System design

System Design is a subject that deals with the functioning and effects of dynamic and complex social , technical , economic , geographical and aesthetic systems with the aim of understanding, optimizing and designing their processes and consequences.

content

At the center of the discipline is the assumption that complex questions or complex problems require complex answers. The following statement by Piet Hein illustrates the meaning of the system design:

"Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by fighting back."

"Problems that deserve to be fought show that by fighting back."

- Piet Hein : Grooks 1

In a globalized, networked, dynamic world, system designers pursue the goal of creating systemic added value when developing products , services or digital applications . Accordingly, they mainly deal with the effects and consequences of possible decisions and actions on the social, technical, economic, geographical and aesthetic input and output factors of the situation or the system. Different from classic product or industrial design , individual problems arise not viewed in isolation, but rather as anchor points within a network, the extensive interrelationships of which are considered and viewed as key elements in finding holistic solutions.

Methods and tools that are used in system design or in training to become a system designer are, for example, system analysis , giga-mapping , and interdisciplinary methods for solving complex problems in psychology . This combination of methods is often referred to under the umbrella term System Thinking .

education

The corresponding course enables students to work on so-called "wicked problems" and to develop complex systems such as product systems, processes, rules and components. The system thinking method is used to analyze the conditions, identify dynamic links, and convey principles and processes. System Thinking also serves to promote empathy in order to be able to recognize and formulate overall contexts and topics.

meaning

The global and regional challenges require an understanding of the growing complexity of the global and regional systems in the field of politics, society and technology, as well as the linking analysis of both observation levels with an integration of the questions in the corresponding intercultural context.

literature

R. Buckminster Fuller: Ideas and Integrities: A Spontaneous Autobiographical Disclosure. 1st edition, Lars Muller Publishers, 2009, ISBN 978-3-03778-198-2 .

Individual evidence

↑ Grooks 1 Quotes. Retrieved June 22, 2020 .
↑ Victor Papanek: Design for the Real World: Instructions for a Humane Ecology and Social Change . Ed .: Florian Pumhösel, Thomas Geisler, Martina Fineder, Gerald Bast. 2nd Edition. Springer Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-211-78892-9 .
^ Donella H. Meadows: Thinking in Systems: a primer . Ed .: Diana Wright. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction 2008, ISBN 978-1-60358-055-7 , pp. 207 .
↑ What is system design? Retrieved June 22, 2020 . , on systemdesign.htw-berlin.de

[1] Grooks 1 Quotes. Retrieved June 22, 2020 .

[2] Victor Papanek: Design for the Real World: Instructions for a Humane Ecology and Social Change . Ed .: Florian Pumhösel, Thomas Geisler, Martina Fineder, Gerald Bast. 2nd Edition. Springer Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-211-78892-9 .

[3] Donella H. Meadows: Thinking in Systems: a primer . Ed .: Diana Wright. Chelsea Green Publishing Company, White River Junction 2008, ISBN 978-1-60358-055-7 , pp. 207 .

[4] What is system design? Retrieved June 22, 2020 . , on systemdesign.htw-berlin.de