Circadian Rhythms of Food Intake: Are You Seeing The Whole Picture?
Seeing the Big Picture The Ten Principles of Systems Thinking
description
Transcript of Seeing the Big Picture The Ten Principles of Systems Thinking
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Agenda (CIIT/BCS Dorset Branch Wed. 14 Nov. 2012
1. A quick & preliminary look at the Ten Principles: A Framework for Systems Thinking.
2. Where the story begins: book-in-progress on “Joining Up Business-IT: A Systemic Solution”.
3. Why the book: (1) Make IT-in-Organisations understandable. (2) IT fails most of the time.
4. The book’s JUMP Model - based on Systems Thinking: A Framework for IT-in-Organisations.
5. Back to the Ten Principles (its another book).
6. A basic cause of (IT) failure: Parochial Thinking - The Queen’s Question and other examples
7. Agile/Lean Development: it’s the way to go but – the Parochial Thinking Risk is greater.
8. The first two principles: (1) See the Big Picture, (2) Everything is a system.
9. Systems Thinking Techniques – How to do Systems Thinking.
10. Soft Systems Methodology.
11. The Synergy Principle – how to join up Business and IT.
12. The Upside & Downside of Systems Thinking.
13. Why You should think Systemically.
14. Discussion
15. If there is time – more detail.
Seeing Everything as a Holistic System
is Systems Thinking
A system is anything made upof intra-dependent partswhich act together for a purpose
with some form of input, processand output
and which must, as a whole,intra-act effectively and
inter-act & adapt continuouslywith its external/contextual environment
to remain viable. An Open System
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The Earth; the Universe.
A school; a university.
A supermarket; shopping at.
The roads in/around a town.
Some Types of System A business/govt. organisation.
A bus./govt. department
A football team; a football club
A tree; a forest.
A plant; a flower.
Rainfall & rivers.
A computer information system.
A business process.
An accounting system.
The global financial markets.
A human being (body/mind/spirit).
You might say that my laptop and Iare two parts of a system.If it does what I need andif I do what it needs,- then we’re cookin’! - We’ve got synergy!
But I guess there areother parts in our system,like software, data, - and maybe people!
And I guess we’re part ofa bigger system as well!
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See the Big Picture:the holistic & systemic whole.
Everything is a system and every system has its purpose or purposes.
First look to the idealised design.Synthesis before Analysis.
Every system has an optimum min/max size.
Each part of a system is dependent uponand needs to work well with the other parts.
Optimal efficiency of a part in itself detracts from overall effectiveness.
Synergy results from the actualisationof idealised intra-relationships
Every system must continuously inter-relate with and adapt to its context or external environment to remain viable.
A human organisational system must have effective communication and dialogue in working well and in adapting to internal and external change.
The Ten Systems Thinking Principles: A Framework for Systems Thinking
ReceivedInformation
Mind & Memory (short/long-term)
Processing
The External: People/Things/the World
SensesPerception
Structure/Structuring
Analysis/Synthesis
Awareness & Feelings
The Importance of Structure in/for Understanding, Learning, and Knowledge
Understanding Learning Knowledge
Thinking(fast/slow)
Daniel Kahneman
A Systemic Approximation of Knowledge Formation
Experience (verb/noun)Observing/Doing(passive/active)
Action
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Waste of people potential
Wasted time
Frustration, stress and ill health
Higher taxes
Poor public health/social services Ineffective government
Loss of life
Socio-Economic Impact – of Business-IT Failure
Job losses
Poor collaboration, innovation, knowledge growth
Impact on privacy
& valuePoor customer service
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The JUMP Model
ITProfessionals
Information & Communications
Technology(ICT)
System& NetworkOperationsData
P h y s i c al I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
IT MOMSManagement Organisation
Methodsand Skills
- - -
Systems Development
& Support
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
esInformationSystems (IS) & Applications (Apps)
- In
clud
ing
C
y b
e r s
p a
c e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
IT Customers
IT Customers
InformationValue
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
Based on:
1. Systems Thinking
2. A research method known as the Constant Comparative Method of Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss).
3. A global Delphic survey of 50 senior academics and many business managers.
4. Pursuit of the Null Hypothesis Principle with audiences and thought leaders in attempts to disprove the validity of the model.
