1. RSD3 2014 Symposium—Relating Systems Thinking and Design 3 Oslo 17 October 2014
A Systems Literacy Manifesto
Hugh Dubberly
Dubberly Design Office
www.dubberly.com/presentations/system_literacy.pdf
2. “…there is a good deal of turmoil
about the manner in which our society is run
.…the citizen has begun to suspect that the
people who make major decisions that affect
our lives don’t know what they are doing.
…because they have no adequate basis to
judge the effects of their decisions.”
— C. West Churchman, 1968
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 2
3. “Government is not the solution
to our problems;
government is the problem.”
— Ronald Reagan, 1981
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 3
4. “Those of us who have looked
to the self-interest of lending institutions
to protect shareholders’ equity,
myself included,
are in a state of shocked disbelief,”
— Alan Greenspan, 2008
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 4
5. “I do not believe that human activity
is causing these dramatic changes
to our climate
the way these scientists are portraying it…”
— Marco Rubio, 2014
(U.S. Senator and candidate for President)
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 5
6. Decision makers “not knowing what they are doing,”
lacking “adequate basis to judge effects,”
is not stupidity.
It is a type of illiteracy.
It is a symptom that something is missing
in public discourse, in organizations and businesses,
and in our schools.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 6
7. A Systems Literacy Manifesto
We need systems literacy—
in decision makers and in the general public.
A body of knowledge has grown about systems;
yet schools largely ignore it.
It can be codified and extended.
And it should be taught
in design and management schools in particular,
but also in general college education
and in kindergarten through high school,
just as we teach language and math at all levels.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 7
8. PART ONE
Why do we need
systems literacy?
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 8
9. Almost all the challenges that really matter
involve systems, e.g.,
-- Energy and global warming
-- Water, food, and population
-- Health and social justice
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 9
10. And in the day-to-day world of business,
new products that create high value
almost all involve systems, too.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 10
11. For the public, for managers, and for designers,
part of the difficulty is that these systems are
-- complex
made of many parts, richly connected
-- evolving
growing + interacting with the world
-- probabilistic
easily disturbed + partly self-regulating
(not chaotic, but not entirely predictable)
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 11
12. The difficulty is compounded
because these systems may not appear as “wholes”.
Unlike an engine or a tornado or a human being,
they may be hard to see all at once.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 12
13. Systems are often dispersed in space,
their “system-ness” experienced only over time,
rendering them almost invisible.
Or we may live within these systems
seeing only a few individual parts,
making the whole easy-to-overlook.
We might call these “hidden” systems—
or gossamer or ethereal or translucent systems.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 13
14. For example,
-- natural system
the water cycle, weather, and ecologies
-- information system
operating systems, DNS, cloud-based services
-- social system
languages, laws, and organizations
-- hybrid system
local health-care systems and education systems
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 14
15. Water travels contionuously through a cycle.
Cloud Formation Precipitation
Ocean
Lake
Ground
Rain Clouds
Snow
Evaporation + Condensation
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 15
16. Carbon also travels through a cycle.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 16
17. Sometimes large quantities can be tied up—sequestered—
so that they are not traveling through the cycle.
Changing stock levels—sequestering or releasing water or carbon—
affects the climate as ice or carbon dioxide
interacts with the planet’s weather system.
Water
Cycle
Weather
Cycles
Carbon
Cycle
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 17
18. In sum:
We face the difficulties of untangling messes (taming wicked problems)
and fostering innovation (economic and social),
which require understanding systems—
which are complex, evolving, and probabilistic—
and “hidden” or “translucent”.
What is more: systems are “observed”.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 18
19. “Anything said
is said by an observer.”
— Humberto Maturana,
Theorem Number 1, 1970
That is, as Stafford Beer said,
“a system is not something given in nature,”
it is something we define—
even as we interact with it.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 19
20. “Anything said
is said to an observer.”
— Heinz von Foerster,
Corollary Number 1, 1979
What the observer “says” is a description,
said to another observer in a language
(they “share”), creating a connection
that forms the basis for a society.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 20
21. Now, we can ask a simple question:
How should we describe systems?
Or more precisely,
how should we describe systems that are
complex, evolving, probabilistic—
and “hidden”—and “observed” ?
