NOTE
System maps are thinking tools, not predictive models. A good map captures the dominant structure — the few loops and stocks that explain most of the behaviour. It will always be incomplete. Use it to think more clearly, not to prove you're right.
You now have a complete systems thinking toolkit:
- Iceberg — move from events to patterns to structures to mental models
- Stocks and flows — identify what's accumulating and what's changing it
- Feedback loops — find the reinforcing and balancing loops driving behaviour
- Delays — locate the time gaps that cause overshoot and confusion
- CLDs — make the structure visible and testable
- BOT graphs — connect structure to observable behaviour
- Archetypes — recognise common structural traps
- Mental models — surface the assumptions behind the structure
- Boundary critique — question what's included and excluded
- Leverage points — find where small changes produce large effects
This lesson puts them all together in a repeatable practice.