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Of systems and loops – technology tools I still use!

There are two things that I have learned as an IT person over the years that haven’t changed. The first is the System View, by Donella Meadows. Tragically her life was cut short, but her concept remains one of the top IT views ever. Simply put all things are a system; there are inputs and outputs. Airconditioning systems, bathtubs, and technologies are all system. Every system has inputs, processes, and outputs. I still to this day use this simple view of technology when approaching something new. The other technology system I use still is the OODA Loops by John Boyd. Boyd’s view of the world more of a holistic view above what the system view would be. Observe, Orient, Decide Act.

Both of these tools remain in my toolbelt. The rest of the tools have changed over the years. Experience teaches us that over time, things change. There was a time when I considered UML the easiest way to present software and software solutions to other people. There was a time when I thought about using other systems. I have used DODAF, Zachman, and many other frameworks. It is all about creating a common language so that the software architect and the end user are better able to understand. The concept that architects start with is that of requirements. What is it people want the system to do. From there, we layer on user cases. Use cases are interesting but dangerous.

You can never cover all the possible use cases for a software solution. One of the things was always trying to understand the variability in the technology around the solution. There are five versions of windows right now — 7,8, 8.1, 10, and 10-second edition. There are at least 12 different versions of Linux desktops, and currently, there are at least 5 MacOS versions. Add to that that every single machine can have as many as nine different browsers and you see use cases that are comprehensive are not possible. There are always things you don’t understand, and worse, there are always things that get missed. I think for me, that is one of the reasons that Donella’s system view and John Boyd’s OODA Loops have stuck with me. They are flexible answers to a question that can be very confusing at times.

Funny what sticks with you throughout a career!

  • Question of

    Do you have a system you always use?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    Do you sometimes wonder why things don’t work the way you think they shuold?

    • Yes
    • No
  • Question of

    Will you share the most frustrating technology for you in the comments?

    • Yes
    • No

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Written by DocAndersen

One fan, One team and a long time dream Go Cubs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

44 Comments

  1. I used to use an app called ghost to snapshot my drives. but it wasn’t developed for SATA drives and runs in a DOS environment, so it can’t see NTFS partitions

    As you can imagine, it is a real pain in the ass to get it to run on a modern system

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  2. I’ve had a lot of problems with my laptops. The worst thing happened to me when the disc was destroyed (I did not have a laptop for a year). I lost a lot of data, pictures ….

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  3. I’m probably going to get rid of the funny guy but I really did not understand the post … and do not mind, dear friend … all those abbreviations are unknown for me
     

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  4. Is not that basically our own is a collection of systems that are living in various systems, but when we talk about a specific system, it seems that only observers or serious users who know the weaknesses or shortcomings of a system, like you who master technology…

    For me, something that is sometimes annoying is like PowerPoint cannot be precise when a form, like a square for an example, is copied and pasted many times to be arranged in a pattern. You certainly can’t arrange neat square “floors” from a square that is copied repeatedly.

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  5. Windows was a nightmare. The frozen screen. The system would lock with no warning, and nothing to do but take it to the computer hospital, time after time after time. I got so frustrated before switching over to Safari. I will never go back.

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