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 21
22. PART TWO
What is
systems literacy?
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 22
23. Churchman outlines four approaches to systems:
efficiency expert:
reducing time and cost
scientist:
building (mathematical) models
humanist:
looking to our values
anti-planners:
living in systems, not imposing plans
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 23
24. We might consider a fifth approach:
designer:
prototyping and iterating systems
or representations of systems
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 24
25. Basic systems literacy includes:
-- vocabulary (content):
a set of distinctions and entailments (relationships)
-- “reading” (skills of analysis):
recognizing common patterns in specific situations
e.g., identifying—finding and naming—a control loop
-- “writing” (skills of synthesis):
describing the function of systems to others,
mapping and diagramming
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 25
26. Systems literacy is enriched with:
-- literature:
a canon of key works of theory and criticism
-- history:
context, sources, and development of key ideas
-- connections:
conversations among and between disciplines
e.g., design methods and management science
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 26
27. A vocabulary in systems begins with
system, environment, boundary
stocks, flows, delay (lag)
source, sink
process, transform function, cycle
information (signal, message),
goal (threshold, set-point), feedback
circular processes, circularity
closed-loop, open-loop
viscous cycle, virtuous cycle
explosion, collapse, dissipation
negative feedback, positive feedback
reinforcing, dampening, balancing
stability, invariant organization,
dynamic equilibrium, homeostasis
tragedy of the commons
behavior, action (task), measurement
range, resolution, frequency
sensor, comparator, actuator (effector)
current state, desired state
error, detection, correction
disturbances, responses
controlled variable, command signal
servo-mechanism, governor
hunting, oscillation, prediction
control, communication
teleology, purpose
goal-directed, self-regulating
co-ordination, regulation
emergence
feedforward
static, dynamic
first order, second order
essential variables
variety, “requisite variety”
transformation (table)
autopoiesis
constructivism
recursion
observer, observed
controller, controlled
agreement, (mis-)understanding
“an agreement over an understanding”
learning, conversation
bio-cost, bio-gain
back-talk
structure, organization,
co-evolution, drift
black box
explanatory principle
“organizational closure”
self-reference, reflexive
ethical imperative
“generosity in design”
structural coupling
“consensual co-ordination of consensual co-ordination”
“conservation of a manner of living”
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 27
28. Reading systems means
recognizing common patterns in specific situations.
e.g.,
-- resource flows and cycles
-- transform functions (processes)
-- feedback loops
-- feed-forward
-- requisite variety
-- second-order feedback
-- goal-action trees
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 28
29. Temperature Control Lever
Temperature Indicator Pin
Fixed Contact Screw
50 | | | | | 60 | | | | | 70 | | | | | 80 | | | | | 90
The bi-metal coil is connected
to the temperature control lever.
*The magnet insures a good contact
and prevents erratic on/off signals
to the heater in the event that the
Moving Contact
Bi-metal Coil
Magnet*
Moving moves The the The Power in Power to heater
Consider the toilet and thermostat,
different in form and structure.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 29
30. Goal = temperature at 18º C
Air
in the room
Measure
temperature
Action
activate heater
Yet the toilet and thermostat
are the same in function.
Both are governors.
Goal = water level at 10 cm
Tank
Measure
water level
Action
open valve
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 30
31. Writing systems means
describing the function of systems to others,
through
-- text
-- images
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 31
32. Text can describe a system’s function,
linking it to a common pattern.
But text descriptions require
mental gymnastics from readers—
imagining both the behavior of the system
and the abstract functional pattern—
and then linking the two.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 32
33. Images of physical systems aid readers,
though behavior can be difficult to depict.
But function must be represented in diagrams,
often with some degree of formalism.
Learning to read and write
one or more systems function formalisms
is an important part of systems literacy.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 33
34. Donalla Meadows has a particular formalism.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 34
35. O’Connor & McDermott have another formalism.
Reinforcing Balancing Limits to Success Addiction
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 35
36. Otto Mayr has a block diagram formalism.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 36
37. Yet in many cases, simple concept maps
may be all the formalism required.
