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Introduction to Systems Thinking
By Louis Rowitz, PhD Director Illinois Institute for Maternal and Child Health Leadership
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Systems Thinking is a way of seeing and talking about reality that helps us better understand and work with organization and communities to influx the quality of our lives. Modified by Kim
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A system is any group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent parts that form a complex and unified whole that has a specific purpose
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Which are systems and which are collections
Bowl of fruit Football team Toaster Kitchen Database of client Cornerstone Tool in a toolbox Marriage Local public health agency Community
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Whenever you add people to a collection you almost always transform a collection to a system
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Characteristics of a System
Systems have a purpose that defines it as a discrete entity that holds it together Purpose of an automobile…… Take you from one place to the other
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Characteristics of a System
All parts must be present for a system to carry out its purpose optimally Automobile without its spark plugs…… Car doesn’t work
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Characteristics of a System
The order in which parts are arranged affects the performance of a system Automobile with the driver in the backseat and the tires in the front seat
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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 Steering car and Feedback
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The Iceberg Events Patterns Systemic Structure Mental Models Vision
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Action Model Leverage increases Level of Perspective Action Mode
Vision Generative Mental Models Reflective Systemic Structure Creative Patterns Adaptive Events Reactive
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Linear Perspective AB C D E Cause = Effect
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Feedback Perspective AB C D E
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Thinking in Loops (B) (D) Backlogs Sales are down Marketing Promotions
Orders Increase Sales are up Sales are Down Marketing Promotions Backlogs Marketing Promotions (B) Backlogs (D) Orders Increase/Decrease (C) Sales are Down/Up (A)
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All systemic behavior can be described through two basic processes
Reinforcing Balancing
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Reinforcing Loops compound change in one direction with even more change in that direction
Saving Balance Interest Payments
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Greater your weight More you eat
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Give Examples ?
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Balancing loops seek equilibrium- some desired level of performance
Use of meditation Acceptable stress level Gap Stress level S O S = Same O = Opposite S
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Balancing Loops Actual Level Desired Level Corrective Action Gap
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Questions these Diagrams help answer
Which gaps are driving our system when and by how much? How accurately do we know what each of the gaps is? How are we monitoring the gaps? What are the different ways in which we can close the gaps? How long does it take for perception to catch up to actual quality?
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Every link in a system contains a delay
Physical Transactional Informational Perceptual
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Put the Pieces together Archetypes
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(that you can measure or observe, that you can see growing)
Limits to Growth Template Balancing Loop Target Limits or constraints Growing action Growth Process ? ? ? Corrective Action Limting Process Actual performance (that you can measure or observe, that you can see growing)
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Leaders work on the system not in the system
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