The Nature of Change or the Law of Unintended Consequences An Introductory Text to Designing Complex Systems and Managing Change

This absorbing book provides a broad introduction to the surprising nature of change, and explains how the Law of Unintended Consequences arises from the waves of change following one simple change. Change is a constant topic of discussion, whether be it on climate, politics, technology, or any of the many other changes in our lives. However, does anyone truly understand what change is? Over time, mankind has deliberately built social and technology based systems that are goal-directed — there are goals to achieve and requirements to be met. Building such systems is man's way of planning for the future, and these plans are based on predicting the behavior of the system and its environment, at specified times in the future. Unfortunately, in a truly complex social or technical environment, this planned predictability can break down into a morass of surprising and unexpected consequences. Such unpredictability stems from the propagation of the effects of change through the influence of one event on another. The Nature of Change explains in detail the mechanism of change and will serve as an introduction to complex systems, or as complementary reading for systems engineering. This textbook will be especially useful to professionals in system building or business change management, and to students studying systems in a variety of fields such as information technology, business, law and society. Contents:What Do We Mean By Change?Some DefinitionsFailure by DesignInfluence, Boundaries and StructureChange in Complex SystemsPropagationModelling and Modelling MechanismsSimulationWhat Do We Do When a Change is Indicated?Implementing a SystemReal World Change: EUREKA ClassReal-World Change: Climate Readership: Students studying systems such as information technology, business, legal or social systems; professionals and academics in system building or business change management. Keywords:Change;Complex Systems;Socio-Technical;Systems Engineering;Information Technology;ManagementKey Features:This book is unique in addressing the mechanism of the phenomenon of change. It explains how and why waves of change sweep across a system, leaving unexpected consequences in their wakeProvides professionals who are system building, managing change in business or in any other spheres where change is happening, with a methodology to build systems in a continually changing environmentCan be used as an introduction to complex systems, or as complementary reading for systems engineering