A system archetype is a pattern of behavior of a

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

. Systems expressed by circles of causality have therefore similar

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

. Identifying a system

archetype The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...

and finding the

lever A lever is a simple machine consisting of a beam (structure), beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or '':wikt:fulcrum, fulcrum''. A lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the locations of fulcrum, l ...

age enables efficient changes in a system. The basic system archetypes and possible solutions of the problems are mentioned in the ''

Examples Example may refer to: * ''exempli gratia'' (e.g.), usually read out in English as "for example" * .example, reserved as a domain name that may not be installed as a top-level domain of the Internet ** example.com, example.net, example.org, a ...

'' section. A fundamental property of nature is that no cause can affect the past. System archetypes do not imply that current causes affect past effects.

Causality

The basic idea of

system thinking 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.Anderson, Virginia, & Johnson, Lauren (1997). ''Systems Thinking Ba ...

is that every action triggers a reaction. In

system dynamics System dynamics (SD) is an approach to understanding the nonlinear behaviour of complex systems over time using stocks, flows, internal feedback loops, table functions and time delays. Overview System dynamics is a methodology and mathematical ...

this reaction is called

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

. There are two types of feedback – reinforcing feedback and balancing feedback. Sometimes a feedback (or a reaction) does not occur immediately – the process contains delays. Any system can be drawn as a

diagram A diagram is a symbolic Depiction, representation of information using Visualization (graphics), visualization techniques. Diagrams have been used since prehistoric times on Cave painting, walls of caves, but became more prevalent during the Age o ...

set up with circles of causality – including actions, feedbacks and delays. Reinforcing feedback (or amplifying feedback) accelerates the given trend of a process. If the trend is ascending, the reinforcing (positive) feedback will accelerate the growth. If the trend is descending, it will accelerate the decline. Falling of an avalanche is an example of the reinforcing feedback process. Balancing feedback (or stabilizing feedback) will work if any goal-state exists. Balancing process intends to reduce a gap between a current state and a desired state. The balancing (negative) feedback adjusts a present state to a desirable target regardless whether the trend is descending or ascending. An example of the balancing feedback process is staying upright on bicycle (when riding). Delays in systems cause people to perceive a response to an action incorrectly. This causes an under- or overestimation of the needed action and results in

oscillation Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

, instability or even breakdown.

Examples

The following System Archetypes describe the most common generic structures. Before effectively addressing a specific situation, the underlying pattern must be identified. The following Flow Diagram should help identifying these archetypes. The links between the different archetypes are an indicator of most common connections. Keep in mind that in every situation, there may be more possible ways to follow, though. Consider that everyone is located somewhere in the flow, and that every possible situation has its own advantages, down-sides, caveats, and options. Nevertheless, correctly identifying and understanding your situation is always the first step of solving your problem in a sustainable way.

Balancing process with delay

This archetype explains the system in which the response to action is delayed. If the agents do not perceive the delayed feedback, they might overshoot or underestimate the requisite action in order to reach their goals. This could be avoided by being patient or by accelerating reactions of the system to realized measures. Example:

supply chain A supply chain is a complex logistics system that consists of facilities that convert raw materials into finished products and distribute them to end consumers or end customers, while supply chain management deals with the flow of goods in distri ...

( The Beer Game)

Limits to growth

The unprecedented growth is produced by a reinforcing feedback process until the system reaches its peak. The halt of this growth is caused by limits inside or outside of the system. However, if the limits are not properly recognized; the former methods are continuously applied, but more and more aggressively. This results in the contrary of the desired state – a decrease of the system. The solution lies in the weakening or elimination of the cause of limitation. Example:

dieting Dieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated way to decrease, maintain, or increase body weight, or to prevent and treat diseases such as diabetes and obesity. As weight loss depends on calorie intake, List of diets, different kinds of ...

, learning foreign languages The

Attractiveness Principle The Attractiveness Principle is an archetype in system dynamics. System archetypes describe common patterns of behavior in dynamic complex systems. The attractiveness principle is a variation of the Limits to Growth (LtG) archetype, with restrictio ...

is an archetype derived from Limits to Growth. The main difference is that Attractiveness Principle assumes growth is limited with two or more factors.

Shifting the burden

The problem is handled by a simple solution with immediate effect, thereby "healing the symptoms". The primary source of the problem is overlooked, because its remedy is demanding and has no immediate outcome. The origin of the problem should be identified and solved in the long-term run during which the

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

to the symptomatic remedy decreases. Example:

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

, paying debts by borrowing Shifting the burden to the Intervenor

A special case of the “Shifting the Burden” systems archetype that occurs when an intervenor is brought in to help solve an ongoing problem. Over time, as the intervenor successfully handles the problem, the people within the system become less capable of solving the problem themselves. They become even more dependent on the intervenor. Examples: ongoing use of outside consultants. In simple terms, this is an archetype whereby a system grows increasingly dependent on an outside intervenor to help it function. In the short-term this works, but in the long term the system is unable to function on its own due to the dependence on the intervention and eventually fails to perform.

