Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility,_uncertainty,_complexity_and_ambiguityWhen it comes to systems,
we need to deconstruct what exists
instead of keeping constructing on shaky bases
The less understandable the business ,
the more investments in data !
Accumulation of what was supposed to bring solution has become a problem
Tools and data available have grown at an unprecedented rate
VUCA environment in which our businesses operate
The less understandable the business ,
the more teams invest in new systems.
The messier the data, the more different teams invest in different tools, the less tools fit together,
the less understandable the business
The bigger the organisation,
the more complex the (IT) systems it creates
Every year, approximately $48 trillion are invested in projects. Yet according to the Standish Group, only 35% of projects are considered successful. The wasted resources and unrealised benefits of the other 65% are mind-blowing.
https://www.infoq.com/articles/standish-chaos-2015/
Complexity leads to inefficiencies which is a business opportunity for other companies
The more complex the IT system landscape, the more silos, the more data manipulation, the messier the data
Personal computers & Internet
1990-2000
Business efficiency and data-centricity
Because nowadays organisations' data is stored under digital format, there is a common understanding that this data is the most valuable asset for any company (to know thyself and adapt thyself to customer/society needs). Companies need to leverage this asset in combination with external (real world) data to get a competitive advantage.
Digital transformation
Current thinking logic
Companies must respond, adapt, and decisions swiftly. To do so, they will need a clear, comprehensive understanding of their own inner workings - their processes, their resources, how it all fits together. Only then can they navigate the choppy waters of this new reality.
Business architecture
Because the combination of rising complexity and accelerating change places a heavy burden on our organizations. Those that can achieve true clarity about their businesses, about the implications of their choices - they will be the ones best prepared to adapt, to grow, to meet the challenges of our time.
Sustainability
2) Data services
- Migration
- Storage
- Processing/Integration
- Management
- Cleaning/quality
- Security
- Analytics
- Visualisation
- Governance
Data mess
Image generated on 2024-04-18 using Microsoft copilot with the following prompt: "A black and white map of a complex plumbing system featuring many pumps and pipes as a maze"
Imagine what would happen to oil if it would flow and be processed by an overwhelmingly complex plumbing system.
Image generated on 2024-04-18 using Microsoft copilot with the following prompt: "A complex two-dimensional class diagram using the UML modelling standard showing the integration of four IT systems at physical level. Use one specific color for each system."
A collection of discrete or continuous values
- that convey information (when properly annotated),
- describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning,
- or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted formally
Content
First 5
- Volume
- Value
- Veracity
- Velocity
- Variety
And more were added
- Viscosity
- Virality
- Visualization
Format
more than 2000 different file formats
Structure
Schema
"The most significant challenge, cited by almost three-quarters (73%) of organizations, is disparate data sources and systems. Data silos are a perennial data-management problem for organizations."
2023
2021
2012
Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous
Volatility
Drivers: changes, changes dynamics, change rate and speed, unexpected challenges, unpredictable context
Effects: risks, instability, flux, timing/duration unknown
Uncertainty
Drivers: unpredictability, potential surprises, unknown outcomes, we don't know what we don't know, what we don't know increases
Effects: lake of direction, no risk taking, paralysis preventing action
Complexity
Drivers: overwhelming amount of information (big data Vs), tasks correlation, multifaceted effects, influencers, interdependencies,
Effects: unproductively, dilemas, inability to stand for CONs of any decision
Ambiguity
Drivers: ideal vs. actual, many stakeholders, contradictory inputs, diverging interests/opinions, causal relationships are unclear, no precedents
Effects: doubt, distrust, lapses in decision-making, hurt innovation
Sources of digital complexity
Chats
Alerts
Online shopping
Copilots
Messaging
News feed
Search engines
Online bets
Music streaming
Online gaming
Streaming services
Gaming
Video sonferencing
What do you mean by "digital"
Assistants
Online shopping
Desktop apps
Notification
Mobile apps
E-learning
Wristwatch signals
Social media
Emails
Online dating
Advertisements
Economic systems
- Financial Systems
- Trade Systems
- Taxation Systems
Technological systems
- Information Systems
- Communication Systems
- Energy Systems
Us
Health systems
- Mental Health Systems
- Public Health Systems
- Nutritional Systems
Geographical systems
- Urbanization
- Rural Areas
- Resource Distribution
Political systems
- Governance and Democracy
- International Relations
- Public Policy
Professional systems
- Corporate Governance
- Labor Markets
- Supply Chains
Legal systems
- Judicial Systems
- Regulatory Systems
- Intellectual Property Systems
Security systems
- Cybersecurity Systems
- National Security Systems
- Emergency Response Systems
Ecological systems
- Climate System
- Biodiversity
- Water Systems
Governance systems
- Local Government Systems
- Federal Systems
- International Governance Systems
all these systems as disconnected
Sources of complexity
Infrastructure systems
- Transportation Systems
- Utility Systems
- Housing Systems
Social systems
- Healthcare System
- Education System
- Family and Community
Cultural systems
- Media Systems
- Educational Systems
- Religious Systems
Environmental systems
- Atmospheric Systems
- Soil Systems
- Waste Management Systems
Transportation systems
- Aviation Systems
- Maritime Systems
- Rail Systems
Understanding/solving small or local problems will enable us to understand/solve the global one.
A human body is a system, a biological system.
- It is made of systems (organs, cells,...)
- It is part of systems (solar system, ecosystem, social systems...)
All these systems are intertwined, interacts with each other and influence each other in a complex manner as a "global system".
Silos
in order to chunk big complex problems in small simpler parts/problems
Human brains
- have limited cognitive capabilities
- can only keep in mind and process a limited amount of information at the same time
- Information: we generate more but understand less; our brains are bombarded and overwhelmed by too much information
- Time or dynamics: components within a complex system change faster and faster over time
- Variability: high degree of variability or uncertainty in the components
- Vulnerability: complex systems are more susceptible to disruptions or failures
- Correlation: components within a complex system are more or less related and their interactions affect each other
Content
- Global complexity
- Digital complexity
- Business complexity
Acknowledging and understanding digital complexity
Cedric Berger
June 8th, 2024
contact@biomedima.org
System-centric mindset and hypes
Focus on oil, not pipes and pumps
Data-centricity
Siloed
- academic (universities) department
- governmental and NGOs organisations
- medium and large organisations
- personal lives
- ...
Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts.
It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts, enabling systems change. Systems thinking draws on and contributes to systems theory and the system sciences.
but now that we reach the planet boundaries
Image generated on 2024-07-02 using Microsoft copilot with the following prompt: "Create an image representing the world split into siloes"
We realise
- these systems are all connected
- we don't understand the Earth global super-system
- it is on the verge of collapsing
Complex systems
Where human brains
- have to deal with too many parameters at the same time
- are overwhelmed
- therefore are stressed as we cannot make sense of it
- we feel bad about it (see stress hormons)
not by buying new IT systems !
Thinking in systems
What do you mean by "complex"?
Did you notice?
IT systems
IT systems landscape
IT system interfaces
Data
Data is the new oil
Selling pumps and pipes
When and how did it start?
Digital transformation
IT systems and organisation size
Impact on business efficiency
Business is becoming more complex everyday.
We understand less and less of it (end-to-end).
1) Pumps and pipes
- selling IT tools/systems/applications
- creating or feeding from your data
- locking it in their predefined data models and logic
- configuration costs
- maintenance costs
It increases the risk of mixing different sources, flows, leaks, losing track of provenance, reduced quality, mis-processing, landing in wrong destination, complex monitoring...
The more complex the communication structure of an organisation, the more complex the systems it creates