Feedback: Overview
Goal
(Desired State)
through system through environment
Effect
(Current State)
Action
System attempts to reach a goal;
based on feedback,
it modies its actions.
(System acts both within itself
and on its environment.)
Measurement
System measures its progress
comparing current state to desired state
determining the difference,
and attempting to correct the ‘error.’
Feedback
(transfer of information)
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 37
38. Yet in many cases, simple concept maps
may be all the formalism required.
Goal
Feedback: Mechanism
is embodied in
a Comparator
subtracts
the current state value
from
the desired state value
to determine
the error
System
Environment
Disturbances
is measured by
affects the
. . . describes a relationship
that a system desires to have
with its environment
. . . may be characterized as certain types
typically falling within a known range;
but previously unseen types may emerge
and values may vary beyond a known range;
in such cases the system will fail
because it does not have requisite variety
. . . has
resolution – (Accuracy)
frequency – (Latency)
range – (Capacity)
. . . has
resolution
frequency
range
can affect the
input
output
a Sensor passes the current state value to . . . . . . . . . . responds by driving an Actuator
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 38
39. Physical World
make up organized into provide structure to
make up
People
Feeds Tables Databases
Metadata
Data/Document
Storage System
Graph
News,
Products,
Related Links,
Trademarks,
Recirculation,
Stocks
Yahoo!
Open Directory
Infoseek
used by
generate
generate
can act as
provide
multiple
views of
data in a
database
Usenet
Yahoo!
Open Directory
Dewey Decimal
Library of Congress
is used to create
data that contains
information about
its format
later organized by are
create and maintain
can assign quality ratings
such as editor’s choice
or cool site of the day
are “sensed” by send data to send data to create an sends data to a
Sensors Analyzers Indexers Index Post Processors
Active Searchers
Data/Document
Retrieval System
Raw Data
Scraper
Results Pages
Metadata and
Data
Results Data
Aggregator
Templates
sends data to an
Views
WWW Site
Directory
Databases
Customization
Settings
WWW Pages
Data/Document
Creation Process
3rd Parties
WWW Sites Submissions
WWW Users
Crawlers
Editors
Algorithms
Hierarchical
Taxonomies
Sorted Lists
Organizing
Principle
WWW Document
Databases
Page
Databases
Data Objects
Objects residing in databases that
are not referenceable by a simple
URI such as
company names, addresses, phone
numbers, names of people,
personal profiles, horoscopes,
credit card numbers, product
names, prices, maps, event
listings, news clips, weather
WWW Objects
Descriptions
Attributes
Keywords
Personalization
Profiles
Options
can contribute to the specification of
can be stored in
Behavioral
History
can contribute to the specification of
Passive Searchers Group Profiles
Environmental
State
Information
Actions
Goals
Relevance
Ranking
Interpreter
made using a sent to an
could be redrawn by an
could contain a
Queries Source
such as
Representations
Articulator
Input Device Output Device
Answers
Persons, Places
Things, Ideas
User
Context
renders
could directly receive
could receive data directly from an
should empower
Understanding Internet Search
Concepts, Systems and Processes
8 August 1999
Data/Document
Retrieval Process
require to enable toward
exist in the
involve
is made up of
describe
represent
such as
such as
such as
represent
describe
create of that exist in the
make of a
sends data to an sends data to a displays
in order to get
generates
generates
is referenced by an
could be contained in a
are indexed by
are indexed by
are indexed by
used by
could be contained in a
If a graph is in place, the index functions
as a lightweight lookup table.
If no graph is used, the index contains
all of the data in addition to the lookup table,
in a list format.
Turns the user’s query
into something readable
by the index.
Could handle:
boolean operators
spell checking
word stemming
case folding
internationalization
thesauri
phrase searching
related terms
Any processes done on the data
returned from the index. Could involve
sorting, ordering, or compiling the data
retrieved from the index.
Provides the architecture,
or “form” of the data for the
creation of the results page.
The templates can exist in
multiple, localized formats.
A collection of technologies that attempt
to rank the relative value of a set of results.
Google ranks results during the indexing process
by examining the relationships created by the hyperlinks
in the documents. More popular sites score higher.
