The majority of people use “system” and “systems thinking” concepts in an “everyday” sense. By systematic approach, people mean personal time management skills, diligence, the desire to foresee everything and take into account all the details, and absolutely everything of importance.
Systems approach is often confused with systematic approach, - and systematically wrong thinking leads to disastrous results. Even though systems and systematic are synonyms in many dictionaries, we will separate these concepts. Systematic approach, regularity and discipline imply that a person does something regularly, on schedule; whereas systems approach suggests that a person can “cut” the world up into various systems and is able to work with these systems and with different people’s interests.
Systems approach determines “what should be done”, and systematic one specifies that it should be done regularly. One concept does not replace the other. One should be both “systems” and “systematic”.
It is common knowledge that everything is interconnected in the world; however, systems approach is not only a concern not to miss a single detail. It is essential to distinguish the important things from the general background and, vice versa, to fit important things into a general context. Systems thinking directs the attention of a specialist or a team when they implement a project. Objects of attention are identified by certain concepts. With the help of these concepts, we, with our attention, distinguish both the important things and contexts. This is why systems thinking introduces these concepts and provides us with a skill to find them in working projects.
Analytical activity is also not enough. Intellectuals often speak about the need for analysis. And this is correct. Analysis is disintegration into parts, and synthesis is integration. Systems thinking uses functional analysis, i.e. breakdown of a system into functional components, and the modular synthesis, or assembly of a system from its structural parts.
*An excerpt from the Introduction to Systems Thinking course