Systems Illustrated ... symphonies, not skyscrapers

Welcome to Systems Illustrated!

Systems are more like songs and symphonies than like structures and skyscrapers. So, what does a system look like? This is the question that we will explore together through the materials presented here.

To start, let's define our terms. I define a system -- especially an information system -- as a dynamic exchange of messages between people according to a defined process using some physical platform. The key words are Message, Person, Process, and Platform.

The simplest example of a true information system that I can give is one that everyone who has ever eaten at a restaurant has used.

• A waiter walks up to a customer. The waiter greets the customer and introduces herself. The customer acknowledges the greeting.
• The waiter asks if the customer is ready to order. The customer is ready and orders a meal. The waiter writes down the customer's order on a pad of paper with a pencil. The waiter gives an estimate of how long the meal will take to arrive.
• The waiter takes the paper order to the cook. The cook lines up the order with all the other orders. The cook prepares the meal. The cook announces to the waiter that the meal is ready.
• The waiter brings the meal to the customer. The customer eats the meal.
• The waiter asks if the customer is finished and ready to pay. The customer is. The waiter brings the check (created from the order). The customer pays the check.
• The check is filed for the restaurant's records.

You see that this simple, basic interaction describes a set of Messages (the greeting, the order, the check), a set of People (customer, waiter, cook), a set of Processes (the welcome, the order, the meal, the transaction), and at least one Platform (the waiter's notepad and pencil).

Systems are more like symphonies -- dynamic performances of many individual instruments to produce a total experience that resonates with a particular audience -- than like skyscrapers.

No one ever stubbed their toe on a system.

So, what do systems "look" like?