Clever does the ranking during post processing. It uses
an iterative process that looks at the popularity of a
site (much like Google) but does so in regard to the
keywords used in the search.
such as keyverbs,
boolean operators,
data type, media type,
language or domain
Scope is reduced by specifying
additional restrictions upfront.
Best for data retrieval.
Scope is reduced by reducing
choices from a found set, in a
sequence of ever smaller sets.
Best for document retrieval.
... can be described by their
goals, age, gender, income,
geographic location,
education, hardware and
software, connection speed,
member status
The suggested starting point for reading is “People”.
I would like to acknowledge Hugh Dubberly for his many suggestions,
and Ken Hickman and Paul Pangaro for their contributions.
Designed by Matt Leacock
Search Concept Map, version 1.2
Could be organized as
cultural responses to human needs
(Malinowski) roughly,
Food
Kinship
Shelter
Protection
Activities
Training
Hygiene
options that are
stored either locally
or on a server
behaviors and
states that are stored
either locally or
on a server
large collections of
profiles that can be
analyzed to produce
trend information
click paths,
session tracking,
decision tracking
browser type and version,
language setting, IP address,
current page, monitor size,
color settings, javascript
capability
such as
HTML streams
Form and content
are merged.
Scrapes unwanted
form information
from the data
stream. Classifies
remaining data.
Combines or interleaves
data from multiple
sources.
such as
XML, XUL, or RDF
Data is self-describing
and separate from the
form it will eventually take.
could contain an
could contain a
could contain an
A repository of data that could be stored in RDF format.
Can be updated independently of the index that references it.
Entries in the graph can reference each other. For instance,
a request for a stock quote of an entry could point to the
symbol, the symbol could point to the company name and the
current quote, the current quote could point to the quote history,
and the quote history could point to a quote histogram.
Creates a lookup table from all of the
data fed into it. If a graph is not in use
all of the data fed into it is stored as
entries in the lookup table.
I-search and PLS are existing technologies.
... are the input devices
of the data/document
storage system
Stored proxies of
physical world objects
and ideas
Groups of WWW
Objects in context
Objects referenceable
by a URI such as
html, text, gif, jpeg, png,
avi, mpeg, real, quicktime,
wav, pdf, rss, xml, xul files
Groups of WWW
Pages in context
describe
make up
are organized into provide structure to
can be
make up are organized into provide structure to
are gathered by
are gathered by
generate
generate
are gathered by
are an
are an
are an
make up
describe
describe
are represented by
alphabetically
by relevance
by modification date
Alexa
Bigfoot
At Hand
paid
volunteer
text analysis
link analysis
meta data analysis
... gather all of the text on a given
web page, then continue gathering text
on all of the pages linked to the given page,
then follow the links on those pages, and so on.
Inktomi
Google
Alta Vista
Lycos
are
are
are
are used to create
organized by
later organized by
act as
contains an
could be contained in
control the display order of
could be the same as the
could be redrawn by the
or ‘Layout Engine’
Combines form
and content.
Any device that can
receive data and
render it for the user.
Could be by relevance,
creation date, modification
date, alphabetical,
by source, by media type,
involve progressive disclosure,
pagination, or custom look and
feel (themes)
Any UI page or widget that
displays the results data
could receive data directly from an
could directly receive
could receive
could receive data from an
could be sent to a sends data to an
makes use of
such as
such as
should provide the required
should help people attain their
collect data for
can pair data metadata from
can influence
can influence
can influence
can be collected and stored into
can be stored in
can be stored in contain data that can improve the specification of
contains data that can improve the specification of
contain data that can improve the specification of
can be stored in
can specify
can specify
rely on
rely on
Or more simply,
Work, Play, Learn
and
Food, Clothing,
Shelter, Love
organize the form of
could be
could specify
could be
can be done by
Amazon ranks related books and CDs by keeping track
of the purchasing habits of groups (group profiles).
Grapevine allows users to actively rank results
(a customization process) but then attempts to guess
what the user will want based on what it has learned
(a personalization process).
Direct Hit analyzes the time spent by users on a given
result. It also keeps track of whether or not a user returns
to the results page after viewing a result. If the user
returns, the result receives a lower score.
could be contained in a
Netscape search
concept map
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 39
41. Heart attack
concept map
Health Coach Notebook for Coronary Artery Disease Patients Concept Map
is a which results from which results from risk factors some of which can be controlled by behavior
healthy living can help control
1.
