The Systems Bible: The Beginner's Guide to Systems Large and Small: Being the Third Edition of Systemantics

Systemantics was probably my favorite technical read of the year for my software development career. Like The Design of Everyday Things, this book is not about software development, at least not directly. This book addresses all the things that are arguably true about systems. The book refers to large systems like government and public school systems, and medium systems like city garbage collection, and even smaller systems like families, or a system for managing a small group of employees. These systems are all set up to solve or at least manage a problem the same way we develop software systems to do the same. The author refers back and forth to these common systems as it explains over 20 truisms of systems, especially large ones. Some of my favorites include: - First rule of systems design: do without out one if possible - New systems mean new problems - A large system produced by expanding a smaller system will not behave like the smaller system - Things are as they appear to be, not what they are The book is written in a very lighthearted yet serious way which makes it easy to read, even funny. Everywhere, things are not working well and those outside of the systems that are failing are sure they could fix them if only their ideas were universally adopted. However, this book admittedly offers no solution. There is no single method to follow and all axioms are too fundamental for direct application. Rather the axioms provide clues and guidance to awareness of what makes a particular system faulty. The Systematics student, understanding the risk of failure, even catastrophic failure, knows that the undertaking should only be begun where the present evil is very clear and the consequences of utter failure are no more unbearable than the original unsatisfactory situation.

I read the previous reviews -- the most of them came from people with engineering bend. But this book is not only for engineers, it is for everyone - managers, politicians, lawyers, programmers, urban planners -- you name it. As the matter of fact, you will never read a newspaper the same way after being familiarized with Dr. Gall's book. The Diberterque environment of your office will not feel like something extraordinary after you realize that there are natural reasons why it has become Dilbertesque.

I know the author personally. As a lawyer and a former executive, I found the book insightful, hilarious, and - even - depressing. John does an excellent job of uncovering cultural blinders we all labor under. Our genes have not prepared us to work in the gigantic systems and organizations that provide, govern, and torture us. I enjoyed the second part of the book ("Applied Systemantics") more than the more conceptual first part. This book is an important antidote to Organizational Development hucksterism.

There is no better book, with more startlingly accurate insights into one's current predicament.It has the slight failing that it can't quite decide if it ought to be another _Stress Analysis of a Strapless Evening Gown_ or not, so there's a few paragraphs to skip here and there.The rest is great.I can quote from memory my favorite system axioms:``Systems grow, and as they grow they encroach.''``Systems attract systems-people.''``Intra-system goals come first.''``Reality is whatever is reported to the system.''``Fail-safe systems fail by failing to fail safe.''My favorite chapter is ``Administrative Encirclement,'' where each researcher is asked to write out his objectives.The deepest insight, very subtle indeed, is Orwell's Inversion: the confusion of input and output:``Example: A giant program is to Conquer Cancer is begun. At the end of five years, cancer has not been conquered, but one thousand research papers have been published. In addition, one million copies of a pamphlet entitled ``You and the War Against Cancer'' have been distributed. Those publications will absolutely be regarded as Output rather than Input.''Nobody who knows the book will be surprised that the biggest killers of dogs today are humane societies.People who follow the book will understand why the small early version _General Systemantics_ (1975), privately published, is an absolute gem; this version is pretty good, almost the same; and today's version (_...the underground text..._) is expanded beyond belief. The author has made it a system.

I like this book. It contains pithy and often humorous stories that illustrate every point. It also provides catchy labels for each major concept so that the author's ideas tend to stick in your mind. For example, The Fundamental Law of Administrative Workings (FLAW). This book has stuck in my mind and it continually reminds me to think twice before expanding any of my systems - whether they be cooking systems or computer systems.