5. Iteration & refinement.
ASystemic Framework
for ITin Organisations
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The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
- In
clud
ing
C
y b
e r s
p a
c e
- Including C y b e r s p a c eThe JUMP 12-Part Model (part 1):
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The JUMP Model (part 2)
The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
es-
Incl
udin
g
C y
b e
r s p
a c
e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
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The JUMP Model (3 and 4)
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
es-
Incl
udin
g
C y
b e
r s p
a c
e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
P h y s i c a l ICT I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
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ITProfessionals
IT MOMSManagement Organisation
Methodsand Skills
- - -
Systems Development
& Support
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
es-
Incl
udin
g
C y
b e
r s p
a c
e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
The JUMP Model (5 and 6)
P h y s i c a l ICT I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
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ITProfessionals
Information & Communications
Technology(ICT)
System& NetworkOperations
IT MOMSManagement Organisation
Methodsand Skills
- - -
Systems Development
& Support
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
es-
Incl
udin
g
C y
b e
r s p
a c
e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
The JUMP Model (7 and 8)
P h y s i c a l ICT I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
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ITProfessionals
Information & Communications
Technology(ICT)
System& NetworkOperationsData
IT MOMSManagement Organisation
Methodsand Skills
- - -
Systems Development
& Support
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
esInformationSystems (IS) & Applications (Apps)
- In
clud
ing
C
y b
e r s
p a
c e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
The JUMP Model (9 and 10)
P h y s i c a l ICT I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
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ITProfessionals
Information & Communications
Technology(ICT)
System& NetworkOperationsData
IT MOMSManagement Organisation
Methodsand Skills
- - -
Systems Development
& Support
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
esInformationSystems (IS) & Applications (Apps)
- In
clud
ing
C
y b
e r s
p a
c e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
IT Customers
IT Customers
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
The JUMP Model (11)
P h y s i c a l ICT I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
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The JUMP Model – part 12
ITProfessionals
Information & Communications
Technology(ICT)
System& NetworkOperationsData
IT MOMSManagement Organisation
Methodsand Skills
- - -
Systems Development
& Support
B u s i n e s s P r o c e s s e s The (virtual) - Governance & Guidance
Strategy & Structure
Leadership & Culture
- Business Organisation
Man
agem
ent &
Mgt
. Pro
cess
esInformationSystems (IS) & Applications (Apps)
- In
clud
ing
C
y b
e r s
p a
c e
- Including C y b e r s p a c e
IT Customers
IT Customers
InformationValue
The External Customer and -
- Socio-Economic Environment
ASystemic Framework
for ITin Organisations
P h y s i c a l ICT I n f r a s t r u c t u r e
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Perception& Experience
Background& Context
“I don’t understand IT, and don’t have the time or need to understand it”.
“I don’t see that IT makes a difference to business performance”.
“My experience with IT has not been good”.
“Why don’t the IT people just get on and do it?”
“IT doesn’t make my job any easier”.
“IT people don’t understand the business”.
“IT just costs time & money”.
Never been exposed to Systems Thinking; a Parochial Thinker.
Not aware of IT needin business strategy.
Needs education on theinter-connections in Bus.–IT.
Not in a joined-up culture.
Doesn’t see IT leadershipor example in senior mgt.
Not aware of external or evencross-organisational impacts.
What d'ya want from me;computers are not my thingand I don’t have the time!
Doesn’t see the vital role ofthe Bus.-IT savvy IT Customer.
The Agile/Lean Challenge:the IT Customer/User
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• That doesn’t affect me.
• Forget about the general stuff; let’s get on with the job at hand!
• We know what we need; it’s obvious!
• My job, My skill, My department, My agenda.
• Tick the boxes – job done!
• The problem is obvious; it’s in the numbers!
• Us v. Them.
• What’s in it for me?
• I can’t help them; it will stop me meeting my target!
• You don’t understand me.
• That’s not my job.
• You should know what I need; just do it!
• Just tell me what you want; that’s all I need to know.
• That’s my specialisation; that’s what I do.
The Risk in Agile/Lean Development:A Parochial Thinking Perspective
Boxed-In Thinking
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Silo/Stovepipe Thinking – and IT
We naturally think parochially (in silos):- My job, My skill, My department, My agenda, My needs, My
box.
