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BookReviewsSessionFour011

These book reviews were in the handout for SessionFour011, Creating and Sharing a Diagram of Effects.

Creating a Diagram of Effects (DOE)

DonGray: If you work in software and don�t have this book, get it. Using DOEs to show systems models starts in Chapter 5 and continues through the rest of the Quality Software Management (QSM) Series. The volumes that follow in the series�First Order Measurement, Congruent Action and Anticipating Change�all contain a brief summary of the DOE material that is covered in QSM1 as Appendix A.

SteveSmith: I strongly recommend reading QSM1 several times. The time invested will be returned to you over and over again. Weinberg shares the system dynamics that experienced, effective software managers understand. And Weinberg shows the reader how to see the dynamics using a diagram of effects. The choice points in the development system are revealed so that managers can manipulate them in the right directions so development produces the desired result rather than merely hoping for success. Powerful. If you invest your time reading only one book on this list, make it QSM1.

Peter Senge and others, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organizaton, Doubleday, 1994.

DonGray: This book provides details, activities, and instruction for practicing the five disciplines introduced in The Fifth Discipline. The section on systems thinking includes instructions on taking a problem, illuminating root causes, and creating a diagram similar to a DOE. Behavior Over Time graphs and archetypes are mentioned. Real world examples emphasize the important aspects. This section complements the material in Systems Thinking Basics.

SteveSmith: My reaction to this book is conflicted. The authors do share their experience with the five disciplines. That�s a worthy effort. But the diagrams they created just don�t work for me. There is lots of stuff that looks good but I found myself unwilling to read it. Perhaps because the book is not focused on single management topic like Weinberg does in Quality Software Management, Volume 1: Systems Thinking. Several clients told me that they had read the book so I decided to listen to the abridged, audio version. Listening was easier than reading. It was worth my time. The book is still in my bookshelf. I am ambivalent about trying to read it again.

Virginia Anderson and Lauren Johnson, Systems Thinking Basics: From Concepts to Causal Loops, Pegasus Communications, 1997.

DonGray: An excellent book for systems thinkers. This book focuses on Behavior Over Time graphs and Casual Loop Diagrams. How you define the problem, how you select the important aspects, what you can expect to encounter. The information is clearly presented with examples. Exercises follow each chapter.

SteveSmith: I haven�t read the book. Don let me look through his copy. I like what I see. I�m going to buy and read it.

General Systems Thinking

DonGray: These two books cover the basis of General Systems Thinking from a scientific viewpoint. Brush off your math and put on your thinking cap. The examples derive from nature and man-made systems. There is no �fluff� in the logic and presentation. These are the �densest� books in this list. General Principles of System Design includes the background and some examples for DOE, although they�re not distinguished by the name �DOE�.

SteveSmith: I read An Introduction to General Systems Thinking in 1977. It was my first Weinberg book. I read it cover to cover in a single week. I connected with the book at a deep level. It was the first time that someone gave me a glimpse about how systems could be seen and explained. I pulled out the book a few weeks ago and still marvel at how great it is. Weinberg teamed with his partner Dani Weinberg to write the follow on volume, General Principles of Systems Design. It�s equally as great.

Weinberg�s writing style has changed over the years as he has learned more about the craft of writing and shares his work with different audiences. These books are, as Don said, much denser than his later work, Quality Software Management, Volume 1: Systems Thinking. Nevertheless, the power and wonder of systems thinking is fully present. I recommend both books without hesitation.

Joseph O�Connor and Ian McDermott, The Art of Systems Thinking: Essential Skills for Creativity and Problem Solving, Thorsons, 1997.

DonGray: This book applies systems thinking to mental models and learning. Intuitive and well-written it provides a framework demonstrating why you think like you do, and how to challenge and change those patterns. It also includes examples of the general systems archetypes.

SteveSmith: I haven�t read this book.

Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization, 1990, Doubleday

DonGray: This book popularized systems thinking as The Fifth Discipline. The other half of the book discusses four �core disciplines�: Personal Mastery, Mental Models, Shared Vision, and Team Learning. This book excels as an introduction to all five disciplines. The book�s popularity can be measured by how often it�s referred to in other books and articles.

SteveSmith: I think Senge wrote The Fifth Discipline to market systems thinking to business people. And he was wildly successful. As Don notes, Senge excels at introducing the reader to the five disciplines and sharing why he or she would want to use them. I admire this book for what it is. I recommend reading it. If you want to go beyond the marketing of systems thinking though, you will want to invest in other books.

Dietrich D�rner, The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations, 1996, Metropolitan Books..

DonGray: This excellent book uses quantitative examples to demonstrate how simple cause-and-effect thinking produces adverse results over time. It�s less rigorous than the Weinberg books, but more so than the rest.

SteveSmith: Are you familiar with the saying, Be careful what you wish for? D�rner shares stories about people with good intentions who try to help other people. The results are beyond what these change agents envisioned. The stories remind me of episodes in the Twilight Zone television series. I highly recommend this book.

Barry Richmond, The �Thinking� in Systems Thinking: Seven Essential Skills, 2000 Pegasus Communications.

DonGray: I found this 23-page pamphlet worth the $ 16.95 price. It discusses Dynamic Thinking, System-as-Cause Thinking, Forest Thinking, Operational Thinking, Closed Loop Thinking, Quantitative Thinking, and Scientific thinking. The subjects are presented in a readable, understandable format. I highlighted almost the entire book.

SteveSmith: I haven�t read the pamphlet.

SteveSmith 2004.12.06