System Breakdown
We have already covered areas of interest; now let's talk about system breakdowns and system levels. Do not confuse the concepts of "areas of interest" (of systems and roles) and "system levels."
As you already know, systems can be viewed from different perspectives:
- when a system is a whole for some of its internal parts, meaning the entire system consists of subsystems;
- when a system is a part of a supersystem, meaning the system itself is a subsystem.
Each subsystem is also a whole for its own sub-subsystems, and each supersystem is a part of a super-supersystem. In this way, we can talk about system breakdowns into parts from the top down or from the bottom up. If we do not plan to break a system down into further parts for now, it is called a "system element," emphasizing that somewhere there is a whole system for which this subsystem is an element.
The levels in a system breakdown are called system levels. They are identified by focusing attention using the part-whole relationship. With this approach, we logically distinguish these levels in the physical world. Of course, there are no special level-boundaries in the physical world; a systems thinker identifies them by focusing their attention.
The classic system breakdown into levels comes from biology. In the illustration, you can see that cells are made up of molecules, but at the same time, cells themselves are part of organs. Organs are made up of cells, but organs are parts of organisms. And so on. A person, in the specific role of a biologist, decided to divide the world into parts in this way and assigned names to these parts and levels[1].
The illustration shows system levels—the level of organisms, organs, cells, and the system level of molecules. However, the system level of the biosphere is not shown, since it is above the level of organisms. The system level of atoms is also not shown, since it is below the level of molecules. This does not mean they do not exist; we simply did not include them in this diagram.
System levels in your work are also determined as needed. In most project activities, only a limited number of system levels are used, and it is unlikely you will need to consider more than 3–5 levels in your work. However, you cannot ignore them entirely, since there is always interaction between levels (misalignments).
It is also important to pay attention to other systems located at the same system level. You need to be attentive enough to track surrounding systems and the physical part-whole relationships several system levels up and down. You cannot work without focused attention, unconsciously drifting off into mental abstraction, or confusing what is a part and what is a whole—this is dangerous for the project.
Once you have fixed the system level, you can then discuss areas of interest. For example, in Section 4, we identified areas of interest for the system level "automobile," and then we can discuss the areas of interest for the supersystem ("automobile + driver") and the creator. In the same way, you can identify areas of interest for the system level "engine" or "piston." Different teams work at different system levels and with different areas of interest. And when we need to build a 3x3 Table for a specific system, such as an automobile, we need to understand that the table for the automobile is different from the table for the engine or the piston, and we need three different tables.
At the same time, note that system levels and areas of interest do not completely overlap[2]. These are different concepts that are applied to the chosen system. For this system of interest, areas of interest and system levels are identified. For example, if we take the system "automobile," then the area of interest of the supersystem will be related to "automobile + driver"[3]. The area of interest of the system of interest will be related to the "automobile"[4]. But the area of interest of the creator does not fall within the system levels of "supersystem – system of interest – subsystem."
In the same way, you will have to come up with names for parts and system levels in your own work projects. ↩︎
If you are having trouble understanding this, consult your instructor. Without understanding this distinction, it will be impossible to continue studying this textbook. ↩︎
Or "automobile" if you are creating a 3x3 Table for the "engine" system, or "engine" if you are creating a 3x3 Table for the piston. ↩︎
Or, accordingly, to the "engine" or the "piston." ↩︎