Systems thinking in a nutshell System and component System Engineering in software development Activity – The natural system Activity – Let’s build a system (guided)

1. Systems Thinking for Ultimate
Agility
Presenter: Arshiya Sultana

2. About Me
An accomplished Agile coach and
corporate trainer having 9+ years of
experience in agile and waterfall
project management. Over past 9
years I have worked in various roles
such as Enterprise Agile Coach and
Transformation consultant,
Corporate Trainer, Product Owner,
Business Analyst, Scrum Master, and
Quality Assurance Analyst

3. Agenda
• Systems thinking in a nutshell
• System and component
• System Engineering in software development
• Activity – The natural system
• Activity – Let’s build a system (guided)

4. A system is any group of interacting,
interrelated, or interdependent parts that form
a complex and unified whole that has a specific
purpose
Any one element can affect the performance of
the whole
Systems thinking in a nutshell

5. Complex must be intelligent

6. System and component
• Systems consists of inter-connected
components
• The order in which components are arranged
affects the performance of a system
• Systems attempt to maintain stability through
feedback
• Feedback provides information to the system
that lets it know how it is doing relative to
some desired state

7. Systems Engineering in Software
development
11 laws of system thinking from ‘Fifth Discipline’ by Peter Senge
• Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solution
• The harder you push, the harder the system pushes back
• Behaviour grows better before it grows worse
• The easy way out usually leads back in
• The cure can be worse than the disease
• Faster is slower
• Cause and effect are not closely related in time and space
• Small changes can produce big results but the areas of highest leverage
are often the least obvious
• You can have your cake and eat it too – but not at once
• Dividing the elephant in half does not produce two small elephants
• There is no blame

8. Observe the Natural system
Activity
Keep your hand on your heart and observe your
breathing
Discussion
Participants share their understanding

9. Let’s build a system
• You need a system of systems to build a
system
• Agile team is a systematic team

10. Systems consists of several
components

11. Activity
Identify the systems and components of an
Internet Banking Website
(participants work in groups)
Activity duration: 15 mins
Discussion: 10 mins