And this translates into the common problemfor IT in Organisations of -
doing things in silos:
- hardware requirements- patches
- enhancements- project management
- systems audit- data analysis
- development projects,- user requirements
- spread sheets- cost v. benefit
Withunintended
yetpotentiallydisastrous
and/or expensive
consequences
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The Parochial Thinking Perspective:Example
Birmingham City Council's Computerised Phone SystemBaffled By Brummie Accent . Nov. 2012.
An automated phone system was flummoxed by the local Brummie accent.
The service featureda female voice witha Geordie accent.
The system cost £11 m.
The system wasde-commissioned.
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Lean + Systems Thinking= Cost-Effectiveness
The Metropolitan PoliceDirectorate of Information
Systems Thinking Principles: Looked at Purpose. Idealised design. Synthesis before analysis.
Compelling Reasons: Forced to cut costs by 25% over three years. Decided Lean was the only way.
Lean Principles: Senior Management active support. People Buy-In. Customer Value & Value Streams. Eliminate waste. Customer-IT empowered teams.
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See the Big Picture:the holistic & systemic whole.
Everything is a system and every system has its purpose or purposes.
First look to the idealised design.Synthesis before Analysis.
Every system has an optimum min/max size.
Each part of a system is dependent uponand needs to work well with the other parts.
Optimal efficiency of a part in itself detracts from overall effectiveness.
Synergy results from the actualisationof idealised intra-relationships
Every system must continuously inter-relate with and adapt to its context or external environment to remain viable.
A human organisational system must have effective communication and dialogue in working well and in adapting to internal and external change.
The Ten Systems Thinking Principles – Some Techniques (1)
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First Synthesise then Analyse: e.g. Looking at a Dept./Function as a System
4. Identify Related systems/functions with which the Subject System inter-relates.
1. Identify & agree the Subject System with which we’re concerned as a systemic whole, in its Boundaries and Sub-Systems.
5. Analyse the Subject system in termsof its Sub-Systems ,their intra-relationships,and their inter-relationships withthe Contextual system. & Supra System.
2. Describe the Contextual System within which the Subject System exists, which is the next system up, in this case the Organisation.
3. Appreciate the Supra system within which the Contextual organisational system exists, which in this case is the External Customer & Socio-Economic Environment.
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Systems Thinking and IT:The Seven Hats Perspective
Management Accountant
IT Professional:Systems & Technology
Sales & Marketing: External Customer
CEO:Top/Overall View
Sociologist (HR?):People: What they do (and need to do),
Why they do it, How they work,and How they interact
Operations:Business Process
& Internal Customer
Who wears this hat?Information Value
Subject:A dept., function,
system, process, etc in the organisational
context.
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Rich Picture: Mortgage Brokers Sales Dept. Present Context
How can IT systemshelp us to be more
competitive?Change! Flexibility!Fast response tonew rules, new ways,new categories!
AssociateFirm
MortgageSeeker
MortgageAgent
MortgageRep
SupportStaffer
We have to compete! Ourcustomer service and bus. processesneed to be efficient and cost-effective!
Mortgage BrokersSalesDept
Help! costsare growingtoo fast!
InternalSales
How do we automateour business rules?
I just cannot handleall the paperwork!
Sales & Mktg.Director
It makes it verydifficult to do yourjob without the rightinformation!
FirmDirector
CompetitorBrokers
…I’m fed-up withthese guys,
they never getour commissions
right!
Accounting
Commissionsare a problem!
Finance
- Accounts- Budgets-Commissions
They blame us for badinformation, but its
not our fault! Ombudsman
Research- Markets- Providers- Investments
MortgageRegulator
We’re separateFrom the restof the Business
I can getindependent adviceand the best deal
Senior Management
MortgageProvider
SSM
Customer Service
Admin. &Regulatory- Data Admin.- Guidance- HR
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Number ofRoads
TrafficCongestion
EnvironmentalPollution
Dependenceon Cars
Cost ofPublic Transport
Reliability ofPublic Transport
GovernmentSubsidies
Cost ofPetrol
Road TrafficDeaths Independence
in/of travel
Causal Loop Diagramme (Simple Format):A Systemic View of Issues:
Proposed New Road Around the Town
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1. Purpose:To make people well and/or recover, and sustain human life within a contextof patient care, dignity, and clinical excellence.
