Systems Thinking and its Application - An IntroductionFDA189, 2005HT
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Course plan
Lectures
Recommended for
The course was last given
new course
Goals
Prerequisites
Contents
The ability to "think" as well as to "act" in terms of systems is a
prerequisite to being able to structure and operate organizations and their
enterprises so that they can (pro-) actively pursue their purpose, goals and
missions.
Systems thinking (also called the systemic approach) evolved, through multiple
contributions, into a discipline that can be applied in gaining an
understanding of the broader aspects of systems including the dynamic
relationships between systems in operation. Through systems and creative
thinking, organizations/enterprises can learn to identify system problems and
opportunities and to determine the need for, and consider the affect of, system
changes. Further, via processes and life cycle models, as described in the
ISO/IEC 15288 (System Life Cycle Processes) standard, organizations/enterprise
can learn to act effectively in the management of system changes.
This course is organized as a journey through fundamental modules of knowledge
that provide a holistic view of the systems landscape. It focuses upon the use
of systems thinking and the life cycle management of systems as essential
ingredients in building a learning organization that is equipped to deal with
system complexity and the management of change. In order to gain deeper
insight into the topic, course case studies are executed in small groups.
The course is based upon the SDOE 775 Systems Thinking course offered by the
Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at the Stevens
Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey.
The course is organized into two segments. During the first three days, the
theory part of the course will be presented intermixed with course case
studies. The participants will then define a course project that applies the
course theory to a practical problem and is to be executed individually or in
groups of at most three. The project is to be carried out during the
following five-week period and the projects are to be submitted and presented
verbally during the second part of the course.
Organization
Registration forms will be made available to each graduate student after they
have signed up and are formally admitted (accepted by their respective graduate
school director) to participate.
Approximately eight students will be accepted from each program. There is no
registration fee.
All course material, morning and afternoon coffee breaks will be provided. A
welcoming lunch on the opening day on September 6th is included. The remaining
lunches are not included.
Literature
Course participants will be provided with power point material as well as a
copy of a textbook that is in the publication process entitled:
A Journey Through the Systems Landscape, by Harold W. Lawson
Two additional published textbooks will be provided to course participants
Peter Senge, et.al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, Currency Doubleday, 1994.
(ISBN 0-385-47256-0)
Robert Louis Flood, Rethinking the Fifth Discipline, Learning within the
unknowable, Routledge, 1999. (ISBN 0-415-18530-0)
Lecturers
Course outline etc
see http://www.his.se/templates/vanligwebbsida1.aspx?id=19549
Examiner
Harold W "Bud" Lawson
Harold Lawson has held permanent and visiting professorial appointments at
several universities in the USA, Europe and the Far East. Currently, Honorary
Professor in the Swedish Graduate School of Computer Science and Academic
Fellow in the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management at
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ.
Harold Lawson is a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery, Fellow of
the IEEE, ACM Distinguished Lecturer, IEEE European Distinguished Visitor,
served on the ACM Fellows Committee (1997-2001) and is a Member of INCOSE. He
as served as Head of the Swedish Delegation to ISO/IEC JTC1 SC7 WG7 and was the
elected architect of the ISO/IEC 15288 standard.
Harold Lawson is an independent consultant operating his own company Lawson
Konsult AB and is, as well, a consulting partner and member of the board of
directors of Syntell AB, Stockholm.
Examination
The final grade is based upon course participation, course project work, and a final examination to be electronically submitted to the instructor.
Credit
5 points
The final grade is based upon course participation, course project work, and a
final examination to be electronically submitted to the instructor.
Organized by
Sponsored by: InfoFusion, ARTES and CUGS
Comments
Signing up and registration
Participants are to sign up for the course as follows:
ARTES students are to sign up with roland.gronroos@it.uu.se
CUGS students are to sign up through the gradsite portal.
Infofusion students are to sign up with anna.persson@his.se
Formal registration will be made through University of Skövde. Registration
forms will be made available to each graduate student after they have signed up
and are formally admitted (accepted by their respective graduate school
director) to participate.
Approximately eight students will be accepted from each program. There is no
registration fee.
All course material, morning and afternoon coffee breaks will be provided. A
welcoming lunch on the opening day on Sept. 6th is included. The remaining
lunches are not included.
Page responsible: Director of Graduate Studies