Creation Chain Diagram
Sometimes, you need to logically construct various interconnections to better understand how complex human activities are organized. Most importantly, you need to find the place of your system and your team within the creation chain.
A wide variety of systems are linked together through the operation stage into long creation chains. The diagram shows the stages of three systems. The run-time stage is the operation stage.
These kinds of diagrams are useful for telling stories such as:
- we are a startup that will grow into an IT company. The top line A shows the stages of creating an IT company.
- the company will produce an IT program for a digital twin of artificial structures, such as bridges. Line B shows the stages of creating the IT program.
- our IT program will be one of the creation systems that designs, builds, and participates in the operation of the bridge. Line C shows the stages of creating the bridge.
It is important for us to extend all our reasoning to the system of interest—the bridge. We will need to thoroughly work through this entire chain. And even here, not all of it is shown! There are more creation systems in this example.
If you do not learn to model and document such chains, each time bringing them to the system of interest, you risk having pointless discussions about what you are doing. However, by mastering systems thinking, you will develop the skill of untangling any complex activity, breaking it down with your attention into creation chains, system levels, systems, stages, and so on.
If you model and document the creation chain, you will easily be able to explain why your project is needed and how it will lead to the success of the system of interest. The further you are along the creation chain from the system of interest, the more attention you need to devote to working with it. It is quite far from you, and your thinking will need to make an effort to keep it in focus. Usually, teams “can’t see past their own noses” and do not want to deal with something so distant from their immediate activities. However, this mistake costs not only time and resources but also adds stress, as it hinders clarity and structure in project work.
By using systems thinking, you identify the system of interest[1], and then you design (describe) the entire creation chain up to “your” system[2], without skipping any systems in this chain and keeping in mind the benefit your project brings to the system of interest. This approach will bring clarity and order to your activities—both personal life and work projects.