Supersystem, System Levels, and Recursion
In the diagram below, you see the same types of systems discussed earlier, but from a slightly different perspective. This diagram from the textbook "Systems Thinking" shows that the identification of different systems is always relative to a particular system of interest. If we talk about a supersystem, that means there is a system of interest; and if there is a creation system, it always corresponds to a system of interest.
However, before identifying the system of interest, you need to clarify your own roles, your team, and your enterprise. This understanding allows you to determine your responsibilities and authorities, which in turn define the system level and the boundaries of both the system of interest and your own system. You might be given the authority to create a piston, an entire engine, or the whole vehicle. Once you select the system of interest, you can then structure all the other systems accordingly—including defining "our system." Sometimes, though, it works the other way around: you have a clear understanding of "our system" first, and only then do you start searching for the system of interest.
What is the first thing you need to do with the supersystem? You need to check that, during operation, the system of interest is an integral, physical part of this supersystem—that is, it literally forms part of the supersystem. For example, a pump is part of a pumping station. Unfortunately, most mistakes occur precisely because people overlook this key feature of the supersystem.
A single system of interest can have several supersystems. It all depends on the context in which the system of interest is used. For example, for a vehicle, the supersystem might be "driver + vehicle + passenger"[1]. On the other hand, you can consider the vehicle in the context of a garage where it is parked. In that case, the garage with the vehicle is also a separate supersystem for the system of interest—the vehicle. There can be several such supersystems. Each perspective defines project roles, surrounding systems, needs, and so on.
A system breakdown or system levels refer to the nestedness of systems within each other: a subsystem is part of the system of interest, which in turn is part of the supersystem. However, the creation system is not included in this system breakdown, which is why it is shown separately in the diagram.
You can also infer another important principle from the diagram: a kind of recursion. The supersystem of our project might be called the system of interest for our clients, and our system of interest might be a supersystem for someone else.
The names of system types depend on the team working at a particular system level. The team has the authorities and responsibility for systems at that level. For one team, the system of interest might be the vehicle, with the battery as a subsystem. However, your team might just as well designate the battery as the system of interest—especially since it could be used in different supersystems: vehicles, homes, and so on.
There is no single template or strict rule for naming systems. Each team independently decides how to name what it works with—whether as "our system" or "system of interest." This is also a task for the visionary. Systems thinking only requires you to follow the principle of physical nestedness, while also separately considering surrounding systems and creation systems, along with other cognitive techniques.
It's difficult to find a name for such a system—maybe "equipped crew"? Here, different project roles already emerge, as well as surrounding systems (an asphalt road or a dirt road, pedestrians or wild animals, etc.). ↩︎