The term Systems Thinking is many times used in vague and unspecified ways to mean think about the system and all will emerge in a way needed to produce value.
Systems Thinking is a term toosed around many times with little regard for what it actually means and its relationship to Systems Engineering and Engineered Systems.
But systems thinking is much more than that. Systems thinking provides a rigorous way of integrating people, purpose, process and performance and: †
- relating systems to their environment.
- understanding complex problem situations
- maximising the outcomes achieved.
- avoiding or minimising the impact of unintended consequences.
- aligning teams, disciplines, specialisms and interest groups.
- managing uncertainty, risk and opportunity.
† "How Systems Thinking Contributes to Systems Engineering," INCOSEUK, Z7, Issue 1.0, March 2010.