2.
3.
4.
taking prescribed
medications
cholesterol
sodium
calories
reduces being3 3
more active
eases
5.
controllable
risk factors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
following dietary
recommendations
controls
control
such as
such as lowering
such as lowering
such as lowering
burns
4
managed, controls
managed, controls
managed, controls
causes build up of
control
2
stopping smoking
lowers
lowers reducing stress
insulin
reduces the heart muscle’s
such as
A heart attack
(also called myocardial infarction or MI,
from Greek mus, muscle and kardi, heart
and from Latin infarcre, to cram)
blockage of blood flow
to the heart
build up of plaque
in the arteries
of the heart
(also called atherosclerosis,
from Greek athero, meaning gruel or paste,
and sclerosis, meaning hardness)
uncontrollable
risk factors
diabetes
(also called diabetes mellitus,
from the Latin diabetes, siphon
and melltus, honey-sweet)
can induce
obesity
contributes
to
physical
inactivity
heredity
(including being
African-American)
under age 55,
being male
over age 65,
being female
increases
liklihood of
tobacco increasing age
exposure
high cholesterol
(also called hypercholesterolemia,
from Greek huper, over,
khole, bile and stereos, solid)
high blood pressure
(also called hypertension,
from Greek huper, over,
and Latin tensis, stretching out)
innermost layer of the artery
(also called endothelium,
from Greek endon, within and thele, nipple)
contributes to the risk of
2
stroke
can also cause 3
4
contributes
to
contributes to the risk of
contributes to the risk of
contributes to the risk of
begins with
damage to the
contributes to the risk of
contributes to the risk of
contributes to the liklihood of
sufferers usually have
increses risk of
contributes to
contributes to
contributes to
damages the
contributes to
contributes to
damages the
damages the
may speed
can
become a
may be
may be
plaque
(deposit of
fatty material)
blood clot that moves
until it lodges in a vessel
(also called embolus,
from Greek embolos, plug)
blood clot that forms
in a vessel or cavity of the heart
(also called thrombus,
from Greek thrombos, clot)
may rupture, causing
can be caused by
can be relieved by
is one kind of
insufficiency
of blood supply
(also called ischemia,
from Greek iskhein, to keep back
and haima, blood)
can result in
increases the risk of
causes
pain in the chest,
neck, jaw, back or arm
(also called angina,
from Greek anchone, a strangling)
is an indicator of
is arterial
build up of
may be
oxygen
supply
reduces the
may disturb the
disturbed,
can cause
the heart to stop
(also called cardiac arrest)
can
lead to
death
may reduce
the heart’s capacity
(which may cause it
to work harder)
heart rhythm
may disturb the
reduced, may cause
may disturb the
may disturb the
may cause
symptoms weakness,
nausea and vomiting,
sweating, and
shortness of breath
medication,
coronary bypass surgery,
or angioplasty
(Angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure which
enlarges the inner diameter of a blood vessel -
most commonly by flattening plaque with a balloon,
or vaporizing plaque with a laser.)
may be indicated by
dead, scarred
heart tissue
HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins),
bile acid sequestrants,
nicotinic acid,
and fibric acid
ACE* inhibitors,
angiotensin II receptor blockers,
vasodilators (such as
aspirin and nitroglycerin),
beta blockers,
calcium antagonists,
anti-hypertensives,
and diuretics
(*angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor)
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 41
42. Female = 655 + (4.35 × CW) + (4.7 × H) – (4.7 × A)
Wellspace variables equation
Weight control
concept map
= Female
Male =
= Male
Extremely active
Very active
66 + (6.23 × CW) + (12.7 × H) – (6.8 × A)
Moderately active
Lightly active
Sedentary
Coma 1.0
+ .175
+ .2
+ .175
+ .175
+ .175 1.9
1.725
1.55
1.375
1.2
1.0
100 lbs at 5'
5 lbs for each 1 5'
106 lbs at 5'
6 lbs for each 1 5'
cW
Current
weight
C+
Calories
eaten
rW
Recommended
weight
(Hamwi formula)
Current
Gender weight
Gender
suggests
suggests
Height
Height Age
day
C–
Calories
burned
gW
Goal weight
ΔW
Weight
change RR
ate of
weight loss
per day
lbs
3500
Calories
in 1 lbs
Can’t be 2 lbs /week
(or .286 lbs /day)
Defaults to 1 lbs /week
(or .143 lbs /day)
day
Cd
Calorie deficit
day day day day
ΔT
Time to reach
goal weight
mCb
Maintanence
calorie budget
rCb
Recommended
calorie budget
BMR
Basal
metabolic
rate
AF
Activity
factor
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 42
43. inverse more accurately... 98.6º
proportional
inverse proportional
proportional
more accurately...
