An Introduction to Systems Science [Hardcover]

John N. Warfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 19, 2006 | ISBN-10: 981256702X | ISBN-13: 978-9812567024

This is the first book that renders a thorough discussion of systems science. It draws on material from an extensive collection of external sources, including several other books and a special library collection complete with videotape empirical evidence of applicability of the theory to a wide variety of circumstances. This is essential because systems science must be responsive to diverse human situations of the widest difficulty, and it must fill the void that the specific sciences cannot fill, because these sciences are insensitive to the necessities of reconciling disparate views of multiple observers, and incorporating local conditions in hypotheses that precede inductive explorations.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company (April 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 981256702X
• ISBN-13: 978-9812567024
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,276,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Introduction To Systems Science by John N. Warfield, September 3, 2006

By 

Jack Ring "Innovation Management" (Scottsdale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Systems Science (Hardcover)

Warning: this review may be premature. It is being written after one read whereas this book will sustain more than a dozen read-throughs, each generating new insights. Not that the book is obtuse--quite the opposite, this book is well organized and well written. But it is so full of ideas, propositions, methods, measures, and validations that a first reading cannot possibly glean the full essence.

Why then the rush? Because I want to alert as many practitioners as possible, now, to the book's content and structure and to its latent value to systems engineering practitioners as well as to others who do similar work whether or not they call it systems engineering.

Introduction to Systems Science is a distillation of approximately 1900 pages of the author's previous publications, based on a compilation of approximately 2400 years of thinking by various leaders and vetted by several hundred recent tests of its knowledge claims. Accordingly, this book is a well researched report, not a conjecture and not a compilation of the beliefs of a gaggle of contemporary `experts.'

The book starts with a description of the nine major deficiencies in systems work then gives his definition of systems science. The twenty remaining chapters are organized into five themes, namely, Foundations, Discovery, Resolution, The Practitioners, and Systems Science--all this in 224 pages. Another 170 pages comprising seven appendices, references, and an index provide copious supporting information.

The author claims that system science relies on four other sciences. Systems science is informed by the science of praxiology which is informed by the science of complexity which is informed by the science of design which is informed by the science of description.
Three factors are key: human beings, language, and "thought about thought." The author thoroughly describes and examines the implications of each.

The author explains not only the technical aspects of systems, but also the role of the human as creative yet fallible observer, decision-maker, and explainer. This emphasis follows from the notion that the science of systems must be neutral even when practiced by humans, all of which are notoriously prone to bias, even if only subconsciously.

The author stresses the importance of language because the system scientist must provide a way for practitioners to operate in a language that is local but can still be translated into other local languages and into the language of trans-disciplinary systems.

The points regarding "thought about thought" clarifies that systems occur at all levels of abstraction and that harmony among such interlocking abstractions is key to consistency in systems thinking and explication. The multiplicity of problems in nearly every circumstance leads to the notion of "problematic situation." A map showing the relations between the relevant problems, called the problematique, indicates the degree of challenge facing those who would identify options, evaluate the implications of various combinations, and synthesize alternative models of responsive systems.

The Interactive Management (IM) method is portrayed as the unifying framework for relating human beings, language, and "thought about thought" to problems, problematique, options, and indicated actions. Devised and refined over several decades and tested in more than 200 projects, this method is the only one published to date that has proven sufficiently neutral and robust to help stakeholders in a variety of domains cope with the myriad factors in a larger-scale, complex, dynamic, problematic situation.

The author highlights the importance of well-posed models. Well-posed models are sufficiently devoid of naivety and preconceived notions, especially ones that are consistent and computable (as specified in Dr. George Friedman's recent book, Constraint Theory).

A structural model is key and the IM method includes an Interpretive Structural Modeling, ISM, technique (enabled by ISM software computations and prompts) that compiles stakeholders' information to reveal relevant relationships among the underlying problems.

The data required for computing complexity metrics is revealed by the ISM part of Interactive Management. These metrics clearly indicate the level of challenge inherent in any problematique and in any proposed model of an intended system. Rather than charging blindly ahead into system development, designers should make prudent use of these metrics to design a work program of complexity, thus avoiding cognitive overload and the resulting underconceptualization of the intended system. Although sufficient research has not been accomplished to clarify the relationship between complexity metrics and system development project success, it is likely that the success of systems projects is inversely proportional to their complexity indices.

Typical of the thoroughness of the author's research are the specifications for the minimum acceptable facilities both for conducting IM sessions and for the system design display area in which all those on a system project can become sufficiently informed. The facility size, wall space, and ambience significantly affect the quality of thought, dialogue, and design in systems projects.

If you are interested only in the how of systems engineering (such as the processes of engineering a system), then this book may not enlighten you much. If you are interested in the why, what, who, and when of systems science, then a thorough read of this book will be worth your time. The book's likely effect on systems practitioners will be to help us understand how to initialize and evolve whole-systems and a variety of domains.

Having applied many of the author's previous works and experienced an abbreviated Interactive Management session I am sure I will be reading Introduction to Systems Science many times--and so should you.

Jack Ring
Fellow, International Council on Systems Engineering

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars strangest book on "systems science" I have ever bought, October 28, 2007

By 

B. L. Hartway "Senior Systems Engineer" (Huntsville, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Introduction to Systems Science (Hardcover)

I have bought hundreds of engineering, math, computer, and science books from Amazon over the years, and have never returned a single one, nor felt compelled to submit a single negative comment, except this one. I have been disappointed in books before, but always found them to have some redeeming value. But this book is REALLY different. Not technical at all - just rambling philosophy. This book just seems to be Warfied tooting his own horn about his work over the years. And indeed, he has done some truly marvelous systems engineerng work over the years - but you won't learn anything about any of that work in this book - except in the most general,rambling philosphy.
Sadly, all the excellent work he has done on sytems engineering methods seems to be mostly out of print and hard to get.
If you are interested in his philosophy, buy this book. If you are interested in his remarkable work on systems science, try to get one of his older out-of-print books.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only two tools to survive the Chaos of this century: NGT plus ISM, October 2, 2009

By 

Jose Paulo Schiffini "The oracle of wine." (Rio de Janeiro - Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: An Introduction to Systems Science (Hardcover)

Mankind since his beggining has faced several problematic situations, and there are only three ways of solving problems or developing options and alternative solutions:

a) based on Politics, that means "Opportunity" is the main trigger force:
"IF George Bush is your enemy, but you and him have both the same opportunity
to get more votes, you both forget the differences and become allies..."
There is no consistence, no logic, but you are both coherent....

b) based on friendship, love and passion...because these atributes make you blind,
and you always follow your leader...(take care with Googlewave, or Tweeter,
or any new invention that makes you blind, like a teenager following the
Beatles...

c) Based on neutral, consistent, a solution created together, through NGT plus ISM.

A Book every top management should read and implement in his group.

Schiffini, J. P.
Top Management advisor and Wine lover
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