Three Systems
In this section, you will learn about the types of systems that you need to identify and work with in any project. Its goal is to introduce you, through simple examples, to the system of interest, the supersystem, and the creation systems, as well as to teach you how to distinguish between a product and a service, and between a function and a service.
In the modern systems approach, the following three main systems are distinguished, which help manage attention in complex project activities. These are the system of interest, the supersystem, and the creator.
In the world, everything is interconnected; that's why we identify systems by focusing our attention on them—just as we distinguish the parts of an elephant. When we single out the subsystem "tail," we are not literally tearing it off the body. Individual parts and the system itself are also distinguished from the overall context by focusing our attention. For different projects, and even within a single project, the same physical object can be a different system or a part of different systems.
At Aisystant, you will learn techniques for this kind of identification and practice working fluently with each system and with all of them together. In this section, we will discuss each of the three main systems.
The system of interest is the main system for which the project activity (or the process of creation and development) takes place. We consider the activity[1] separately from its result—the system of interest. When we talk about a constructor changing the world, we mean that they are introducing some system of interest into the physical world. The system of interest is created to solve the problems of a specific group of people—consumers, clients. For example, for the BMW automotive corporation, the system of interest might be the "i8" vehicle.
The supersystem is the system into which the system of interest physically fits. The system of interest is a part of the supersystem. This demonstrates the classic property of nestedness. The system of interest "automobile" can be part of the supersystems "household" or "vehicle fleet." The supersystem must be chosen based on the specific project. It is not possible to simply name the supersystem based on the ideal system "automobile." The supersystem[2] must not only be identified but also studied in detail, which is why we will further examine such a work artifact as the usage concept.
The main methodological technique is to trace the physical nestedness of the system of interest within the supersystem. This is usually where students stumble. Nestedness of systems is easy to see when discussing "hardware systems." For example, an engine is part of a car. However, as we already know, systems can be more complex[3], so it is necessary to train the ability to see the relationship of nestedness and the corresponding system levels[4].
The third type of system is the system-creator or the set of creation systems. These are the systems involved in conceiving, designing, manufacturing, repairing, and disposing of the system of interest. For example, the system-creator is an organization, and the creation systems are its divisions. We can also talk about an extended enterprise as a system-creator, which includes many organizations.
For example, an extended enterprise creates the system of interest—a car—or different creation systems are involved in making the car. They participate in the process of creating the car. That is, the BMW plant, the dealers who sell and repair the car, and the recyclers—all of them are creation systems for the system of interest, the "i8" car. Together, they form the extended enterprise or the system-creator.
Creation systems participate in this activity. You should already be able to distinguish the type "activity" from the type "system." ↩︎
There may be several supersystems. This depends on the team, which may want to consider different stakeholders. Each supersystem brings its own external project roles. ↩︎
For example, a water safety system. ↩︎
The system of interest and the supersystem are two system levels. Creation systems are not included in this system breakdown. ↩︎