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Our new book, Systems Thinking Made Simple: New Hope for Solving Wicked Problems (Amazon), will be used as a textbook in an upcoming systems engineering course at West Point. Visit crlab.us or Amazon to purchase the book.
The course, Introduction to Systems Engineering, is taught by Dr. Michael Kwinn, Professor of Systems Engineering, U.S. Army, and Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Gregory L. Boylan. Dr. Boylan describes the book as:
"A terrific read that lays out complex and often counterintuitive concepts in a simple and intuitive way. Everyone, from Cadet to Commander-in-Chief, would benefit from reading this book and applying these ideas."
Author Derek Cabrera explained the advantage of the ideas in Systems Thinking Made Simple (or STMS) for systems engineers.
"Many systems engineering departments have adopted powerful modeling techniques such as system dynamics, but inevitably they find that what students new to systems thinking lack is the ability to think deeply. Systems thinking is a big toolbox of methods and approaches, but without a deeper understanding of the patterns of thinking that underlie these tools, it's like a woodworker who has all the tools without the carpentry skills. STMS provides the underlying rules that help systems thinkers be effective with whatever specialized tool or modeling language fits the bill to solve the problem they are trying to solve."
The West Point website describes the Systems Engineering program:
Systems Engineering is a program that provides an excellent opportunity to learn more about the art and science of making decisions in complex, dynamic environments. Systems Engineering will expose you to innovative methods of decision-making and can open doors to opportunities offered in fields such as business and finance, engineering, and management. Systems Engineering introduces topics that are the basic foundations of several graduate degrees, such as a Master's in systems engineering, industrial engineering, operations research, or business administration. The Systems Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.
