Introduction

A way of understanding the interconnectedness of all things and the relationships among a system’s parts.

Problems that are hard to solve and that feel out of our control to affect.

• 1) Seek different perspectives;
• 2) Observe how things change over time;
• 3) Seek to understand the big picture;
• 4) Use an understanding of a system's behaviour to influence change.

An interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something. There are three basic parts of a system: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.

A systems thinking tool that provides deep insights into complex contexts and issues. It helps us to examine the “bigger picture” by looking providing a model that looks beyond immediate events and considers a deeper picture. Like an iceberg, only a small portion of a problem is visible, while most of it is out of view. Only ten percent of an iceberg’s mass is visible, and above the water; ninety percent is out of view. 

A Systems Thinking tool that helps us focus on the interconnections between key parts of a system and how those parts affect each other. The objective is to tease out the relationships between significant elements within the system. 

A feedback loop is a closed set of cause and effect relationships, each element of which can be viewed as having a partial influence on its own behaviour.