"Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts."
A holistic approach to understanding the system and its interrelationships with its environment.
Systems Theory: A field of study that enables us to understand the complexities of a system and its interactions by examining its components and their relationships.
System Boundary: The boundary that outlines the system’s components and where they exist.
Hierarchy of Systems: A method of understanding systems by dividing them into parts and considering these parts as an interconnected hierarchy.
Feedback Loop: A system component that tracks its output and modifies its input.
Control System: A system that processes feedback to regulate and maintain the output of a system.
Emergence: The phenomenon where a system’s components work together to produce a new, additional property that was not present in any of the components.
System Dynamics: A method of understanding the dynamic behavior of a system, which involves examining how every component interacts with others.
System Dynamics Modelling: A tool used to study and analyze the behavior of a system over time.
Causal Loop Diagram: A visual representation of a system, which depicts the relationship between a system’s components using lines and arrows.
System Simulation: A technique that allows the designer to test how a system would behave under conditions that are different from those in the desired final product or environment.
System Analysis: A systematic approach to examining a system’s components, their interrelationships, and their interactions.
Systems Thinking: A framework for understanding complex systems to identify and mitigate issues, analyze patterns in data, and make sound decisions.
Complexity Theory: A branch of systems thinking that deals with complex and dynamic systems that are difficult to comprehend, and where simple cause-and-effect solutions are insufficient.
Cybernetics: A field that examines the interaction between people and machines, including the study of feedback loops, control mechanisms, and complex systems.
System Architecture: A design process that models a system’s components and their relationships, enabling the designer to refine the design and develop solutions to potential challenges.
Systems Integration: The process of ensuring all individual parts of a system work together to create a cohesive and functional whole.
System Identification: A process of system analysis aimed at identifying the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats of a system.
System Resilience: The ability of a system to adapt, survive and thrive in the face of turbulence and unpredictable changes.
System Optimization: The process of using any available resources efficiently to achieve a system's goals.
Lean and agile methodologies: A popular framework that emphasizes efficiency, minimalism, and adaptability for optimizing a system's operations.
Cybernetics: Cybernetics is the study of communication and control processes in both machines and living organisms.
Soft Systems Thinking: Soft systems thinking is a method of problem-solving used in complex and human-oriented settings.
Hard Systems Thinking: The Hard Systems Thinking methodology is used to solve problems in technical environments, where the focus is on the logical, mechanical or mathematical aspects of a situation.
Complex Systems: Complex systems are those that exhibit emergent behavior, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Systems Dynamics: Systems Dynamics is the study of the behavior of complex systems over time, where feedback loops are an essential part of the analysis.
Critical Systems Thinking: Critical Systems Thinking is a discipline that focuses on the examination of systems that have significant ethical, political, or social dimensions.
Design Thinking: As a way of thinking, design thinking emphasizes "outside the box" thinking, experimentation, and creativity.
Lean Systems Thinking: Lean Systems Thinking emphasizes the minimization of waste in production processes and seeks to maximize efficiency.
Human-Centered Design: Human-centered design is an approach to designing solutions that prioritize user needs, behaviors, and motivations.
Ecological Systems Thinking: Ecological Systems Thinking is a holistic approach to understanding complex ecosystems, which includes not only the physical and biological components but also the social and cultural aspects.
"It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts, enabling systems change."
"Systems thinking draws on and contributes to systems theory and the system sciences."
"...looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts."
"Making sense of the complexity of the world."
"It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts."
"Enabling systems change."
"...looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships."
"Looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships."
"By splitting it down into its parts" (implied opposite of systems thinking).
"Looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts."
"Systems theory and the system sciences."
"Exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts."
"Draws on and contributes to systems theory."
"Enabling systems change."
"...the complexity of the world."
"Wholes and relationships."
"Dana Meadows, Thinking In Systems: A Primer"
"A Primer" - to provide an introduction and foundational knowledge.
"Thinking In Systems: A Primer" (implies that the book discusses systems thinking).