Systems Thinking
Systems thinking developed as a field through von Bertalanffy's general systems theory and Wiener's cybernetics, and was later brought into organizations and design by figures like Russell Ackoff and Peter Senge. The Framework describes itself as grounded in this systems thinking together with autopoiesis.
An entire chapter, "A Journey into Systems Thinking," traces systems thinking as a formalized field, crediting its emergence to Ludwig von Bertalanffy's General Systems Theory and Norbert Wiener's cybernetics, and its application to design and organizations to later pioneers: "Russell Ackoff brought systems thinking into the heart of the business world, critiquing traditional planning methods and advocating for more holistic, participatory approaches like 'interactive planning'. And Peter Senge popularized many of these ideas for a wider management audience with his concept of 'learning organizations' ... emphasizing systems thinking as a core capability for organizations to adapt and thrive in a complex world." These pioneers are credited with "collectively laying the groundwork for design itself to evolve beyond aesthetics and function towards becoming a truly systemic discipline." The Symbiotic Design Framework itself is described as "developed through the iterative, sometimes challenging, always illuminating process ... grounded in systems thinking, informed by autopoiesis."
Related in Community
Entries this one is tied to through the book.
Examples
- Society for General Systems Research (later ISSS) · both placed under General Systems Theory
- Bauhaus · discussed together in section 042
- Design for the Real World (book by Victor Papanek) · discussed together in section 046
- Dymaxion House and Dymaxion Car (Buckminster Fuller) · discussed together in section 046
- Geodesic Dome (Buckminster Fuller) · discussed together in section 046
- Interactive Planning (Russell Ackoff) · discussed together in section 046
- "Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System" (essay by Donella Meadows) · discussed together in section 046
- The Limits to Growth · discussed together in section 046
- Project Cybersyn · discussed together in section 016
- Quinta Monroy (Alejandro Aravena/Elemental) · discussed together in section 016
- Systems Dynamics (Jay Forrester, MIT) · discussed together in section 046
- The Fifth Discipline (book by Peter Senge) · discussed together in section 046
- Viable System Model (VSM, Stafford Beer) · discussed together in section 046
Books and references
- Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change · discussed together in section 046
Methods
- Sense-Making Methodology (Brenda Dervin) · discussed together in section 016
In the Framework
- Autopoiesis · concept
- Wicked Problems · problem type
In the book
- Chapter 2, section 018 · The Temporal Paradox and Event Types
- Chapter 5, section 042 · Unearthing the Systemic Roots – A Deeper Personal Reckoning with Design's Past and Future
- Chapter 5, section 046 · Pioneers of Systemic Application in Design
- Chapter 6, section 048 · Design as an Autopoietic System
Mentioned in
Methods