This refers to doing a task, problem, or project (e.g. implementing an innovation in the electoral system) by breaking it down into small parts, tackling one segment first, then another, until the whole task/project is completed. The purpose of partialization is to make something (problem or project) easier to handle, as dealing with the whole thing can be quite formidable even to contemplate. Below are some textual descriptions of partialization.

"I had seen that when a client came in for clinical treatment, the social worker potentially faced a multiplicity of interrelating problems, issues and conflicts," she said. "Not knowing where to start -- or how -- they often took refuge in the belief that merely talking about the problems would provide a cure. Too often, it did not."

In an effort to make the complicated social-emotional problems manageable, Perlman put forward the idea of "partialization."

"An important feature of partialization is the fact that the problem-solving process was transferable to other areas of life," she said. "Success solving one problem could help the client and social worker deal with other issues later. Partialization proved 'workable' because small gains heightened the client's sense of confidence and hope."

The process Perlman outlined in her book she calls the "Four P's": A person comes to a place with an identified problem, often complex, that needs to be partialized.

"Partialization is necessary because you can't treat the whole of a person at one time," Perlman said. "I liken it to cleaning out an overburdened closet. If you go in and take everything out and pile it on the floor, you're going to look at it and say it's time for a nap.

"The best thing to do is to take a look and see 'where should the hats go?' Concentrating on one thing is clarifying, not overwhelming."
http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/960118/perlman.shtml

--
The partialization strategy: an empirical reformulation of demonstration project planning.
Rothman J, Lubben JE.

The demonstration project approach to planning is described and analyzed. Reasons for its frequent failure as a chosen strategy are delineated. The article introduces the concept of partialization as a broader framework for understanding and using demonstration projects. Four key elements for implementing the partialization strategy through selecting an appropriate initial demonstration site are delineated: success potential, access, linkage, and acceptance by the larger population. Partialization in this context examined two research case studies. The case studies provide specific illustrations of how partialization, when conducted as postulated, facilitated desired diffusion of innovations.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10312906
--

Partialization
Focus brings us naturally into a discussion about the partialization boundary. As mentioned earlier, the therapist's responsibility is to assess the totality of the client's situation, help break it down into manageable units, and help the client think about and decide what action, if any, should be taken.

Here's an example of how I use partialization related to a crisis situation in such a way as to minimize conflict of interests in the therapeutic relationship. In crisis intervention, I help a client start partializing a problem to reduce the client's strong anxiety reaction or panic which in an extreme form, as you know, this panic can become self-perpetuating and even physically dangerous.
http://homestudycredit.com/courses/contentCB/trkCB16lo.html