Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers

I am a huge fan of Sheryl's work. She has deep expertise bringing systems thinking principles into the design space, where there is a huge need for more expansive and holistic thinking. This book provides examples, research and tools to help designers be more aware of upstream and downstream impacts. Highly recommend!

Sheryl Cababa's book clearly lays out how to apply systems thinking methods, tools, and mindsets to a design practice. As a design strategist and researcher, I've been trying to do this for myself for years by reading systems thinking books, hunting for articles and talks from designers who've applied systems thinking to their projects, and trying out different methodologies in my work. This book brings together just about everything I've been looking for into one place.One concept I learned from the book that I found particularly helpful is the distinction between hard and soft systems-thinking methodologies. Because of my systems engineering background (in a previous role), I was more familiar with the mindset and uses of hard systems-thinking in which systems are modeled in order to attain a specific end. Soft systems-thinking methodology, which emphasizes understanding the problem space holistically, resonated with me as a design strategist. This is the work I currently do, helping my team understand the larger context in which we are building solutions.Cababa's book is timely and relevant, especially in the current design landscape where we are looking to minimize the harms of the solutions we create. It provides designers with the tools to understand the larger context in which they are designing and to discern how best designers should be involved. Are we the ones who should be creating solutions, or do we serve humanity better by supporting and amplifying the ideas of those affected by the systems which need intervention?This is a great book for any designers looking to enhance their design thinking toolkit and address the limitations of user-centered design.

I'm not sure exactly what I expected with this book, but it is more dry and focused on academia and business than I expected. I've been holding out on a review for a while hoping to return to reading it, but it just hasn't happened. I'm not going to trash the book because it's not what I wanted, but I will warn potential readers that this is not one of those captivating books to introduce you to the topic and spur your imagination. It's probably best reviewed as part of a collection of books on systems thinking to evolve your mindset and look for new perspectives.

My husband couldn't put down 'Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers' and I can see why! This book is a game-changer for designers, researchers, and strategists looking to broaden their perspective and create more holistic solutions. With practical tools and instruction, readers will learn to combine user-centered design with systems thinking, map the status quo, and develop a theory of change. Perfect for those in technology, healthcare, education, and other fields where human-centered design is key. A must-read for anyone looking to take their design thinking to the next level!

Sheryl Cababa’s book "Closing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers" is an exceptional resource for those wanting to learn about and incorporate systems thinking into their work. For those new to the concept, systems thinking “is a methodology for considering the whole problem space, rather than seeing problems in isolation” (p. 21). For those of us in tech, the shortest and sweetest way to summarize this approach is: Don’t presuppose solutions as software.The book takes a broad look at systems thinking - one could say, a systems thinking approach to systems thinking. It focuses on soft systems methodology - “understanding a problem space, creating a holistic view of it, and considering where intervention can happen to create certain outcomes” (p. viii). It provides a summary of design thinking and its comparison to systems thinking, and gives a good history and context of the design thinking approach. This is especially relevant for readers familiar with design thinking.It shares a rich variety of case studies and interviews with expert practitioners, grounding the practice in real-world work. The stories told via interviews and the real life examples (e.g., “systems spotting”) make the practice come alive, and make the book invaluable for practitioners. For example, on interviewee, Shree Lakshmi (SL) Rao, reminded us that problem solving is much broader than people using products, and if you work in-house at a powerful tech company, you “are associated with those who have the opportunity and power to make things happen” (p.96).Because of the book’s combined approach of theoretical background and practical application, it doesn’t go super in-depth on either, but the benefit is you walk away with a broad perspective on the topic. I did appreciate the examples of visual mapping techniques, like causal loop mapping, the iceberg model, fishbone diagrams, and many more.I am a research practitioner, not a designer, and I went into this book wanting to know HOW to apply systems thinking to my work. The book began answering this question in Chapter 4. Although I appreciate the chapter on Collecting Your Data, as a researcher I missed in-depth instruction of qualitative data analysis, which would be necessary to rigorously move from data collection to synthesis and mapping (starting in Chapter 5). Although this wasn’t the main purpose of the book, readers who are not research experts will need to gain this knowledge elsewhere.The other question I’m left with is how readers can best deal with the reality of their work: if you’re already at a digital product company trying to understand the problem space, how do you leave room for solutions other than digital technology-driven solutions? The systems thinking approach is delightful and extraordinarily important, but it is also at odds with the vast majority of tech culture.Overall, this book was an excellent introduction to systems thinking, and I highly recommend it to those interested in learning more and walking away with lots of concrete and fascinating examples of systems thinking in action.

Pros:- good for beginners- not too convoluted- uses regular language, not tech jargon or 5 star wordsCons:- No real hard concepts are introduced, just basic ideas- More of a general overview than anything in depth on the subject- Kinda boring to meI think I'd recommend this to someone who wanted to understand why systems overall need to be planned beyond just one aspect. But for anyone that is actually good at designing the systems they work with...you won't get much out of this book.