Glossary

A category of System, by the composition of the elements it contains. An abstract system is not defined by tangible or physical elements, but rather sets of concepts, theories, principles etc.

The process of change required to maintain ‘fit’ between a current state and an outcome state. A good example is adaptation of an organism to an environment, or a product to customer needs, or a person and their desired identity. Activity continues until a measure of ‘fit’ is produced.

An open system (see Open System), which adjusts its internal and external behaviour to fit with a state or states in the local environment.

a set of steps to reach a known goal, also: Protocol, Procedure (depending upon domain). (see also partner term, ‘Heuristic’).

From Latin ‘to extend’. In Cybernetics, it means to increase a variable within a system. The variable could be variety itself, or a volume of signal, or any other aspect within or without a System. A generative activity that creates more, diverging and including. A partner term with Attenuation. (See also ‘Attenuation’).

branching and reconnecting, like streams in a river delta. The entirety of the design process is Anastomotic by its nature, particularly within the Double-diamond approach.

Devices constructed to simulate some aspect of behaviour. When we describe the use of ‘Design Artefacts’, we are also creating a device to ‘stimulate’ some aspect of behaviour of our customers.

A part of the real world selected for observation. Every human field of endeavour might rightly be considered an ‘assembly’. Take for example, the study of biology, physics, chemistry, business, or design, which are all abstracted from absolute reality.

From Latin ‘to make thin’. In Cybernetics, it means to decrease, or constrain, a variable within a system. The variable could be the variety itself, or a volume of a signal, or any other aspect within or without a System. A convergent activity that selects and excludes. A partner term with Amplification. (See also ‘Amplification’).

An unchanging form of events due to the activity within the Assembly.

Any natural/real or notional/hypothetical boundary within Systems. A concrete boundary, for example, is the human skin, which forms a real boundary between the internal System of the human body, and the outside world (‘environment’). A notional boundary may also be defined, by creating an arbitrary space for study in order to reduce the complexity being […]

A category of System, by how information is shared. A closed system does not have any information about its environment, and is therefore closed to information from external sources. It depends strictly on information already within it.

A categorisation of System, on the basis of the number of objects and relationships within it. Complex systems are juxtaposed with Simple systems, comprised of a large amount of variables and variety. There is no formal definition of the distinction of Simple vs Complex. (See also ‘Simple System’).

A category of Systems, by the composition of the elements it contains. A concrete system is defined by tangible or physical elements.

a natural or constructed assembly which interacts with its environment to bring about a specific stability called a ‘goal’, or ‘objective’.

Also known as ‘Actual’ State. The State of a System at the present time.

A complex system (see Complex System), which cannot be split into parts and continue to achieve the common goal of the parts. A human or a car are examples of ‘Emergent Systems’.

the realisation of a potentiality in actuality.

The term used to define everything extraneous to the System/Assembly being studied. Specifically, for an organism, we might consider the environment in which it lives. For a business, we could consider the market it operates in. This is typically used to define the stimulant source of information for an Open System (See also: ‘Open System’).

A change in a system, environment, or assembly state.

Also known as ‘Outcome’ State, or ‘Target’ State. A variable which must be maintained, or reached by the System.

a set of steps to reach an unknown goal. (see also partner term, ‘Algorithm’).

the capability of a system to hold its critical variables within physiological limits in the face of unexpected disturbance or perturbation, important to the survival or well-being of a system (such as a living system: ‘organism’). See also ‘Ultra-stability’.

Also known as ‘Potential’ State. A special form of ‘Goal State’, whiccg/3:3,ch is possible, but not always known to the individual. This is representative of the Goal state without any constraints, physical, a lot perceived or otherwise.

A state of knowledge of a System, specifically the degree of Certainty-Uncertainty within the System. Uncertainty demands more information, whereas Certainty has adequate information.

A categorisation of a System based upon its change in properties over time. Also known as ‘Dynamic’ system. An System whose state changes over time, due to changes in events. A Multi-state system may be Open or Closed. A partner term to ‘Single-state System’. (See also ‘Single-state System’).

a machine, brain, system or management-group made up individual decision-making elements and capable of reaching a corporate decision.

A type of system that reduces the difference between a current state and a goal state, whilst there remains a deficit. An example of this is a thermostat (regulation of external temperature), or a refrigerator (regulation of internal temperature), which works to maintain a variable (the temperature). The less obvious Negative feedback loops are found […]

A category of System, by how information is shared. An open system is interdependent with and on information that comes from external sources, outside of itself.

An exemplar or pattern; a basic way of doing something recognisable beneath many superficial variations.

A special form of ‘Current State’ in UX, wherein the user perceives their Current State. The distance between Current State and Perceived State might not always be the same. A ‘person’ is a Second-Order Cybernetic Assembly.

A set of events which comprise change in State, over time.

A type of system that a self-sustains behaviour on the basis of feedback. This tends to escalate, and lead to collapse in practice.

Also known as ‘Need’ Space. A specific type of ‘Assembly’, which includes factors defining the obstacles or blockers constraining the freedom of a System to reach an outcome state. A ‘problem’ could define a given customer behaviour(s), or challenge within or outside the team or business. From the Latin word for ‘obstacle’ (problema).

(Latin: ‘a net’) a network of connections in which unique pathways may or may not be specifiable (see also ‘Anastomotic’).

The recognition that all descriptions and perceptions by a sentient component of a System must also form part of the System being observed. Therefore, if you observe a System, then you are part of that System.

A categorisation of System, on the basis of the number of objects and relationships within it. Simple systems are juxtaposed with Complex systems, comprised of few variables and variety. There is no formal definition of the distinction of Simple vs Complex. (See also ‘Complex System’).

A categorisation of a System based upon its change in properties over time. Also known as ‘Static’ system. An inanimate object with few alternative states. A table is a natural example, because of its structure it does not change its state. A partner term to ‘Multi-state System’. (See also ‘Multi-state system’).

A particular form of ‘Knowledge Space’, where the range of solutions to a given problem are contained.

A proxy notion to explain the variety within an Assembly. The breath, depth and width of a given ‘Space’, is defined by the variety and complexity within it, as well as the scope of the boundary. There are 4 types of Spaces: Problem-Solution Space, Knowledge and Phase Spaces. (see also, ‘Boundary’).

A recognisable condition of a system.

A condition of an object, entity or element, consisting of particular properties at a given time. The state of a person could be their health, position, attitude, financial situation, number of romantic attachments, etc. There are a range and hierarchy of properties that define a state. For this reason, we can define 4 types of […]

a set of interrelated elements. An entity composed of at least 2 elements, and a relationship which holds those elements together. There are 5 types of System, per definitions by Cyberneticians over the last 100 years (Open/Closed, Abstract/Concrete, Simple/Complex, Static/Dynamic, Positive/Negative), which might all be considered lenses from which to view any System.

A machine, device, protocol or rule by which information is changed (edit: ‘transformed’) to an appropriate form and introduced into a system.

the capacity for a system to return to an equilibrial state after perturbation by unknown or unanalysed forces (against which the intervention of which the system was therefore not explicitly designed). See also ‘Homeostasis’.

Any state of a system with a deficit of information. The reduction of uncertainty is directly correlated to the introduction of information.