*The following text is the pre-edited version of an interview of Hugh Dubberly by Dan Saffer. The interview was performed via email in February of 2006, and was later published in **Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices**.*
**What is systems design?**
Systems design is simply the design of systems. It implies a systematic and rigorous approach to design—an approach demanded by the scale and complexity of many systems problems.
**Where did it come from?**
Systems design first appeared shortly before World War II as engineers grappled with complex communications and control problems. They formalized their work in the new disciplines of information theory, operations research, and cybernetics. In the 1960s, members of the design methods movement (especially Horst Rittel and others at Ulm and Berkeley) transferred this knowledge to the design world. Systems design continues to flourish at schools interested in design planning and within the world of computer science. Among its most important legacies is a research field known as design rationale, which concerns systems for making and documenting design decisions.
**What can designers learn from systems design?**
Today, ideas from design methods and systems design may be more relevant to designers than ever before—as more and more designers collaborate on designing software and complex information spaces. Frameworks suggested by systems design are especially useful in modeling interaction and conversation. They are also useful in modeling the design process itself.
**What is the most important thing to be aware of in systems design?**
A systems approach to design asks:
+ For this situation, what is the system?
+ What is the environment?
+ What goal does the system have in relation to its environment?
+ What is the feedback loop by which the system corrects its actions?
+ How does the system measure whether it has achieved its goal?
+ Who defines the system, environment, goal, etc.—and monitors it?
+ What resources does the system have for maintaining the relationship it desires?
+ Are its resources sufficient to meet its purpose?
**Is systems design incompatible with user-centered design?**
A systems approach to design is entirely compatible with a user-centered approach. Indeed, the core of both approaches is understanding user goals. A systems approach looks at users in relation to a context and in terms of their interaction with devices, with each other, and with themselves.
**What is the relationship between systems design and cybernetics?**
Cybernetics (the science of feedback) provides an approach to systems and a set of frameworks and tools. Among the most important ideas for designers:
+ Definition of a system depends on point of view (subjectivity)
+ We are responsible for our actions (ethical stance)
+ All interaction is a form of conversation
+ All conversation involves goals, understandings, and agreements
**Are there times when systems design isn’t appropriate?**
A systems approach to design is most appropriate for projects involving large systems or systems of systems. Such projects typically involve many people, from many disciplines, working together over an extended period of time. They need tools to cope with their project’s complexity: to define goals, facilitate communications, and manage processes. Solo designers working on small projects may find the same tools a bit cumbersome for their needs.
41 Comments
winston tupas
Jul 29, 2008
12:07 am
thank you very much in providing us an very important infprmation in system design…thank you
jasel javier
Nov 27, 2008
12:59 am
Thank you for giving us a summary type information. thanks a lot..
Jade Cadelina
Jan 7, 2009
7:05 pm
Very important article. Thank you. 🙂
Mary Gra ce Diaz
Nov 19, 2009
6:19 pm
Thank you for having this kind of information.
king samson taylor
Apr 5, 2011
2:59 am
thank you 4 your help,we are very grateful.
abdallah H. Nkini
Jun 6, 2011
3:18 pm
I like this article….its great
Can Design be Agile? | Tropisms
Aug 31, 2011
9:24 am
[…] Dubberly commented […]
Salmi,Nelly
Oct 6, 2011
1:48 am
Thank a lot,next time include the consideration of it.
milan
Oct 23, 2011
12:39 am
thankx a lot for sharing me nice information
omar hadhar
Dec 26, 2011
5:28 am
increase the explanations in breafly but more understable by user
thanks
jonathan
Dec 27, 2011
7:41 am
its clear and understandable,,,,,,,,,thanx anyway
har har
Jan 3, 2012
3:38 am
i have a question ..
what is har har ..
zacharia justin
Feb 12, 2012
1:55 am
I like it. But u didn’t explain how can i design.
Emmanuel Lesela
Feb 13, 2012
3:38 am
this is very helpful to students but please provide more example because i found them very helpful.
md.danish anwer
Feb 19, 2012
10:13 pm
hi ,i really happy to share with you. i studied from your page. its a very important subject but finally i got it my dear friend. thanking you.
MD. DANISH ANWER
naina gooreeah
Mar 29, 2012
12:02 am
thanks 4 this artice…
its great…
tendai
Apr 21, 2012
12:02 am
Great Article, well presented!
manish
Jun 5, 2012
12:34 am
nice i like its
prince
Jun 20, 2012
10:14 am
dis article is jst ok, buh u guys should go deeper on d definition nxt tym……tnx alot
mohammad auwal
Jul 10, 2012
3:35 am
This summary short note has indeed covared many importand issues
Abdulrafiu Yusuf
Aug 31, 2012
2:10 am
I found this info highly usful. Thank u.
lindsay bird
Sep 12, 2012
4:36 am
thank u 4 the information its very relavent
Paultu Bukie
Sep 28, 2012
5:17 am
Thanks Hugh, your work on system design is very elaborate. Its has broadened my horizon. I am grateful!
barkha
Sep 28, 2012
8:47 am
thanx a lot………ths article helps me alot
vijay bembalkar
Oct 17, 2012
11:43 am
Very good information on systems.
abipaul
Dec 21, 2012
12:51 pm
its something really necessary to know about it..
THANKS
MATTHEW
Dec 29, 2012
1:59 am
please i need help, i have a work that is cracking my brain here…….please would u help me with this question:
Describe your university or college as a system.
-what is the input?
-what is output
-what is boundary?
-what is the components and their relationship?
-the constraints
-the environment….
I will b vry grateful if u can giv me a link on how dis question can b answer
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Feb 18, 2013
10:14 am
[…] embedded microprocessor designs involve processing some kind of input to produce some kind of output, and […]
Esther
Mar 28, 2013
1:08 am
Thanx for the information since its beneficial to us IT students
cathy
Apr 26, 2013
6:04 am
thank u
komal
Jun 18, 2013
12:58 am
thank u
yasodhavinoth
Jul 12, 2013
9:53 pm
Thank you for having this information.. i want brief information about system design..because i will take seminar for my friends…
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Feb 17, 2014
9:48 am
[…] http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-systems-design.html […]
V.P.YADAV
Apr 2, 2014
10:16 pm
I HAVE WANT TO BREAFLY INFORMATION ABOUT THE SYSTEM ANLYSIS AND DESIGN
Mitulbhai Patel
Jan 24, 2015
2:28 pm
Thank you for giving this information of systems and design. it’s really usefully article.
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Jan 27, 2015
10:21 am
[…] rebranding UX, but also realize this isn’t new. Digital designers have found systems design, what human factors started with decades ago. UX = systems […]
Eunji
Aug 5, 2015
3:45 am
Very insightful. It helps me a lot to reflect on my practice. Thank you.
TETSOLA FELIX
Nov 12, 2015
8:55 am
thanks a lot for this article you used to helpe users, God Bless.
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May 10, 2017
4:19 am
[…] Dubberly Design Office 2006, What is Systems Design, San Francisco, viewed 8 May 2017, <http://www.dubberly.com/articles/what-is-systems-design.html>. […]
mansoor bikadho
Sep 20, 2017
4:35 am
system design,well researched,thanks