Concept: Systemic Property

Overview

A Systemic property is a property of a whole system. The systemic property is created through the interaction of the system elements. The systemic properties are not found in any of the system elements.

  • Systemic properties are documented in the System Properties section in the System Description

Systemic properties may also be called emergent properties. These properties may be classified as expected (designed or inherent) or unexpected (not planned or designed, etc).

A whole system can have many systemic properties. The following are types of systemic properties:

  • Purpose (with separate section in the system description).
  • Variable
  • Capability or Function
  • State

For a simple description of Emergence and Self-Organization, See Recording of Francis Heylighen explain the pdf.

The following are examples of systemic properties.

Products and / or Services

Products and services are only produced through the interaction of all of the parts of the Enterprise (SoS).

Performance

Performance against the objectives / goals can only be measured or achieved when the parts of the organization are interacting. This performance can be impacted by either internal (teams, technology)or external (suppliers, customers, government, etc).

Customer Satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction is a systemic property. Customer Satisfaction cannot be created directly and is visible only as a result of delivery of products and services that:

  • meet customer requirements,
  • resolve a customer issue or
  • give them a customer a competitive advantage.

Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is a systemic property created through the active conversations created in the network of communications. These communications relate to the stated or tacit ways of working (social structure).

Culture is an essential element of a social system that forms a boundary or membrane around the people. This membrane forms the 'common context of meaning' for conversations in the social system.

See Social System for a further description of Culture.

Security

A secure system is created through the interaction of the essential elements of the system and its interaction with the environment of the system. Each system element within the system must conform to any security policies and procedures.