Tools For Systems Thinkers - Getting Into Systems Dynamics and Bathtubs

30/9/2017 Tools for Systems Thinkers: Getting into Systems Dynamics… and Bathtubs
Leyla Acaroglu Follow

UNEP Champion of the Earth, Designer, Sociologist, Sustainability Provocateur, TED Speaker, PhD, Expe…
Sep 13 · 10 min read
Tools for Systems Thinkers: Getting into

Systems Dynamics… and Bathtubs
In the last chapter of this series, The 6 Fundamental Concepts of
Systems Thinking, I explored some of the key concepts of systems
thinking such as interconnectedness, synthesis, emergence, causality
and feedback loops. In this chapter, I will delve into what de nes a
system and move into more detail with stocks and ows in systems
(which, for some reason, is often described using a bathtub analogy —
something that I nd very odd!).
Before I start let me clarify something. Systems thinking (like many

elds), has varying opinions, theories, processes, techniques, methods
and modes, emerging from di erent elds of thought and action. My
objective in this series is to synthesize as much as I can into short,
concise and accessible language that enables access to the complexity,
so that more people can understand and design for systems change.
https://medium.com/disruptive-design/tools-for-systems-thinkers-getting-into-systems-dynamics-and-bathtubs-1f961f7c4073 1/12
I love systems thinking — it’s one of the best tools we have to develop a
more detailed, dynamic and divergent perspective of the way the world
works. I hope that these words and insights from my years of working
with and teaching systems, sustainability and design can help you
develop a systems mindset as well.
What desnes a system?

If you had to, what words would you use to de ne a system? Funnily
enough, many important systems are easily identi ed by the word
‘system’ after them, such as respiratory, education, legal or mechanical
systems. Systems are absolutely everywhere, of all manner, shapes, and
size from the intricate workings of your body (nervous, neurological,
digestive, cardiovascular etc), to the in nite possibility of space — our
world is made up of interconnected and interdependent systems.
To de ne a system, it must be both dynamic (constantly changing) and

evolving (having emergent properties). It must be connected to
elements, actors, agencies, nodes, stocks or ‘parts,’ and have a
boundary. The edge of the universe is perhaps one exception to this,
but we can still de ne a solar system by the boundaries of a
constellation.
One of my favorite systems thinkers is Draper Kau man, who wrote

this perfect ‘101 guide’ in the early 80’s (also up there in the favorites
list are Acko , Meadows and Senge and Bertalan y*1). In his paper,
Kau man uses an analogy to describe what de nes a system with the
help of a cow:
“…dividing the cow in half does not give you two smaller cows. You
may end up with a lot of hamburger, but the essential nature of “cow”
— a living system capable, among other things, of turning grass into
milk — then would be lost. This is what we mean when we say a system
functions as a “whole”. Its behavior depends on its entire structure and
not just on adding up the behavior of its di erent pieces.” — Kau man,
1980, p2
The cow itself is a system, de ned by the system boundary of its skin,
interconnected with the industrial (or natural) system of a farm that
bene ts from the ecosystem of nutrients and sun to grow grass, etc. But
when the cow is cut up, for a brief moment it becomes a stagnant and
disconnected heap. Under new conditions, it will enter into the
industrial food production system, decompose into the natural system
providing nutrients back to nature, or pass through a digestive system
and contribute to that system’s own function.
Point being, systems are de ned by their interrelationships and their

functionality or potential.
In many cases when you take one part of the system away it ceases to
function, such as taking the wheels o a car or removing a vital organ
from a body. It’s the interconnectedness that makes a system work, and
one of the best examples of interactive systems design is nature — it is
composed of many individual parts working together to create the
dynamic whole that is the planet.
The point that Kau man makes is that systems have to be dynamic.
When you disconnect a system, it becomes a lifeless heap. This can be
applied to to human made systems, such as your cell phone. Without
electricity, the primary function that motivated its creation is now
removed and it becomes a functionless heap of metal, held together by
glass (with the potential to feed a recycling system, but often ends up
locked in people’s drawers). But once you plug it into the complexity of
a constantly owing electrical distribution system, power and
functionality are reinstated.
Systems are made up of interconnected parts that when put together

create a complex whole. Think about a jigsaw puzzle — the individual
parts may or may not make immediate sense, but placed together, the
entire whole is the obvious outcome of the parts.
How to think in systems

