Systems Thinking in the Product Development Lifecycle
Systems thinking plays a crucial role in every aspect of how we operate here at KITE. In this post we’ll touch on systems thinking in the product development life cycle, and what that means for KITE.
So, what is systems thinking?
Before breaking down systems thinking, it would behoove us to define what a system is. Merriam-Webster gives us this simple definition;
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated entities that form a unified whole.
Systems thinking is a way of breaking down the individual entities that comprise a system into manageable units and understanding how they affect each other. This allows us to assess both the individual components and the system as a whole. For example, a lake is a system that includes water, plant life and animals living in it and around it. Adding a chemical to the water could change its color, but it might also affect whether plants at the water’s edge grow slower or faster and whether fish in the water survive. In software development you can consider it from a higher level; the organization, teams, individual contributors, clients, all the way down to a more technical level. the product(s), technical components, your stack, lines of code, even down to the 1’s and 0’s making it all happen. As a product manager or participant in the development process, you should absolutely be considering the interplay between all of these pieces.
Why apply systems thinking?
Systems thinking allows us to consider why things are the way they are. What existing structures are causing the events we are seeing day-to-day? The importance of taking the time to understand these systems cannot be overstated. Once we understand the why, we are able to make changes to these systems to influence the outcomes. In doing so, we reduce the time it takes to iterate and improve our systems.
When developing a feature, I like to consider these four points:
- Which elements are needed?
- How do these elements interact?
- How will these elements help us achieve our goal?
- How could these impact future goals?
Asking yourself these four questions can help you gain valuable insight into the best approach for your problem.
Exploring systems thinking at KITE
Let’s consider KITE as a system. Operations at KITE can be broken down into three primary teams. The business team, analyst team, and product team. Each team plays an essential part that keeps the company running. For example, the business team manages operations, marketing, and sales. The analyst team gathers, documents, and analyzes stakeholders needs and requirements. The product team establishes the higher-level goals of the product, conceptualizes solutions, and implements them accordingly. In this post, we are going to focus primarily on the product team as a system within the larger company system.
The product team can be broken down further into three teams: product, design, and engineering. We operate in an agile framework, in 6-week sprints. Part of these sprints is a week-long planning phase, where we apply systems thinking to understand our current business problems and make informed decisions on how to proceed. Despite having dedicated time to think and plan, we never stop considering things from a systems standpoint.
A common model for systems thinking that I am quite fond of is the Iceberg Model. There are four levels of thinking in the Iceberg Model:
- The event level
- The pattern level
- The structure level
- The mental model level
At the event level, we look at what events are happening right now. Perhaps a client has given us feedback that they cannot easily distribute content within the platform. If we simply assess things from an event level, it will usually lead to knee-jerk reactions instead of addressing the deeper issue.
Perhaps a client has given us feedback that they cannot easily distribute content within the platform.
If we dive a little deeper, we can explore the pattern level. What events seem to be reoccurring? What do people like about the product? What do they dislike? Which features get the most use? Many insights come from analyzing the pattern level. That’s a big part of what our product team does. Observing trends within the system allows them to determine what problems customers are facing, and what should be addressed. Our client has told us they are having trouble distributing content. What workflows are our users using to create and consume content? What aspects of these workflows are enhancing or diminishing their experience?
What workflows are our users using to create and consume content? What aspects of these workflows are enhancing or diminishing their experience?
By asking, “What is causing these trends?”, we are led even deeper into the structure level.
At the structure level we can begin to explore what is causing these patterns to emerge. Is our product UX consistent and intuitive to our users? Are we siloing functionality between creating/consuming content? Who is in charge of enforcing these structures and making these decisions? At KITE, we encourage everyone to consider these structures. Every member of our team is empowered to identify potential bottlenecks and address them accordingly.
Is our product UX consistent and intuitive to our users? Are we siloing functionality between creating/consuming content? Who is in charge of enforcing these structures and making these decisions?
This leads us to the mental model level.
Our mental model drives us. As a user, my mental model is going to determine how I interact with the product. Is the terminology being used familiar? How does this compare to other content focused products I’ve used (like YouTube or Facebook)? These mental models will affect how a user adapts their approach to solve their problem with software.
At KITE, our collective mental model leads us to empowering individuals because we believe it engages them with their work and makes them feel committed to a cause. Our vision of helping our clients engage with the startup ecosystem directs our roadmap and focuses our efforts. Our passion for building a product that drives innovation motivates us to commit code every day. Making changes to our mental models is by far the most difficult. These things are engrained in us; subconsciously absorbed through childhood, society, or our work culture. The ability to recognize and change these mental models is a very powerful tool indeed, and if you can cultivate this skill you will become invaluable to your team.
Consider these ideas and how they relate to your own team. By applying these concepts, you can streamline your development processes and increase cohesion within your organization. It allows you to challenge your assumptions and make informed decisions moving forward. This is not exclusively applicable to software development. I encourage you to consider the different systems at play in your daily life and how you can improve them to unlock your full potential.
If you are interested in learning more, here are some resources that I’ve found helpful in exploring systems thinking.
https://hackernoon.com/5-books-that-ramp-up-your-systems-thinking-ability-74fa76f86dce
https://thesystemsthinker.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/255127.The_Fifth_Discipline
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fln7GnBNWmo
