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INF 1005 Workshop:

Systems Thinking, Systems Design

Winter Semester, 2024

Course Description

Most of us lack an intuitive conceptual grasp of complex environments and their systemic interactions. We tend to criticize simplistic ways of thinking, but find it difficult to make constructive suggestions for how to deal with challenging situations where social, technological and humanistic questions interact. Information professionals in particular are keen on interdisciplinary engagement, but often find it challenging to engage with formal representations of complex systems, conceptual models of social and technical environments, and epistemic questions around such models.

This workshop aims to provide students with an initial conceptual toolset to bridge disciplinary modes of thinking. It introduces systems thinking frameworks as mental devices to illuminate and critically interrogate key concepts, assumptions, frameworks and modes of engagement. Through these frameworks, it explores the multi-faceted nature of sustainability and the role of information systems and technology design in addressing it. We will use systems thinking games, collaborative modelling and case studies to explore the role of systems design in social, environmental and economic sustainability and discuss roles and responsibilities for information professionals in this space.

Statement of Acknowledgement of Traditional Land

Colonialism is not in the past, it is present and continues to shape our lives. The land on which the University of Toronto operates, and on which I work, is the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. They have been here for thousands of years. Today, this land is still the home to many Indigenous people. I am grateful that I can work on it.

Goals and Objectives

Course Learning Outcomes (CLO): Students completing this course will have gained an overview of the systems thinking universe, will be able use key conceptual tools in professional interactions, and be ready to expand on this toolset in multiple directions.

1. They will be conversant in the plurality of systems thinking perspectives and able to navigate key conceptual frameworks and their terminology in their future development and learning trajectory.

2. They will be able to appreciate concrete system thinking frameworks such as system dynamics and soft systems methodology and apply systems thinking tools to collaboratively tackle complex problem situations.

3. They will demonstrate a systemic perspective of the critical role and opportunities of information technology design in social, environmental and economic sustainability.

4. They will be comfortable in unpacking mental models and reflecting on their assumptions and consequences.

Relationship between Course Learning Outcomes and MI Program Learning Outcomes:

• The diverse concepts and practices of systems thinking (1) will help them to navigate the shifting inter-disciplinary horizons of the information disciplines (PLO 1 and 6).

• Systemic ways of thinking (2) lie at the heart of understanding complex systems and worldviews across social, natural, humanistic, economic and technical disciplines (SLO 1).

• Systems perspectives on technology design and sustainability (3) will enable them to lead interdisciplinary conversations involving diverse stakeholders (PLO 2) and identify the impact of technological developments on society (PLO 5).

• The ability to unpack the assumptions underpinning our mental models and reflect on their consequences (4) is a crucial ingredient to life-long intellectual growth (PLO 6).

This is a workshop that requires full presence and participation. Please be mindful of the need to be as focused and present in this class as you would be in any class that is based on physical presence.

Course Summary

What gap does the course aim to address?

We teach how to use various frameworks to model and reason about ‘information systems’, but within the MI program, we have no place where we dive deeper into the trans-discipline of systems thinking itself. This workshop introduces students in any concentration to constructive ways of thinking in systems. It provides a rough roadmap to this universe and explores central concepts through concrete, challenging questions.

What do we mean by ‘systems thinking’?

Systems thinking comes in many different forms. These forms grew historically out of multiple parallel developments in diverse fields including biology, operations research, industrial control theory, cybernetics, sociology, and critical theory. The label “systems thinking” has been applied to very different ways of thinking, and we cannot explore each of these in detail. Instead, we will emphasize and explore the plurality of perspectives. The following informal set of characteristics of the mindset of systems thinking is a good starting point: A “systems thinker”

- “Sees the whole picture.

- Changes perspectives to see new leverage points in complex systems.

- Looks for interdependencies.

- Considers how mental models create our futures.

- Pays attention to and gives voice to the long-term.

- “Goes wide” (uses peripheral vision) to see complex cause and effect relationships.

- Finds where unanticipated consequences emerge.

- Focuses on the structure, not on blame.

- Holds the tension of paradox and controversy without trying to resolve it quickly.

- Makes systems visible through causal maps and computer models.

- Seeks out stocks or accumulations and the time delays and inertia they can create.

- Watches for “win/loose” mindsets, knowing they usually make matters worse in situations of high interdependence.

- Sees oneself as part of, not outside of, the system.” (Sweeney&Meadows, p.2)

We will look in detail at system dynamics as one very practical systems thinking mindset, and will explore key concepts in general systems theory, but also contrast this with very different perspectives such as Soft Systems Methodology and Critical Systems Thinking. The aim of this course is not to teach a modelling paradigm or even modelling in general, but to open up an appreciation of systemic ways of thinking and the collaborative nature of such thinking.

To make all these abstract concepts tangible, we will focus on one challenging set of ‘wicked problems’ – the role of technology design in sustainability. In this space, the limitations of the reductionist problem-solving mindset that dominates science and engineering curricula become especially striking. Information professional have enormous opportunities to play central roles at the intersection of technology development and social understanding. The workshop is a starting point.

The lectures draw on literature from system dynamics, climate science, management, policy studies, human-computer interaction, psychology, moral philosophy, soft systems methodology, critical systems thinking, and the emerging field of ICT for sustainability. Required readings are selected to provide an entrance point and overview.

How are we going to bring this together in six weeks?

The workshop schedule combines a few dense lecture periods based on foundational readings (and incentives to complete them on time) with systems thinking games – group activities of different length in which we experience particular phenomena first-hand and then discuss the emergent properties we observe in those games in terms of systems thinking concepts. We will jointly develop some models of system behaviors using example scenarios, and thus gain experience in possible ways to think in systems. We will focus on IT systems design and sustainability because these topics lends themselves especially well to systemic exploration.

The group project will then provide an opportunity to dive deeper into a particular environment and apply systems thinking concepts and techniques to discuss challenges and opportunities.

There are a myriad ways to take this further, and if students at the end are so intrigued that they do that, the course has reached its most important goal.

Class Format

The class will meet online for up to three hours each week. Most classes will combine lectures, systems thinking games and debriefing, and other activities; in some weeks, students will present and discuss their projects. On their own time, students must complete weekly course readings, submit written assignments, and complete a small group project.

Prerequisites

Students from all concentrations are most welcome. An interest in information technology, systems design, and different ways to think about complex questions are good starting points!

Course Materials

This course does not have a textbook. All required readings are available online. Links are included here. Additional readings are available as scans on Quercus. 

Some great systems books to have (read):