Eroding goals

A kind of drift to low performance archetype. Example: balancing the

public debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit occu ...

, sliding limits of

environmental pollution ''Environmental Pollution'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the biological, health, and ecological effects of environmental pollution. It was established in 1980 as two parts: ''Environmental Pollution Series A: Ecological and Biologi ...

Escalation

The escalation archetype could be seen as a

non-cooperative game In game theory, a non-cooperative game is a game in which there are no external rules or binding agreements that enforce the cooperation of the players. A non-cooperative game is typically used to model a competitive environment. This is stated in ...

where both players suppose that just one of them can win. They are responding to actions of the other player in order to “defend themselves”. The aggression grows and can result in

self-destructive behavior Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior. Self-destructive behaviors are considered to be on a continuum, with one extreme end of the scale being suicide. S ...

. The

vicious circle A vicious circle (or cycle) is a complex chain of events that reinforces itself through a feedback loop, with detrimental results. It is a system with no tendency toward equilibrium (social, economic, ecological, etc.), at least in the shor ...

can be broken by one agent stopping to react defensively and turn the game into cooperative one. Or by stopping to react to the other, or very slightly. Example:

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...

Success to successful

Two people or activities need the same limited resources. As one of them becomes more successful, more resources are assigned to him/it. The second one becomes less and less successful due to lacking resources, and “prove the right decision” to support the first one. This is a form of

preferential attachment A preferential attachment process is any of a class of processes in which some quantity, typically some form of wealth or credit, is distributed among a number of individuals or objects according to how much they already have, so that those who ...

. Problems occur if the

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

is unhealthy and interferes with the goals of the whole system. The two activities or agents might be decoupled or they should receive balanced amount of resources. Examples: two products of one company, work vs. family

Tragedy of the commons

Agents use common limited resource to profit individually. As the use of the resource is not controlled, the agents would like to continuously raise their benefits. The resource is therefore used more and more and the

revenues In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

of the agents are decreasing. The agents are intensifying their exploitation until the resource is completely used up or seriously damaged: this is the

tragedy of the commons The tragedy of the commons is the concept that, if many people enjoy unfettered access to a finite, valuable resource, such as a pasture, they will tend to overuse it and may end up destroying its value altogether. Even if some users exercised vo ...

. To protect common resources some form of

regulation Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...

should be introduced. Example:

fish stocks Fish stocks are population, subpopulations of a particular species of fish, for which intrinsic parameters (growth, recruitment, mortality and fishing mortality) are traditionally regarded as the significant factors determining the Population ...

(The Fishing Game)

Fixes that fail

In the fixes that fail archetype, the problem is solved by some fix (a specific solution) with immediate positive effect. Nonetheless, the “

side effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect of the use of a medicinal drug or other treatment, usually adverse but sometimes beneficial, that is unintended. Herbal and traditional medicines also have side effects. A drug or procedure usually used ...

” of this solution turn out in the future. The best remedy seems to apply the same solution. Example: saving costs on

maintenance The technical meaning of maintenance involves functional checks, servicing, repairing or replacing of necessary devices, equipment, machinery, building infrastructure and supporting utilities in industrial, business, and residential installa ...

, paying

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a debtor or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distinct f ...

by other

loans In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the debt ( ...

(with other interests)

Growth and underinvestment

The limit to growth is the current

production capacity Productive capacity is the maximum possible output of an economy. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), no agreed-upon definition of maximum output exists. UNCTAD itself proposes: "the productive ''resources ...

. It can be removed by sufficient

investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...

in new capacities. If the investment is not aggressive enough (or it is too low), the capacities are overloaded, the

quality Quality may refer to: Concepts *Quality (business), the ''non-inferiority'' or ''superiority'' of something *Quality (philosophy), an attribute or a property *Quality (physics), in response theory *Energy quality, used in various science discipli ...

of services declines and the

demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a goods, good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. In economics "demand" for a commodity is not the same thing as "desire" for it. It refers to both the desi ...

decreases. This archetype is especially important in capacity planning. Example: small, but growing company.

References

External links

System archetypes

Systems archetypes and their application
(Jorge Taborga, August 2011)
The System Archetypes
(William Braun, 2002.02.27) - this is a pdf document (26p)
Systems Archetypes at a Glance
(Daniel H. Kim) {{Systems Engineering

Archetype The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...