System map example
Actors and feedback in a situation, not a step-by-step procedure.
The situation, not the procedure
A system map example draws the parts of a situation that affect each other: actors, stocks (things that accumulate), and the links between them. Systems maps and system mapping examples are used when a linear process map would hide a loop. If the lunch line is long, a process map shows the cashier steps. A system map might show that a long line causes more students to skip lunch, which changes how much food is prepared tomorrow, which changes the line again.
This is close to a feedback loop drawn with several variables at once. It is not a software architecture diagram, even though both use the word system.
A small example
Stock: prepared portions. Stock: students waiting. Link: more portions shorten the wait. Link: a long wait increases the number of students who leave, which leaves portions unused. Link: unused portions reduce how many are prepared next week. Write the direction on each link: same direction or opposite direction. If you cannot say the direction, you do not have a link yet. Keep the map under ten nodes or it becomes a mural.
Questions
- What is a system map?
- A diagram of the parts of a situation and how they influence each other, including loops. It explains behavior over time rather than a single procedure.
- What does a system mapping example include?
- Named actors or stocks, arrows with a direction of influence, and at least one loop you can say out loud. A pile of logos is not a system map.
- How is a system map different from a process map?
- A process map is the order of steps and handoffs. A system map is the web of influences, including effects that come back later.