addresses two technologies, CorMap and iView, which conduct a computing way to support qualitative meta-synthesis for hypothesis generation for further verification and validation. Four typical applications are given.