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TU811 - Activity 1.6 - Four perspectives on systems thinking

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Edited by Alejandro Arnes Poggi, Sunday, 3 June 2018, 09:53

Read the section 'Perspectives on systems thinking' of Chapter 1 in the Systems Approaches reader. Draw up a table contrasting each of the four perspectives on systems thinking. For each perspective note the relative emphasis given to the:

Perspectives on systems thinking
Perspective Situation of use Practitioner or user of particular systems approaches
1. Hard / Soft / Critical Process / mechanical / structured Anyone needing an epistemological construct to understand a problem (i.e. a framework) - example in Engineering
2. Systems thinking for situations multi-dimensional complex situations - there might a mix of structured and/or organic systems. Examples from UX and human-computer interactions Example in user researcher (UX) finding accessibility requirements or ways to improve user experience
3. Influences around systems approaches  Situations spanning across multiple domains  Practitioners interested in delivering a all-encompassing solution - for example, planning care for victims of physical and emotional trauma and their relatives - healthcare involving prosthetics (mechanics, physio, management, psychology, etc. interacting together to re-enable an individual and their family unit after a traumatic incident)
 4. Groupings of systems thinkers  When context is an important aspect to consider  Practitioners dealing with complex situations and changing contexts - for example, analysing an ambulance service in a heavily congested city vs same service operating in a remote and rural area


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