Systems Thinking and SSM

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Systems Thinking and SSM

• Properties of systems
• Hard and soft approaches
• Introduction to Soft Systems Methodology
• Some SSM techniques

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First.

• What is a system?
• What is systems thinking?

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A systems typology

• Natural systems living and non-living, from
  subatomic to ecosystems and galaxies.
• Designed systems
• Physical, e.g. train, chainsaw, dam
• Abstract, systems of knowledge or philosophy
• Human activity systems purposeful wholes,
  e.g. UNN, the gas industry, the City Council.
• Social systems overlap natural and human
  activity systems, e.g. family.
• (Checkland, 1981)

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Socio-Technical Systems

• Systems ideas have been applied to organisational
  behaviour in many ways.
• For example, the concept of socio-technical
  systems sees organisational systems as having
• Technical subsystem formal processes, tasks,
  machinery, programs, with official goals, etc.
• Social subsystem human concerns needs
  personal goals, views interests
  communications, motivation, job satisfaction etc.
  

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Characteristics of Systems

• A boundary
• Hierarchy parts which may themselves be systems
• Emergence
• Systems (and subsystems) have properties which
  their contituent parts do not possess
• Examples of emergent properties?
• Communication parts can interact
• Control processes to ensure continuity

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Control - Feedback
Input
Output
System activities
Control
Feedback
Control mechanism
Negative feedback corrects a tendency Positive
feedback enhances a tendency
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Control - Feedforward
Input
Output
System activities
Control
Feedforward
Control mechanism
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Open closed systems

• Open systems
• Interact with their environment through inputs
  and outputs that cross the system boundary
• Include organisational and living systems
• Closed systems
• Dont interact with their environment.
• (Or, take in only energy, e.g. the biosphere or
  various mechanical gadgets.)
• These are best viewed as relative terms.

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Two well known phrases
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Divide and conquer!

• Holism
• Dividing into parts loses connectedness
  emergent properties.
• Example?

• Reductionism.
• Simplification for analysis
• Computer people do this often!

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Hard and soft problems

• Hard problems
• Structured, clear when a solution is found,
• Subject to reasoning, problems about how.
• Often in engineering, science. Dealing with blown
  fuse, designing a bridge, etc.
• Soft problems
• Unstructured, messy, no clear solutions.
• Questions about what to do.
• Often in organisations, social situations,
  politics situations involving people.

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Hard and soft systems thinking

• Hard systems thinking treats parts of the world
  as systems, and investigates/ engineers them.
  Systems taken to exist.
• Soft systems thinking uses a process of enquiry
  which is systemic. This uses systems models to
  help find out about the real world, so we may
  explore the consequences of choosing to view
  elements as if they were systems, but the
  systems we model are notional, not
  representations of the world.
• (See Checkland, 1999)

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Experience teaches

• Hard problems are susceptible to hard
  approaches
• Soft problems need soft approaches.

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What is SSM?

• A systemic process of learning
• For exploring problem situations in organisations
• For suggesting changes which will be helpful and
  achievable

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SSM - Basic Overview
Choose build

Models of relevant systems of purposeful
activity, each based on a world-view
Perceived real-world problem situation
-







Action to improve

Comparison of models with the problem situation,
to identify




(Adapted from Checkland Scholes, )
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SSM Overview - activities
Finding out about the problem situation,
including cultural/ political aspects

Choosing building models of relevant systems
of purposeful activity, each based on a world-view
-




Taking action to improve ...

• Debating the situation using the models
  (Comparison)
• Identifying desirable and culturally feasible
  changes
• Finding accommodations between conflicting
  interests that will enable

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Using SSM

• Not intended as a prescriptive set of steps.
• Start anywhere, finish anywhere, repeat ad lib.
• Adapt as necessary.

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Why SSM?

• Practical and flexible approach to managing
  change
• Holistic approach that takes a wide range of
  factors into account, inc. social and political
  aspects
• Aims to suggest change that is meaningful and
  feasible in the organisational context
• Can be highly participative

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Why SSM for IS?

