This document defines key concepts in systems thinking, including: - Defining a system as something that takes inputs through a process to produce outputs. - Types of systems include natural, designed abstract, engineered/technical, and human activity systems. - Habits of effective systems thinkers include considering how mental models impact understanding of systems. - Structures are stable system components, while processes involve change. The environment affects the system. - Hierarchy and resolution involve adjusting the level of detail in analysis. Prediction and control relate to anticipating and correcting deviations. - Emergent properties are behaviors that cannot be predicted from individual components alone. - System ownership relates to who controls and maintains the system and can cause

1. Mustafa Degerli
October, 2016 – METU II

2. Agenda
 Definition of system
 Types of system
 Systems thinking
 Habits of a systems thinker
 Structures and processes
 System environment
 Hierarchy and resolution
 Prediction and control
 Emergent properties
 System ownership
 World-view

3. Definition of system
 System
 something which operates in an organized
way
 take ingredients (inputs) through a procedure
(process) which is expected to convert them
into useful products (outputs)
 The input-process-output principle is essential
to all systems

4. Definition of system
 The effort of systems analysts towards making
the input-process-output procedure more
efficient
 Ends-and-means dominated
 Feedback loops and control typify an emphasis
on improvement of system

5. Definition of system
 Since the mid-1980s, there has also been a
steady development of systems thinking in
management
 The most notable application has been in the
three functionally related areas of quality
management, environmental management and
safety management
 Establish a cycle of continuous improvement in
aspects of management

6. Definition of system
 A system may be described as a recognizable
whole which consists of a number of parts
(called components or elements) that are
connected up in an organized way (the system's
structure)

7. Definition of system
 Characteristics
 A system does something
 Addition or removal of a component changes
the system
 A component is affected by its inclusion in
the system
 Components are perceived to be related in
hierarchical structures

8. Definition of system
 Characteristics
 There are means for control and
communication to promote system survival
 The system has emergent properties, some
of which are difficult to predict
 The system has a boundary
 Outside the boundary is a system
environment which affects the system
 A system is owned by someone

9. Types of system
 Natural systems (e.g. biological systems,
disease, the weather)
 Designed abstract systems (e.g. computer
programming languages, simulatory models,
signing systems)
 Engineered or designed technical systems (e.g.
process plant, computer systems)
 Human activity systems (e.g. work
organizations, a department, a committee

10. Types of system
 Information systems are often classified
separately, although they are likely to combine
aspects of abstract, engineered and human
activity systems
 Engineered systems, natural systems and
designed abstract systems are perceived by
them to be hard
 The properties of hard systems typically have
(or are perceived to have) a high degree of
predictability and attributes which are readily
quantifiable and measurable

11. Types of system
 Compared with soft systems, hard systems are
assumed to have fewer unpredictable
properties
 Soft systems have a much higher degree of
assumed unpredictability because they involve
(perceived) people's values attitudes and
behavior which are complex and variable
 Soft systems are perceived typically to have
properties which are difficult to quantify and
measure e.g. view-points, conflicts, vested
interests and other qualitative characteristics

12. Systems thinking
https://youtu.be/lhbLNBqhQkc

13. Habits of a systems thinker

14. Habits of a systems thinker

15. Structures and processes
 Two kinds of system component - structural and
process components
 Systems structure is represented by relatively
stable, lasting components which either carry
out processes or are acted on by processes, i.e.
the “doers” and the “done-to”
 The processes within a system are represented
by transient, changing components, i.e. action,
change, growth, decline or “doing” of some
kind

16. System environment
 The system environment comprises
components which affect the system but which
the system is unable to control directly and is
unable to affect to any significant extent
 The environment of the overall management
system of an organization is likely to include
public policy, legislation, the economy,
technology, product markets and so on

17. Hierarchy and resolution
 Resolution and hierarchy concern the level of
detail appropriate to the analyst’s task
 It is common in systems practice to adjust levels
of resolution up and down as the work
progresses
 Hierarchy is allied to resolution in that some
components are considered by the analyst to be
subordinate to others in terms of authority,
time, sequence or some other characteristic

18. Prediction and control
 Prediction and control relate to the system’s
ability to head off dysfunction and survive when
things go wrong.
 Knowledge of a system’s structure, processes
and control characteristics enables its behavior
to be predicted in a range of circumstances
 Systems have a mixture of predictable
properties and properties which are difficult to
predict

19. Prediction and control
 In man-made systems, the job of system
specifiers and designers is to
 look beyond the expected, desirable
outcomes and
 try to identify undesirable possibilities so
that they can be designed out or their
consequences mitigated
 Monitoring performance against criteria is a key
control requirement and enables the system to
correct deviations from desired outputs

20. Emergent properties
 A system is not just a collection of
interconnected components
 Interactions as a whole, or “synergy,” produces
emergent properties or behavior
 not readily be predicted simply by examining
each component in isolation or even some of
the components together

21. Emergent properties
 Emergence is consistent with holism
 The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
 Systems designed with noble intentions
sometimes can have devastating consequences
for those who were meant to be helped

22. System ownership
 Persons interested in the particular systems for
the purposes of design, improvement,
implementation, problem-solving, study and so
on
 Who controls and maintains the system
 The system owners are likely to be particular
managers, possibly at a senior level
 Who can cause the system to change
significantly or cease to exist, while
stakeholding employees or operational
individuals cannot

23. World-view
https://youtu.be/VXnSE0uvwzM

24. World-view
 The complex set of perceptions, attitudes,
beliefs, values, assumptions and motivations
which characterize an individual or a group of
people
 World-view is a kind of perceptual window
through which each person interprets the world
and his or her relationship with it
 It has immense importance in systems work
because it concerns characteristic biases, not
only of key figures and other owners of the
particular system but also of the system analyst

25. World-view
 As world-views affects system behavior and
outcomes, the world-views both of the social
actors in the setting being examined and the
analyst need to be identified
 It should not be taken for granted that in a
given setting everyone holds the same views
about problems, issues, solutions and priorities
 It would be impractical to consider the world-
views of hundreds of individuals but it is
important to identify the world-views of key
individuals exerting particular influence

26. References
 Waring, A. (1996). Practical Systems Thinking,
International Thomson Business Press.
 Systems Thinking White Boarding
https://youtu.be/lhbLNBqhQkc
 Habits of a Systems Thinker
https://goo.gl/zzqqc1
 What’s your worldview?
https://youtu.be/VXnSE0uvwzM

27. MD@mustafadegerli.com