Key Principles of Systems Design

Systems Design
Key
Principles
Overview
This guide presents an overview of the key principles of systems design. The
guide should help you gain a basic understanding of key concepts in systems
thinking and complexity theory and how these can be applied in the design
of complex systems of all kind.
Characteristics of Complex Systems
Open Systems Self-Organizing

System's boundary is not Parts are not static and inert but may
clearly defined but open. adapt and self-organize
Networked
Emergence The system is more like a network
New Patterns and dynamics rather than a set of things
emerge on different levels
Adaptive Multidimensional
Parts have a high degree of autonomy, System is composed of diverse
adaptive capacity and evolve. subsystems and multifunctional
Examples of Complex Systems
Smart Cities Organizations Internet of Things

Urban Design Enterprise Design Software Engineering
Supply Chains Information System Transport System

Supply Chain Design Information systems Design Systems Engineering
Decentralized
Holistic Does not concentrate inwards and
We want a design approach that is create dependency on centralized
holistic in considering all relevant factors nodes but pushes outward engaging the
rather than partial. end-user in the creation of the solution.
Systems Design Evolving

Requirements Design that works with the full systems
Open lifecycle to create systems that are
We want to develop systems that are circular, regenerative and evolutionary
open involving the contribution of the rather than linear and degenerative.
many rather than closed to only the few
Integrated
We need systems that are connected,
accessible and integrated rather than
siloed due to borders and boundaries.
A Holis>c
Approach
Overview
The systems approach is a holistic one, this means we seek to understand something
primarily in the context of the whole that it is part of. Before we go about changing parts we
seek to gain an understanding of the overall context in which the parts exist and how they
are interrelated in affecting each other and the whole system. Systems design likewise
should start with a holistic consideration of the system we are interested in designing.
Holistic Design
Wholistic Integration Patterns Multidimensional

Starts with some Rather than dividing up it is Dealing with patterns Does not try to reduce
understanding of how the about putting components to rather than focusing on down to one level but
parts interrelate to form gather to form larger the concrete parts of the deals with all dimensions
the whole integrated systems system to the system.
Open
Systems
Overview
Complex systems are fundamentally open systems. The Internet, a city, or social networks are all
open in that anyone can join or leave and their boundary is permeable. This characteristic of
complex systems changes fundamentally how we should go about designing for them as without
boundary conditions we do not have the same kind of control that we may have when designing
simpler systems. Without the capacity to directly impose order on the system we have to work
with processes of self-organization and emergence. Most of all this loss of control and being able
to impose order on the system requires that as designers we learn to work with context.
Open Systems
Unbounded Context Self-Organization Emergent

Complex systems are Systems design involves Understanding the dynamics Rather than imposing it, we
like networks without learning to see and work and working with processes work to enable the
any fixed boundary with context of self-organization emergence of order.
Rela>onal
Approach
Networked Approach
At a low level of connectivity what defines an entity is simply its set of elements, but as the degree
of connectivity is turned up it is the connections between the parts that comes to define the whole
organization as a system. At a low level of connectivity and integration, the system’s parts define the
relations and the whole, but given an integrated system with a dense network of connections, this is
inverted as the parts come to be shaped by the connections and the whole. At this stage of
complexity we have to switch to a relational design paradigm to start to look at and design networks
of connections.
Relations
Protocols Synergies Nonlinear Circular

With systems design We are looking for We work with We design for circular
we design for the local how parts interact in a feedback loops and systems, converting straight
rules or protocols of constructive or destructive nonlinear processes of lines into loops.
interaction. fashion change
Decentralized
Networks
Network Design
As we go from a system with a relatively low level of connectivity to one with a very high level of
connectivity, the make-up and behavior of the system change fundamentally. In relatively isolated
systems, our focus is on the components and their properties. Due to the high cost of interaction the
system is typically bound into a centralized monolithic configuration to reduce the organization’s overall
cost of transactions. But when we reduce the cost of interaction - as IT and other innovations have done
- then connectivity increases and the system can become unbundled from this centralized configuration
allowing for components to become distributed out and re-coordinated through a network.
Networks
Decentralized Modularity User-Generated Services

Without centralized coordination High levels of modularity Design to engage and harness Think in terms of services
complex systems take the form can be seen in all complex the productive capacity of the and service networks.
of decentralized networks. systems. many.
Live Cycle
Design
Overview
Within our traditional design paradigm, technologies are designed to operate at some kind of
normal static equilibrium within a well-known and predefined environment. Their life-cycle is a
linear one, the system is created, put into its operating environment where it is designed to
function within some normal set of parameters, at a stable and static equilibrium. It is, most
importantly, designed to resist change and to maintain operations within these parameters for as
long as possible, before being disposed of; subject to a linear decaying life-cycle. Complex
systems are fundamentally dynamic, adaptive, and evolving systems. The net result of this is that
the system can change and is not determined to follow a linear life-cycle from cradle to grave. It
can learn, grow, and adapt in response to internal and external conditions in order to renew itself.
If we want regenerative, resilient, and sustainable systems we have to design for systems to
evolve over time.
Evolving
Regenerative Diversity Adaptive Resiliency

By working with evolutionary Diversity is a key part of Design for responsive Consider systems resilience
processes we aim to design evolution and we have to systems that are flexible in all our design choices.
regenerative systems design for its inclusion through adaptive capacity
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Systems Design

Open Systems Self-Organizing

Smart Cities Organizations Internet of Things

Supply Chains Information System Transport System

Systems Design Evolving

Wholistic Integration Patterns Multidimensional

Unbounded Context Self-Organization Emergent

Protocols Synergies Nonlinear Circular

Decentralized Modularity User-Generated Services

Regenerative Diversity Adaptive Resiliency

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