What makes system thinking applicable in real-world problem solving,
without overwhelming the practitioner, is the power of de ning a
system boundary. Without a clear boundary, there are in nite
interconnected possibilities, which often overwhelms new systems
thinkers. It’s the vastness — the seemingly endless possibility — that

often trips up newbies and can make some brains explode (I often hear
in workshops: “But if everything is interconnected, then there is no
beginning or end, and I am one tiny person in this big in nite system
and ahhhhh!”).
Don’t worry; this is normal and I have some tricks that I have
developed to help overcome this.
The reality is that everything is interconnected, but everything can also

be de ned by a function, purpose or potential in some way. A tree’s
system boundary can be de ned by its bark and its myriad of ecosystem
services/functions: to produce oxygen and store water, it is dynamically
connected to the ecosystem that it draws energy and nutrients from,
and provides resources back into. Likewise, we are de ned by our own
skin. Inside our bodies, we are a complex array of systems that are all
beautifully functioning to keep us alive. At the same time, are also
connected to the same ecosystems that keep the tree alive.
I rst encountered system boundaries when working in life cycle

assessment, which has an international standard that demands the
de ning of a system boundary when comparing the environmental
impacts of products or services. Starting to think this way allowed me
to see the tiny parts that make up the obvious whole, and more
importantly, how they connect together to make even bigger wholes.
This is another core thinking tool of systems thinking — parts, wholes
and relationships. So after years of seeing eyes widen and minds start
to melt, I expanded the systems boundary concept to include some
practical tools to help curious minds move through levels of systems
thinking.
Systems Boundaries
The rst thinking tool is the swimming pool and the ocean analogy.
When you rst learn to swim, starting o in a pool that has clearly
de ned edges to grip and a shallow end gives you the con dence to
explore and learn. The ocean, on the other hand, can be overwhelming
and perceived as dangerous. But just because you are swimming in a
pool doesn’t mean you don’t know about the ocean; in fact, the ocean is
often the end goal that you’re working toward. So, as you build your
systems mindset, start with a de ned system boundary: a pool where
you can determine the edges and know what you are dealing with
before you jump into the ocean. Trust me — as simplistic as this is, it will
help build your systems thinker skills in the long run. Start small, and
build to big.
Connected to this idea is the thinking-in-telescopes tool. A systems

thinker can think at both the micro element scale that can be seen
inside a microscope, as well as the macro in nite possibility scale that
can be witnessed through a telescope — all while having a rm view of
the landscape around them. Being able to move through these scales
from the micro to the massive, allows for a shifting of perspectives to
build a 3-dimensional worldview.
Next, we have the lensing tool, a name I gave to the approach that
describes shifting perspectives in order to gain a ‘below the surface’
exploration. I like to think of it like as how lighting technicians can
change a live theater show by changing the color lter of the white
light; pop a red lter on, and it’s moody and dark, pop a blue one on,
and it’s light and angelic. But instead of color lters, lensing is about
shifting your perspective or trying on a di erent viewpoint to gain a
divergent understanding of the world or the phenomena you are
seeking to understand.
From this di erent point of view, we can build empathy (which is the
visceral experience of being connected to the lived experience of
another), as it allows us to step outside of the often restrictive thinking
that our own minds like to impose on us for safety and security (more
on this in a later chapter).
Understanding a System
Now that you have some of the basic applied systems tools in place, let’s
jump to ways of understanding a system. First, you need to de ne the
system boundary: what is it that you are exploring, and what are the
boundaries of the system? The cool thing about de ning this is that it is
then super clear to everyone what you are, and are not, looking at. I use
a simple piece of paper and write the problem arena or system element
I want to explore smack bang in the middle (more on cluster mappings
in the next chapter in this series).
Once you have started to map out and de ne your system arena, you
then start to granulate. In the same way rocks break down over time
into smaller and smaller parts to eventually become ne grains of sand,
you move from the telescope to the microscope and start to really tease
out all the ner details of the system. You may only select one part to do
so, but it’s through granulation that you will start to dive under the
surface and push your brain to seek out the non-obvious parts of the
system.
From here, you are set to start to draw out some insights or questions
that will feed you into a deeper cycle of inquiry. When applied in the
Disruptive Design Method, this is where we cycle through a phase in
the Mining, Landscaping & Building methodology more on the MLB
approach here). But in any systems thinking scenario, you want to use
the exploration as the feedstock for the next level of inquiry.
One of the key concepts here is the Iceberg Model and mental models,
where although most thinking is done on the surface level, we must
dive deeper under the surface to explore the majority of the mass. What
is holding it up? After this, you are set to start to tease out what the
feedbacks within the system are.
Stocks and Flows
But rst, let’s get a little nerdy for a moment. Donella Meadows, a
critical pioneer of systems thinking, authored Thinking in Systems, A
Primer*(2), where she summarized her very detailed exploration of
stocks and ows.
A stock is anything that exists within the system (like people, trees,
money, cats, pineapples, students, guns, happiness, etc.), and ows are
the feedbacks between these stocks (like how money moves through
the economy or how water ows through a waterway) and the change
in stocks over time. I could go further into this, but it does start to get
into a whole di erent level of nerd (for a DIY version start here).
So much of the literature on this topic talks about bathtubs, an analogy

