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Module VIUnderstanding Systems
Systems
• Systems• System Behavior • Feedback
Understanding Systems
Learning Objectives
• Systems– Clarify terms – Describe characteristics
• Complexity – Clarify terms – Describe characteristics
SYSTEMS
DefinitionSystem: a collection of parts that interact with each other to form an interdependent whole
Characteristics of Systems • “Systems have specific purposes…• A system’s parts must all be present for the system to
carry out its purpose optimally• A system’s parts must be arranged in a certain way
for the system to carry out its purpose• Systems maintain their stability through fluctuation
and adjustments• Systems have feedback”
Source: Anderson and Johnson. Systems Thinking: From Concepts to Causal Loops. Pp. 3-4.
Organizations as systems
Organizationa “social structure created by individuals to support the collaborative pursuit of specified goals”
- Scott, 2011.
Clarify Terms
District
School
Grade
Class
Nested Systems
Formal System
http://www.cdc.gov/nphpsp/essentialservices.html
One System
http://www.cdc.gov/nphpsp/essentialservices.html
Activity: Informal System?
http://www.cdc.gov/nphpsp/essentialservices.html
Example: Informal System
Women and Infants
Clarify Terms
Systems Thinking:“…a discipline for seeing wholes…” - Peter Senge
“…an interdisciplinary field that studies the interconnected factors that shape the behavior of complex systems that occur across many domains – including nature, business, science, public health, and society.”
- Hassmiller Lich, Ginexi, Osgood, Mabry
COMPLEX SYSTEMS:DETAIL AND DYNAMIC COMPLEXITY
Detail Complexity
• Systems with a large number of parts
• Do not change over time • Difficult to understand
as a whole
16
Dynamic Complexity
Dynamic complexity leads to counterintuitive behavior of complex systems because:
– Things change over time
– Lag time between cause and effect
– Nonlinear relationships
– Feedback loops
17
Dynamic Complexity
“…cause and effect are subtle, and where the effects over time of interventions are not obvious”
Dynamic Complexity
Dynamic complexity leads to counterintuitive behavior of complex systems because:
– Things change over time
– Lag time between cause and effect
– Nonlinear relationships
– Feedback loops
19
Dynamic Complexity
Dynamic complexity leads to counterintuitive behavior of complex systems because:
– Things change over time
– Lag time between cause and effect
– Nonlinear relationships
– Feedback loops
20
WHO Surgical Checklist
Characteristics
http://www.cdc.gov/nphpsp/essentialservices.html
Dynamic Complexity
Dynamic complexity leads to counterintuitive behavior of complex systems because:
– Things change over time
– Lag time between cause and effect
– Nonlinear relationships
– Feedback loops
23
Dynamic ComplexityNonlinear relationships:“the same action has dramatically different effects in the short run and the long run . . . an action has one set of consequences locally and a very different set of consequences in another part of the system . . . and obvious interventions produce nonobvious consequences”
- Diane Kelly
Tendency: Linear Thinking
Nonlinear Thinking
Dynamic Complexity
Dynamic complexity leads to counterintuitive behavior of complex systems because:
– Things change over time
– Lag time between cause and effect
– Nonlinear relationships
– Feedback loops
27
TradeoffsPr
oble
m
Time
Better
Worse
Short term Long term
A. High leverage intervention
B. Low leverage intervention
TradeoffsPr
oble
m
Time
Better
Worse
Short term Long term
High leverage intervention
Low leverage intervention
Program A
Program B
Tradeoffs
Prob
lem
Time
Better
Worse
Short term Long term
Program A
Program B
More on “hard systems problems”
Wicked problemsProblem in which stakeholders do not agree on what the problem is, or even if there is a problem – threatening collective impact.
- Vennix, 1999.
More on “hard systems problems”
Messy problems“actually consist of multiple smaller problems that cannot be solved independently, and which often involve ‘socio-political’ or ‘moral-spiritual’ issues”
- Gray and Gill, 2009.
Systems• Now, step back from the details and think of a system as the
important forces shaping a problem you want to address.• Many different kinds of “systems” in which we might intervene
to address a problem:– The state health department (or communication within it…)– Early childhood systems– All subsystems touching CSHCN– Forces shaping how states react to federal Health Care
Reform, or– Life-course determinants of women’s health (MCH x chronic
x infectious disease)
Bringing science to study systems
Systems Science“an interdisciplinary field that studies the interconnected factors that shape the behavior of complex systems that occur across many domains – including nature, business, science, public health, and society.”
- Hassmiller, Ginexi, Osgood, Mabry, 2013.
Summary
• Systems– Clarify terms – Describe characteristics
• Complexity – Clarify terms – Describe characteristics
