I have slightly adapted the wording from the original as I found some principle names to be too vague for me.

  1. Compatibility. The process of design must be compatible with the objectives. For example, an oligarchic committee cannot and will not design an equitable participatory system
  2. Minimal critical specification. Identify what is absolutely essential, and specify no more than absolutely essential. Acknowledge that a system functions because people get the job done regardless of rules.
  3. Shift left. The earlier you are able to identify and resolve faults in a system, the cheaper it is, as you save on both social and technical costs. Design the control loops to be as close to the creation stages as possible.
  4. Multifunctionality. Simple mechanisms rely on simple, replaceable parts. They are not easily adaptable. Complex organisms rely on the adaptability of components, whether human or machine.
  5. Boundary location. Grouping of people and activities is typically done by technology, territory, or time, each with its own tradeoffs. Maintaining those boundaries is a responsibility that typically falls to the supervisor in a well-designed system, but experienced working groups can sometimes pick that up as well.
  6. Information flow. Information systems should be designed to provide information in the first place to the point where action on the basis of it will be needed. Yet far too often systems flow far too detailed information to the top echelons, which then motivates them to try and take action that intervenes with a team’s scope and autonomy.
  7. Consistency. Systems of social support should be designed to reinforce the behaviors which the organization structure is designed to elicit. Not just the technical systems, but the systems of training, work measurement, performance assessment, hiring, should be built to reinforce those behaviors.
  8. Human values. The organization should strive to provide a high quality work outcome. That depends on, but also has to compromise with, the desires of humans to work in a humane way. The author references Thorsrud Six characteristics of a good job
  9. Incompletion. Design is an iterative process. Acknowledge that no structure is perfect and allow for evolution.

The pdf below was originally fetched from this link, I was just concerned about link rot and made a local copy here as well

cherns-1976-the-principles-of-sociotechnical-design