proportional
proportional proportional
Needle Cost
Strength
inverse
proportional
proportional proportional
Injection
Depth
Needle
Length
Temperature
inverse
inverse
Time Pain
Volume
Viscosity
Needle
Gauge
Flow Rate
inverse proportional
Concentration
proportional proportional
Drug delivery
device map
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 43
44. can sends and receives
Messages
can be
Created
- New
- - Manually
- - From short cuts
- Reply
- Reply All
- Forward
- Sent
- Sent Again
Read (opened)
- As preview
- Full text
Read
- Text-to-speech
Updated (draft)
Primary (Default)
Deleted
or
- Locally
Secondary
- Globally
can be
- Singly
Designated
- En Masse
- Undo
Saved
- Locally
- To Cloud
Filtered
Sorted
Searched
- Locally
- Globally
- Within Filter
Moved
- Singly
- En masse
Flagged
Marked (read/not)
- Singly
- En masse
Black = Entities (data Gray = Entity to be added Cyan = Relation between Green = Action user can Light Green = Action to Email conceptual model
Android, Email Client, Conceptual Model
are
Account Name
User Name
Email Address
User Name
Password
Server
Protocols
- SMTP for sending
- IMAP or POP for retrieving
- Exchange
Port
Secure Connection
- Auto
- SSL/TLS
- STARTTLS
Domain
Secure Connection (yes or no)
can be
Configured
are associated with
for IMAP / POP
for Exchange
contain Text
- Original
- Quoted
can be
Created
- By Virtual Keyboard
- By Microphone
(voice-to-text)
Deleted
Formatted
Annotated
Spell-checked
Enlarged / Reduced
has Format
Annotations
- Highlights
- Notes
can be
Created / Deleted
Displayed / Hidden
Images
can be
Attached / Deleted
Displayed / Hidden
Saved
Loaded from remote source
Attachments
can be
Attached
Deleted
Opened / Closed
Saved
Meta-data
can be
Created / Deleted
- Automatic
- Manual
Displayed / Hidden
Used to Filter
Used to Sort
includes Recipients
could be
- Main
- CC
- BCC
Sender
Subject
Preview
Time Stamp (year, month, day, hour, minute)
Flag (on or off, depends on service)
Tags
Status (unread or read)
Response (none, reply, or forward)
Priority (low, normal, or high)
Routing Information
are organized in Folders
can be
Created / Deleted
Opened / Closed
Moved
such as All (unified in-box, default if multiple services)
Account (1 to n; mean = 6)
Inbox (Default, if only one service)
Drafts (Depends on service)
Sent (Depends on service)
Junk (Spam, depends on service)
Trash (Depends on service)
Archive (Depends on service)
sent to /
uploaded from
Local memory
Cloud
Gallery
Quick Office
Documents to Go
Social network sites (later)
sent to /
uploaded from
Plain Text
can be
Viewed + Created
are stored in Contacts List
be accessed by Email Client
Access includes
- Fetch and Push
- Auto and Manual
Mail Boxes
can be
Added
Deleted
Logged in to
Logged out of
Threads (Conversations)
can be
Displayed / Hidden
Hot Strings
- URLs (Auto-formed links)
- Dates (Calendar events)
- Names (Contacts)
- Phone numbers
- Addresses
can be
Auto-recognized
RichText
can be
Viewed only
HTML Text
can be
Viewed only
Accounts include
such as
- AOL
- Exchange
- Gmail
- Hotmail
- iCloud
- Ymail
Related Features
- Contacts
- Calendar
- Bookmarks
- Reminders (To-do’s)
- Documents (Files)
- Media (e.g., books, music, video)
may include
Preferences
- Primary Account
- Notification
- - Sound
- - By Account
- - By Sender
- Preview Length
- Meta-data View
- Auto Download
- - Yes / No
- - Up to file size
- Number of Messages Stored
- Number of Days Saved
- Signature (default from Amazon)
- Auto-response (out-of-the-office)
can be
Configured
includes
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 44
45. Disney map
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 45
46. PART THREE
How do we achieve
systems literacy?
