Day 17: Systems and Boundaries
So far we've described a situation of interest, and projected it forward in time (under assumptions), traced its history or at least parts of its history (as we understand it). Then we considered the network of individuals, groups, and other entities, and their interrelationships and tangible and intangible exchanges, in and around the "situation" that scoped and focused our exploration here.
Again, considering the situation you’re exploring: identify systems. List them, or draw (and name) the systems, and their interrelationships. Some things to think about: what larger systems are the systems we name, part of? This is about noticing systems (so boundaries), and relationships (and the nature of those relationships) among systems. For example, patient onboarding is part of an Urgent Care system and Urgent Care is part of the regional healthcare system (which is part of the social infrastructure of the region, along with education, city services like sanitation, etc.?). Any software system we’re design-evolving, is part of the sociotechnical system developing it, as well as the system-in-use by users, and their larger system of work or other parts of life. How far out do we zoom? What heuristics do you use?
Pick a (socio)technical system to focus on. Write a brief description of its primary purpose (or role or identity in the ecology of systems).
"There are no separate systems. The world is a continuum. Where to draw a boundary around a system depends on the purpose of the discussion.” [..] “They mark the boundary of the system diagram. They rarely mark a real boundary, because systems rarely have real boundaries. Everything, as they say, is connected to everything else, and not neatly.”
— Donella Meadows, Thinking in Systems
"the purpose of a system is what it does [POSIWID]. This is a basic dictum. It stands for bald fact, which makes a better starting point in seeking understanding than the familiar attributions of good intention, prejudices about expectations, moral judgement, or sheer ignorance of circumstances.”
— Stafford Beer, 2001