Systems approaches for practice

Introduction

Welcome to the second part of the course Strategic planning: systems thinking in practice.

As in the first part of the course, this part looks at five systems approaches. These approaches are:

• system dynamics (SD)
• viable system model (VSM)
• strategic options development and analysis (SODA)
• soft systems methodology (SSM)
• critical systems heuristics (CSH)

Part 1 focused on systems thinking in relation to situations of interest, people (agents, actors, stakholders, practitioners), and systems as conceptual tools for enacting strategy. Part 2 focuses more on the practice side of systems thinking in practice, whilst always keeping in mind the continual interplay between thinking and practice.

Note: This short Openlearn course is not teaching how to use the five systems approaches listed above. The course gives a general introduction to the approaches and what they may have to offer in support of systems thinking in practice.