that goes like this: Bathtub is a stock that water ows through. There is
an inpipe (the tap) and an out ow (the plug). Water is a stock, and the
ow is the rate at which it moves through the bath based on the
variables of the plug and tap. You can measure the change over time
based on the ow of water through the tub. I promise to never talk
about bathtubs again*(3).
The reason we look at things moving through other things in systems

dynamics is because we are using observation to understand the
behavior of these things and how they impact those other things
(causality). From there, the next step is to understand the feedbacks
within the systems (more coming up in chapter 4 for this).
Systems dynamics is a huge eld, and it can be overwhelming*(4)—

but the main points to start o with are that systems are constantly
changing. They can be de ned by boundaries, but are dynamically
interconnected and they can be explored through stocks and ows.
Next up in the series, I am going to share some techniques for analog

systems mapping so you start applying this approach to problem
solving in your professional practices. If you want a little exercise to
start with, try identifying and scoping systems around you as you walk
down the street, or sit in your next (boring?) meeting. You can level it
up by thinking through the stocks and ows within the systems you
identify.
*Notes
1. There are WAY more prominent past and current systems thinkers
contributing to the eld. The Systems Thinker website is a great
resource for exploring the theories and theorists in more detail.
2. I wish I could link to all the resources out there, but since that’s
in nitely impossible, we started this visual collection over on
Pinterest of some useful systems thinking resources.
3. Emma Segal (who does all the lovely illustrations on this series)
refused to draw me a bathtub to demonstrate this.
4. Have fun! Systems thinking is a super enjoyable way of

experiencing the magic of the world and if you want to go deeper
check out my class on systems interventions here.

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30/9/2017 Tools for Systems Thinkers: Getting into Systems Dynamics… and Bathtubs

Leyla Acaroglu Follow

Tools for Systems Thinkers: Getting into

Before I start let me clarify something. Systems thinking (like many

What desnes a system?

To de ne a system, it must be both dynamic (constantly changing) and

One of my favorite systems thinkers is Draper Kau man, who wrote

Point being, systems are de ned by their interrelationships and their

Systems are made up of interconnected parts that when put together

How to think in systems

thinkers. It’s the vastness — the seemingly endless possibility — that

The reality is that everything is interconnected, but everything can also

I rst encountered system boundaries when working in life cycle

Connected to this idea is the thinking-in-telescopes tool. A systems

So much of the literature on this topic talks about bathtubs, an analogy

The reason we look at things moving through other things in systems

Systems dynamics is a huge eld, and it can be overwhelming*(4)—

Next up in the series, I am going to share some techniques for analog

4. Have fun! Systems thinking is a super enjoyable way of

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