2. Ownership: The trustees, the funding authority, and the public as taxpayers.
3. Process: (1) GP referral, (2) initial assessment, (3) intake, (4) appropriate & effective procedures and care, (5) recovery, (6) exit (7) follow-up, (8) GP care.
4. Customers: The patients.
5. Stakeholders: Patients’ families, staff, trustees, the general public, the funding authority, and the government.
6. Actors/Doers: Front-line caring staff, support staff, senior staff (surgeons and specialists), and admin./mgt. staff.
7. Constraints: Funding levels, staffing levels, administrative overhead, government & regulatory requirements, hygiene & safety requirements.
8. External Context: The Department as a whole, other wards and interfacing departments,the Hospital as a whole, and the community and general public.
Business Root Definition: A Hospital Ward SSM
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Mind-MappingSee the Big Picture:
the holistic & systemic whole
Everything is a system and every system
has its purpose or purposes
Each part of a system is dependent upon
and needs to work well with the other parts
Every system must continuously inter-relate with and adapt
to its context or external environment to remain viable.
A human organisational system must have effective
communication and dialogue in working well and in
adapting to internal and external change
Synthesis before Analysis
How can we apply the tenSystems Thinking Principlesto Agile/Lean Development?
First look to the idealised design
Synergy results from the
actualisation of idealised
intra-relationshipEvery system has an optimum
min/max size.
Optimal efficiency of a part in itself
detracts from overall effectiveness
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The Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) ApproachPeter Checkland
7. Action to improve the problem situation.
1. Statement of situation or issue considered problematic.
6. Changes that are systemically desirable and culturally feasible.
2. Problem situation expressed using Rich Pictures and other means.
3. Business Root Definition of subject system.
4. Idealised, conceptual model of system, based on root definition, and represented in the form of simple Business Activity/Process Models.
5. Comparison of idealised, conceptual model with the real world.
Systems Thinkingaboutthe Real World
The Real World
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See the Big Picture:the holistic & systemic whole.
Everything is a system and every system has its purpose or purposes.
First look to the idealised design.Synthesis before Analysis.
Every system has an optimum min/max size.
Each part of a system is dependent uponand needs to work well with the other parts.
Optimal efficiency of a part in itself detracts from overall effectiveness.
Synergy results from the actualisationof idealised intra-relationships
Every system must continuously inter-relate with and adapt to its context or external environment to remain viable.
A human organisational system must have effective communication and dialogue in working well and in adapting to internal and external change.
The Synergy Principle
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Remind me: what is Synergy?
When the combined effect of the different parts of a system exceeds the sum of their individual effects.
The product of the relationships in a system, particularly a human organisation system.
The added-value effect in effective collaboration or combination.
2 + 2 = 7
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Business-IT Synergy Theory
3. Based on the Idealised/Synergistic Expression, find Possible Actions that might enhance Synergy in the relationship.
2. Include this Purpose in an Idealised/Synergistic Expression of the relationship.
1. Determine the Purpose of the relationship.
5. So as to Actualise the Idealised/Synergistic Expression.4. Using the Possible Actions,
dialogue for Payback Actions.
How can we enhance Synergy in the intra-relationshipsbetween the basic/intrinsic, intra-dependent areasof IT in Organisations?
- If there is Synergy between the basic/intrinsic intra-dependent areas of IT-in-Organisations
- as in the JUMP Model then there is Joined-Up Business-IT !
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Systems Thinkingas Double-Edged Sword - The Upside - the Downside
Being different from most other people.
Getting too much information,and taking too much time in getting it.
Not having sufficient power/authority to do much with it (Systems Thinking).
Gaining in Performance.
Gaining in Innovation.
Gaining in Wisdom.
So what to do about these things?
Seeing significant issues that wouldnot otherwise be seen.
Asking important questions that wouldnot otherwise be asked.
Solving if not avoiding problems that wouldnot otherwise be seen or solved.
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TO Think Systemically
YOU
YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU
And if you can think Systemically
Then you have
The ability to see the Big Picture and see where
others do not see
and to help if not lead others
with this wisdom