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Systems Thinking and its ApplicationFDA208, 2007VT
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Course plan
Lectures
Recommended for
The course was last given
an introduction ht05
Goals
Introducing System Concepts
Thinking and Acting in Terms of Systems
System Life Cycle Processes
System Descriptions and Instances
Change Management
Data, Information and Knowledge
Life Cycle Management of Systems
Organizations as Systems
Prerequisites
Contents
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
The course is divided into two parts. Part 1 is an intensive three-day session
where the theory of systems thinking is presented and case studies are
performed in small groups. After Part 1, the students complete reading
assignments and either independently or in a group of at most three do a
project that applies the theory in practice. In Part 2 (at least 5 weeks after
Part 1) the students present and oral report on their project, deeper lecturers
on applying systems thinking are provided and the final exam is provided. The
students then have two weeks to submit their final written project report as
well as the final examination.
Organization
Literature
Provided power point material
A textbook that is in the publication process entitled: A Journey Through the
Systems Landscape, by Harold W. Lawson
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
Examiner
Professor Emeritus Harold “Bud” Lawson
Harold W. ”Bud” Lawson has been active in the computing and systems arena since
1958 with broad international experience in the public and private sectors as
well as academic environments. He received the Bachelor of Science degree from
Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and the PhD degree from the
Royal Technical University, Stockholm. During his long career, he has
contributed to several pioneering efforts in hardware, software and system
technologies. In 2000, he received the IEEE Computer Society prestigious
Computer Pioneer Charles Babbage medal for his 1964-65 invention of the pointer
variable concept for programming languages.
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
Credit
5 points
Organized by
Comments
Page responsible: Director of Graduate Studies
