Role Performers: Agent and Their Intent, Strategy, and Plans
When dealing with roles, it is essential not to overlook the performer of the role as an agent. An agent is a person or another entity (such as an organization, a team, or soon even AI) who intends to take actions to address dissatisfaction. The concept of a person is too broad[1]. We need to pay attention to the dissatisfactions and desires of a person, as these drive their actions.
When it comes to people, there is a risk of drifting into psychological terminology, which is less formal and not suitable for systems modeling. Therefore, to discuss a person as an agent, the concept of "intention" is introduced[2]. Intention allows us to discuss not the role itself, but its performer. In other words, "preference" relates to the role, while "intention" relates to the performer of the role.
In the textbook "Systems Self-Development," a diagram was introduced to connect psychology and systems thinking. Here, we will refine it a bit. When experiencing dissatisfaction, a person-agent intends to take on a role in order to use a method to address that dissatisfaction. At the same time, the agent in the role, using this method, participates in the creation of a system.
The agent acts according to the role and thus pursues the role interest (preference) regarding the system. However, the agent can also intentionally switch between roles, and accordingly, we may observe a change in preferences. For example, we may expect a person to play one role and pursue the corresponding role interests, but it turns out they have switched roles and are now pursuing a different role interest—possibly even in a completely different system. To work with the intentions of the agent, specific practices are required[3], and above all, systems leadership. Systems leadership is a method for placing the performer-agent into a project role. An inanimate physical object is placed into a role using standard engineering methods[4], but for an agent, systems leadership takes the place of these methods.
The concept of "intention" is primarily needed to identify specific people who are connected to your system and project. For these specific people, you need to identify project roles, or conversely, you need to link project roles to specific people.
It is common to find yourself surrounded by many people, but you cannot understand their intentions, and therefore you do not know whether they are stakeholders[5]. Sometimes, on the contrary, there is no one around you, or you are working in a small team, but somewhere there are people who want something from you or your project. By identifying the intentions of these people, you can better understand whether they are stakeholders and what roles they play in relation to your system.
Thus, when working with project roles, it is necessary to know all the performers and their intentions. If the intentions of the performers are not connected in any way to the project roles in your project, then you have chosen the wrong performers, or you will need to change their intention.
For example, when discussing a person, one could also consider the organism and its structure. However, we will not do this here, so the concept of "agent" allows us to narrow down the broad notion of "person." ↩︎
Do not confuse: intention refers to the person-agent or the performer, while preference refers to the role. So it is correct to say: "a person intends to take an action" and "a person in a role has a role interest" or "a role has a role interest." From a systems thinking perspective, it is incorrect to say that "a role has an intention" and that "a person pursues a role interest." ↩︎
Essentially, this is about creating a system that must fulfill a certain role. But this system is not made of metal, plastic, or other materials, but "of flesh and blood." If an inanimate system is created solely by engineering methods, this is not enough for a biological system. If you need to work at the level of body parts, you will need to involve medical professionals; at the gene level—neurobiologists; and at the level of the whole organism—coaches (for example, teaching swimming), instructors (teaching professional methods), and systems leaders (helping to take on the right roles). ↩︎
For example, mechanical engineering "places" a specific "M-1245 Engine" into the role of a car engine. ↩︎
A person may play a different role during a discussion—one that is not related to your project. At that moment, the actor-person is realizing the intention to play a different role than the one you expect. In this case, you do not have a stakeholder role, or rather, you do not have an actor in that role. This is where you will need systems leadership if you want to change the intention of the actor-person. ↩︎