• Its NOT a complete development method.
• But has been extended with techniques for IS
• Useful for IS-related problem solving.
• Used in
• Feasibility
• Requirements capture
• IS Planning
• The aim is to have systems which are seen as
  relevant, fit the organisation, and are used.

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Example SSM IS projects

• Recording the activities of community health
  workers
• Decision support in a marketing company
• Providing mission briefings for fighter pilots
• Managing assignment submission for distance
  learners

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SSM Overview - activities
Finding out about the problem situation,
including cultural/ political aspects

Choosing building models of relevant systems
of purposeful activity, each based on a world-view
-




Taking action to improve ...

• Debating the situation using the models
  (Comparison)
• Identify desirable and culturally feasible
  changes
• Find accommodations between conflicting interests
  that will enable

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Entering the problem situation

• A situation in which there are perceived to be
  problems
• Dont concentrate on the problem
• We may enter the problem situation as external
  consultants, or work on our own problem
  situations.

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What to put in a rich picture

• Structure, e.g.
• departmental or organisation boundaries,
• geographical considerations,
• people and institutions.
• Process - activities, information or material
  flows.
• Climate - the relationship between structure and
  process, and any associated problems.
• Soft facts - concerns, conflicts, views.
• Environment - external interested bodies, factors
  affecting the organisation.

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Commonly used symbols
External observers /
People
interested parties
Flows
A boundary
How can I.?

Concerns,
views
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SSM Overview - activities
Finding out about the problem situation,
including cultural/ political aspects

Choosing building models of relevant systems
of purposeful activity, each based on a world-view
-




Taking action to improve ...

• Debating the situation using the models
  (Comparison)
• Identify desirable and culturally feasible
  changes
• Find accommodations between conflicting interests
  that will enable

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Thinking about the problem situation

• What important tasks are taking place?
• What issues have you identified?
• Name relevant systems (of human activity)

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Relevant systems

• Relevant to exploring, debating and changing the
  problem situation
• Relevant from some world view - Weltanschauung
• More than one - choose a variety of views, ideas
• Phrase as A system to .
• Identify the W that makes them meaningful and the
  main transformation.

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Relevant systems (2)

• Primary task systems deal with the main task of
  the organisation, from some viewpoint.
• Issue-based systems deal with issues, problems
  etc.
• Not always a clear-cut distinction, but aim to
  include both!

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SSM Overview - activities
Finding out about the problem situation,
including cultural/ political aspects

Choosing building models of relevant systems
of purposeful activity, each based on a world-view
-




Taking action to improve ...

• Debating the situation using the models
  (Comparison)
• Identify desirable and culturally feasible
  changes
• Find accommodations between conflicting interests
  that will enable

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Root definition (1)

• Short definition of a relevant system
• Defines who would be involved, purpose, viewpoint
  from which its defined,
• A system to.
• Remember NOT a description of what happens in
  the real world.
• We usually work with several definitions

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Root definition (2)

• Who is doing what for whom, to whom are they
  answerable, what assumptions are being made, and
  in what environment.
• (Checkland)
• However, we use the CATWOE terminology

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CATWOE
T
Input
Output

• Customers beneficiaries/victims
• Actors those who do T
• Transformation input ? output
• Weltanschauung world view, makes T meaningful
• Owner responsible (who could stop T?)
• Environment givens, constraints

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Building RD using CATWOE

• Either
• Write a root definition,
• Validate it using CATWOE as a checklist
• Define any missing elements
• Rewrite RD to include them
• Or
• Define CATWOE
• Write a RD that includes all of them.
• Some leading practitioners criticise this
  approach.

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Root Definition Example

• A Department of Computing owned system by which
  academic staff define a unit syllabus in
  accordance with university standards for unit
  definition such that the unit will make the
  expected contribution to the route, provide
  clear learning objectives for students and be
  deliverable in practice within the constraints on
  staff time and other resources within the
  department.

