When Designing a System, Think Evolutionarily
Realistically speaking, most systems we design and operate are more accountable to Darwin than they are to Newton. But we don't always think to build them that way. Recently, I had an opportunity to write an article for Built In to explore this very topic.
Image: Shutterstock / Built In
Realistically speaking, most systems we design and operate are more accountable to Darwin than they are to Newton.
But we don't always think to build them that way.
When we design systems, whether they're software systems, product systems, or organizational systems, we have the instinct to believe that these systems will behave according to a set of rules as we understand them today. So, we define abstractions, models, and processes that map to how we know things work.
Unfortunately, these models also represent assumptions about the current and future state of that system, inevitably leading to fragility in the system.
The hidden truth in most of these systems, especially those that have a human component to them, is that they are more Darwinian in nature than they are Newtonian. Meaning, the systems themselves are subject to change due to environmental factors.
Recently, I had an opportunity to write an article for Built In to explore this very topic. In it, I explore how a system will be affected by its environments and how you, its designer, can be intentional about the principles that form the foundation of your system, how you can avoid premature abstraction in its construction, and how you can optimize for change along the way.
I hope you enjoy When Designing a System, Think Evolutionarily.
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