C1. The Anatomy of a System (SNO Overview)

The anaTomy oF a Sy(agents) that operate together, exchanging things such as information, energy, materials, value, and other resources. Systems are a mental and analytical model to understand the world in a more comprehensive way. They are not real, but they form a framework for understanding. A system may take many forms. A city can be seen as a system. The pond in your neighbor’s back yard, our entire civilization, a company, or a government may all be seen as systems. Systems are defined and separated by their system boundary. Systems are thus a collection of agents, and their relations (the network), that operate in time, space and in context, defined by their boundary. -2((M 2

From the SiD Book

A system in SiD is a set of objects and relations between individual components (agents) that operate together, exchanging things such as information, energy, materials, value, and other resources. Systems are a mental and analytical model to understand the world in a more comprehensive way. They are not real, but they form a framework for understanding. A system may take many forms. A city can be seen as a system. The pond in your neighbor’s back yard, our entire civilization, a company, or a government may all be seen as systems. Systems are defined and separated by their system boundary. Systems are thus a collection of agents, and their relations (the network), that operate in time, space and in context, defined by their boundary. A system, in SiD’s definition, consists of three levels...