What Is A System?

Posted on May 29, 2010 | 0 comments

What is a system? This is the most often asked question that I receive in my profession. It’s a great question and one that is fundamental to so much more. Understanding the answer to this question opens the door for thinking in a brand new and powerful way.

Twelve years ago my life changed completely on this important question. I owe many thanks to Dr Patrick Dessert, a professor, my PhD committee chairperson and the individual responsible for changing the way that I think, act, live life, and do business.

Dr Dessert said in my first Master’s level Systems Engineering course “For some of you, the information that I’m about to share will revolutionize the way that you think about everything in this world. For others, this will be just another class. And for some, you won’t like the class and you simply want the grade to move closer to your degree.”

I was one in which the light bulb turned on. I quickly realized the power of a systems thinking approach. Everything in this world can be modeled in your mind in terms of a system. Doing so simplifies seemingly complex things that are encountered in life. It’s easier to understand how things relate to one another and to visualize how something is connected to and affects something else. This applies to life in general, business, spirituality, and much more.

It all begins with gaining an understanding of the definition of a system. A system is set of things that work together to accomplish a particular intention. Each part of that definition bears important meaning.

A “set of things” can be thought of in a literal sense. The things can include people, physical items, computers, software, etc. Those same things that make up a particular system interact with each other physically and through the functions (actions) that each thing does. Most importantly, the reason that things interact together as a system is to accomplish a specific intention (goal).