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CATWOE for unit planning example

• C Students
• A Academic staff
• T Routes requirement for unit ? requirement met
  by unit syllabus meeting criteria stated (i.e.
  objectives, deliverable in practice)
• W Importance of clear definition of units to
  route planning and student learning units
  should have a defined place within the route.
• O Department
• E University standards for unit definition, time
  and resource constraints

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Another RD example

• A system to provide regular checkups, advice and
  treatment to diabetic adults in the Southdown
  Downsville area by means of outpatient
  appointments at Southdown General Hospital in
  order to empower them to control their diabetes.

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CATWOE for clinic RD

• C
• A
• T
• W
• O
• E

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CATWOE from clinic RD

• C - diabetic adults in the Southdown Downsville
  area
• A - ?
• T - patients with current level of support --gt
  patients with the necessary support, advice and
  treatment to enable them to manage their diabetes
• W - O/P care can provide support that will enable
  people to control their diabetes.
• Patients as responsible managers of their own
  treatment, not passive recipients
• O - ?
• E - SGH, O/P clinic, Southdown Downsville area

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Revised CATWOE for clinic RD

• C - diabetic adults in the Southdown
  Downsville area
• A - medical, nursing admin staff of the
  clinic.
• T - patients with current level of support --gt
  patients with the necessary support, advice and
  treatment to enable them to manage their diabetes
• W - O/P care can provide support that will
  enable people to control their diabetes.
  Patients as responsible actors in their own
  treatment, not passive recipients
• O - SGH management
• E - SGH, O/P clinic, Southdown Downsville
  area, HA budget and staffing constraints.

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Revised clinic RD

• An SGH-management-owned system, staffed by
  medical, nursing and clerical staff of the
  hospital and operating within the Health
  Authoritys constraints on budget and staffing,
  to provide regular checkups, advice and treatment
  to diabetic adults in the Southdown Downsville
  area by means of outpatient clinic visits at
  Southdown General Hospital, in order to ensure
  that all are empowered to control their diabetes.

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SSM Overview - activities
Finding out about the problem situation,
including cultural/ political aspects

Choosing building models of relevant systems
of purposeful activity, each based on a world-view
-




Taking action to improve ...

• Debating the situation using the models
  (Comparison)
• Identify desirable and culturally feasible
  changes
• Find accommodations between conflicting interests
  that will enable

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Conceptual modelling

• Identify minimum necessary set of activities
• Define topics time allocation
• Document unit to university standards
• Appreciate university standards for unit
  definition
• Appreciate units expected contribution to route
• Define learning objectives
• Decide method of delivery
• Appreciate time resource constraints

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Conceptual model
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The 3 (or 5) Es

• Efficacy does the means work, does it actually
  achieve the transformation?
• Efficiency does it use the minimum necessary
  resources?
• Effectiveness is the transformation meeting the
  longer term aim?
• Also Ethicality and Elegance.

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SSM Overview
Choosing building models of relevant systems
of purposeful activity, each based on a world-view
Finding out about the problem situation,
including cultural/ political aspects

-




Taking action to improve ...

• Debating the situation using the models
  (Comparison)
• Identify desirable and culturally feasible
  changes
• Find accommodations between conflicting interests
  that will enable

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What else?

• Your workbook tells you about
• Comparing models with the real world/rich picture
• Debating desirable and feasible changes
• Cultural analysis (Analysis 1-3)
• Dont neglect these they may not have
  characteristic techniques, but theyre vital

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To Do.

• Workbook. Sections 1-5 to be completed before
  week 5s seminar
• The rest, including the seminar preparation in
  section 7, by week 6s seminar.
• Reading
• Another SSM overview (see workbook)
• Systems ideas from Bennett et al (2002/2005) 1.3

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References / More SSM books

• Bennett, S., McRobb, S. Farmer R. (2005),
  Systems Analysis and Design using UML, 3rd edn.,
  McGraw-Hill. (An earlier edition will do for
  this.)
• Checkland, P. (1999), Soft Systems Methodology A
  30-year Retrospective, Chichester Wiley.P.
  Checkland J. Scholes (1991), Soft Systems
  Methodology in Action. Wiley.
• Wilson, B. (1990), Systems Concepts,
  Methodologies and Applications.
• Patching, D. (1990), Practical Soft Systems
  Analysis. Pitman. (Try this only if you dont
  get on with the others.)