AppliedSystems Thinking CurtMcNamara(c.mcnamara@ieee.org) Basedonapaperpresentedatthe1998 InternationalSocietyfortheSystemsSciencesConference ISSS HomePage Whatisa system? Weallhaveanideaofwhatasystemis, and theseideasrangefromthesimple(afurnace), to thecomplex(theeconomy), to theelegant(yourheart).

So whatdo thesethingshaveincommon?

First, theyallkeep theirformeveniftheexternalworld changes. Thisiscalled patternintegrity, orthe abilitytomaintainstructurewhile theenvironmentchanges. Second, theyallareseparateordistinctfromtheworld around them,and thisdistinctionisaboundary. The boundarykeepsthesystemandtheuniverseseparateyetallowsmaterialand energytopass. Third,eachsystemhasinputs(whereitsensesoracceptsenergyfromtheworld)and outputs(whereit interactswiththeworld). Fourth, eachsystemhasastructurethatconnectstheinputsand outputsandallowsconnectionto the externalworld attheboundary. Thenatureofthestructuredeterminesthesystems' responseto

externalevents. Ifweapplythese principlestothepreviousexamples,somepropertiesappearmoreclearlythanthe others. Forexample, theheartandthefurnaceshowpatternintegrityveryclearlyaseachreactsto changesinthe externalworld (yourfurnacestaysonlongerasthetemperature decreases,yourheartbeatsfasterasyour bodyexercises). Eachofthesealso hasa distinctboundary. Ontheotherhand,theeconomyclearlyhas inputsandoutputs,butthe structurecanseemverydiffuseand changeable. Itmayalsobeharderto define theboundaryoftheeconomicsystemorhowto characterizeits' patternintegrity. One ofthesesystemsisa naturalsystem(theheart), oneisa human-designedsystem(thefurnace),and itwould appearthatthe economyisnotexplicitlydesigned (eventhoughitspartsmaybe!). Somereaderswillknowmoreaboutparticulartypesofsystemsthanothers. Theengineerknowsaboutthe furnace,thedoctorknowsabouttheheart, and theeconomistandpoliticianknowabouttheeconomy. Thisis normalandexpected. Buteachofusencounterssystemicbehavioreveryday, andwillbenefitfromdeeper knowledge ofwhatisgoingon. So howdowelearnaboutsystems?We can"banginto"them(systemspushback),wecanthinkaboutthem and makedescriptionsormodelsofthem, orwecancreate(design)them. The firstpathisthatofexperience. Whenweexperienceresistanceto ouractionsweincludethisresistance into

ourviewoftheworld (worldview). Wedon'tnecessarilyunderstandthesystemthatisresistingus, but weknowfromtheresultsofouractionsthatsomethingisthere. Ifwewantto understandthe "why"ofthesystemweneedto makeadescriptionormodelofthesystemand testitout. Forexample,whatifyouwere inaroomwithaworkingfurnacebutyoudidn'tknowaboutthe thermostat?Springwould comeandthefurnace would keep runningeventhoughitwaswarmoutside. It would seemlikesomethingwaskeepingthehouseata certaintemperature, butyouwouldn'tknowwhat. Youcould openthewindowsand findthatthetemperaturewould changenearthewindows, butthefurnace would keep runningasittriedto keep thetemperatureintheroomconstant. Ifyouinvestigated thewarmaircomingoutoftheventsyoucould findthefurnaceitself. Lookingatits' structure, youmightnotethatitwasconnected bywiresto differentpartsofthehouse,and followtheseback to thecontrol(thermostat). Ofcourse,youmightbeinspiredtodisconnectthefurnacefromitspowersource

asafirstexperiment!Whatotherexperimentscould youdeviseto findouthowthissystemworks? Whilethisexampleissimple, tryand contrastittoanisland whichmaintainsa stablepopulationofwolves. In manywaysthisconstantlevelisthesameasthetemperatureinthehouse. Butwhereisthepowersourceand thethermostatontheisland?Wewillcomeback to thisexamplelaterafterwetalk abouttheotherpathsto systemknowledge. The nexttwopathsinvolvethinkingand makingmodelsordescriptions. Thishasbeencalled "mental modeling"(Senge). Onthesepathswethinkabouttheactionsofthesystem(stabletemperatureor population)andimaginewhatinputs, outputs, structure,and energysourcescould becombinedto achieve thisresponse. Sometimesweenterthisinformationinto acomputerprogramand testthemodelto seeifthe actionsoftherealsystemcanbe mimicked. The lastpathiscreationordesign,and ofteninvolvestranslatinganimagefromourimaginationintoreality. As anexample, supposeyouhad to incubateabird eggand hadathermometer,acardboard box, andalight bulb thatgetshotwhenitisturnedon. Howcould yousimulatetheactionsofthefurnaceinthissmaller environment?

Eachofthesepathsinvolvesathoughtprocess(howwe representtheworld insideourheads),and achange process(howwealterourthoughtsand modelsto fittherealworld). Workinginthisfashion, ourabilities improveaswetestnewtechniquesand remembertheonesthatwork. Ourthinkingprocesscanbelikesolvingaproblem(whatistheanswerto thispuzzle?)orlikeart(transferan imagefromyourbrainto therealworld). Asyoucanimagine, weoftenmake oneattempt, testitout,and thenusetheresultsofthetestina secondattempt. Thisisanexampleofaloop, anotherfundamental propertyofsystems. Go Back < TFTTOP.HTM> Forward < TFTTHNK.HTM> The views andopinions expressedinthis page are strictlythose ofthe page author. The contents ofthis pagehave notbeenreviewedor approvedbythe UniversityofMinnesota.