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 46
47. Teaching systems in design is not a new idea.
HfG Ulm had courses in operations research and cybernetics
in the 1960s.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 47
48. All graduate design programs
should have courses in systems literacy—
as should under grad programs in
-- product design
-- interaction design
-- service design
-- information design
-- and any program in innovation
or social entrepreneurship
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 48
49. One course, 3 hours per week for 12 to 15 weeks
is a bare minimum survey of systems.
Ideal would be 3 semesters:
-- Intro to Systems:
systems dynamics, regulation, requisite variety
-- Second-Order Systems:
observing systems, autopoiesis, learning, ethics
-- Systems for Conversation:
co-evolution, co-ordination, and collaboration
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 49
50. Recommended readings:
-- A Systems View of Life, Capra
-- Thinking in Systems, Meadows
-- An Introduction to Cybernetics, Ashby
-- “Second-order Cybernetics,” Glanville
-- “Ethics and Second-order Cybernetics,” von Foerster
-- “Systemic and Meta Systemic Laws,” Maturana + Davila
-- “What is conversation?” Pangaro
-- “The Limits of Togetherness,” Pask
-- Decision and Control, Beer
-- “Meta-design,” Maturana
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 50
51. Recommended format: seminar + studio
-- Readings and discussions
-- Review of common patterns (via canonical diagrams)
-- In class exercises to apply the patterns
-- Homework to apply the patterns again
-- In class critiques of previous week’s homework
-- Final project to design a new system
or repair (or improve) a faulty one
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 51
52. Literacy requires fluency in a language.
As with any language,
learning the language of systems requires
immersion, practice, and time.
The reward is that practice becomes habit,
and habit becomes a way of thinking—
an other (another) point of view.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 52
53. CONCLUSION
Implications of (and for)
observing systems
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 53
54. “Designers need to be able
to observe, describe, and understand
the context and environment
of the design situation...
...a designer is obliged to use
whatever approaches provide
the best possible understanding
of reality...”
— Harold Nelson, Erik Stolterman
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 54
55. “Pask… distinguishes two orders of analysis.
The one in which the observer enters the system
by stipulating the system’s purpose…
[the other] by stipulating his own purpose…
[and because he can stipulate his own purpose]
he is autonomous…
[responsible for] his own actions…”
— Heinz von Foerster, 1979
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 55
56. “…if we know that the reality that we live
arises through our emotioning,
and we know that we know,
we shall be able to act
according to our awareness of our liking
or not liking the reality
that we are bringing forth with our living.
That is, we shall become responsible
of what we do.”
— Humberto Maturana, 1997
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 56
57. “We human beings can do whatever we
imagine if we respect
the structural coherences of the domain
in which we operate.
But we do not have to do all that we imagine,
we can choose, and it is there
where our behavior as socially conscious
human beings matters.”
— Humberto Maturana, 1997
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 57
58. We have a responsibility to try to make things better.
If we want decision makers to have a basis to judge
the effects of their decisions,
or if we acknowledge that almost all the challenges that matter—
and most social and economic innovation—involve systems,
and if we know that tools exist to help us think about systems,
then we must put those tools into circulation.
We must build systems literacy.
To not do so would be irresponsible.
Dubberly Design Office · A Systems Literacy Manifesto · 17 October 2014 58
59. Special thanks to
Peter Jones
Harold Nelson
Birger Sevaldson
Paul Pangaro
Ryan Reposar
hugh@dubberly.com
Presentation posted at
www.dubberly.com/presentations/system_literacy.pdf