Week 3
Systems Thinking & The Role of System Architect

Introduction

This week introduces several systems thinking approaches that may help manage systems' complexity. We will also discuss the role of system architects and the different representation tools for systems architecture.

Learning Objectives

After completing this week, you will be able to:

Describe the Systems Thinking and Modelling (ST&M) steps.
Apply the iceberg model.
Describe policy resistance.
Describe the role of system architects.
Define two types of systems architecture representation tools.

Learning Materials

Lecture 1

Agenda

Topic: Systems Thinking

Overview: This lecture describes the systems thinking and modeling processes and introduces the iceberg conceptual model. Furthermore, it discusses the importance of considering policy resistance when applying systems thinking approaches.

Material: Lecture Note (PDF)

About Lecture 1

Please go to Zoom Conferences in the left navigation pane to attend the session. If you cannot participate, you can view the session recording by going to the Zoom Conferences.

Please reach out to the instructor if you have questions.

Lecture 2

Agenda

Topic: Role of Architect & Architecture Representation Tools

Overview: This lecture discusses several important roles of system architects. It also introduces different tools for system architecture representation.

Material: Lecture Note (PDF)

About Lecture 2

Please go to Zoom Conferences in the left navigation pane to attend the session. If you cannot participate, you can view the session recording by going to the Zoom Conferences.

Please reach out to the instructor if you have questions.

Readings

Read the following articles and any other reference articles to learn about the policy of fire suppression in the U.S., developed in the 1930s century but abandoned in the 1970s:

History of Wildfire Suppression in the United States

Read now | Citation

U.S. Forest Service Fire Suppression

Read now | Citation

Resources

The learning resources provided below are optional. Please explore them if you'd like to learn more about the topic. You will not be assessed on these resources.

SysML Open Source Project: What Is SysML? Who Created SysML?

The SysML.org web provides information about the SysML Partners and their SysML Open Source Specification Project.

Read now | Citation

Generating Sysml Views From an Opm Model: Design and Evaluation

Translating entire representations from an OPM model to SysML views is a more complicated task. See this article to learn how to generate SysML views from an OPM model.

Read now | Citation | Off-Campus Access

Assignment

In this assignment, you will learn more about fire suppression policy. You will then answer a few questions related to policy resistance identified in this case study and analyze the potential causes of the policy resistance using the iceberg model.

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