Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella H. Meadows (Author), Diana Wright ( ISBN-10: 1603580557 ISBN-13: 978-1603580557
Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
41–50 of 113 posts
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#42I highly recommend this now free book: https://www.gilb.com/p/competitive-engineering
A metric-based approach to systems engineering focused on continuous improvement and adding value.
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#43I find the visibly distinct split in recommendations to be fascinating.
Of the books I've read, Sterman's Business Dynamics: Systems Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World is the best all-round introduction to both the theory and practice of systems thinking.
There are a lot of books and as a family of related fields, systems have historically attracted creative and iconoclastic thinkers. That can be fun, but also frustrating. I think Sterman strikes the right balance.
It can be surprisingly difficult to lay your hands on a copy; Amazon tends to list 2nd-hand copies at high prices ($200+). I waited several years before seeing one on sale for $90.
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#44I try to maintain proximity to insights I read in this space with a fortune database tailored to the area: http://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#45I, actually have no idea what this really means. Does anyone have a good explanation? Systems Thinking redirects to Systems Theory on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_theory Is that what we're talking about?
from the book page 2:
So, what is a system? A system is a set of things-people, cells, molecules, or whatever-interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern of behavior over time. The system may be buffeted,constricted, triggered, or driven by outside forces. But the system's response to these forces is characteristic of itself, and that response is seldom simple in the real world.
Donella H. Meadows. Thinking in Systems: A Primer (Kindle Locations 89-90). Kindle Edition.
This is one of the most important books I've ever read, if you want the way you think about the world to change read it. It's a very short read to.
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#46Overcomplicated Building Evolutionary Architecture The Checklist Manifesto The Half Life of Data How Buildings Learn I recommend looking into anything around processes or process-building/management, project management, how incentives work, and how the brain works. The natural world and the corporate world are great examples of systems in action.
Seconded the Checklist Manifesto.
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#47To me, systems thinking is all about accepting that _most_ thinking that isn't physics contains interactions that wouldn't pop naturally in the mind during analysis.
So the first step to thinking in systems is the acceptance that there are more interactions out there in the world than what can fit in our mind or what jumps to us through intuition.
I find sketching diagrams helps. I also try to see feedback loops and bottlenecks.
My recommendation would be to try breaking down systems. For example, I do that on my blog:
- https://invertedpassion.com/revenue-requires-investment-prof...
- https://invertedpassion.com/science-of-setting-achieving-goa...
- https://invertedpassion.com/what-food-delivery-companies-can...
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#48Perhaps this would interest only EU hackers .. but I think it’s going to be extremely interesting as a “system design/theory” problem.
There is the GDPR regulation going to kick off in May 2018. Simply put it regulates how an organization has to handle personal data. And that is a huge deal.
The task is: Make the organization GDPR compliant.
Does anyone has a suggestion how to approach such a task from the most general “system design/theory” perspective?
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#49Haven't read it myself but:
The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
is one I've heard a lot of systems people recommend
Re: Ask HN: Any recommended resources to develop system thinking?
#50To me, systems thinking is all about accepting that _most_ thinking that isn't physics contains interactions that wouldn't pop naturally in the mind during analysis. So the first step to thinking in systems is the acceptance that there are more interactions out there in the world than what can fit in our mind or what jumps to us through intuition. I find sketching diagrams helps. I also try to see feedback loops and…
Reminds me of Frederic Bastiat's "that which is seen and that which is not seen".