This article produced descriptive narrative outcomes and data visualizations including information about top soft system methodology (SSM) authors, author citation impacts, common dissemination outlets for SSM work, and other relevant metrics commonly used to measure academic impact. The goal of this piece is to depict who, what, why, when, and where SSM had the greatest impact on research, systems thinking, and methodology after nearly 40 years of use, as we look towards its future as a methodological approach used to comprehend complex problem situations.

This article presents some results of the content analysis study that explores the authority data change over time in response to change in standards. Authority data describes persons, institutions, places, events, and works, as well as relations between them. This study contributes to the understanding of metadata change and its relation to functionality of authority records and improved information access.