2. Lecture(1)
Dr. Abdelhamid R. Khattab
Sinai University (SU)
E-Mail: Abdelhamid.khattab@su.edu.eg
(INT 1001) Introduction to systems & Informatics
Introduction to Systems
3. Course code Course Title
Credit hours
Prerequisite
Examination Marks*
Total.
marks
Exam
Time
(hrs)
L P/T
Tot
al
CW T.E Oral/p F.E
ISD 100
Introduction to Systems &
Informatics
2 2 3 No Prerequisite 15 25 - 60 100 3
CSW 232 Computer Programming (1) 3 2 4
CSW 110Introduction to
Computer & Internet Technology
5 25 10 60 100 3
CSW 121 Logic Design 2 2 3 INT 110Introduction to Electronics 15 25 - 60 100 3
Hu 230 Communication Skills 1 0 1 No Prerequisite 15 25 - 60 100 3
Ma 110 Linear Algebra 2 2 3 No Prerequisite 15 25 - 60 100 3
Hu 111 Composition + Technical Writing 3 - 3 15 25 - 60 100 3
Hu 194 Human Rights 2 0 0 No Prerequisite 15 25 - 60 100 2
Total 13 8 17
4. July 5, 2025 www.su.edu.eg 4
Important Course Information
Group Day Hours Locations
A(1) Saturday 8-10 B2213
A(2) sunday 8-10 B2213
5. July 5, 2025 www.su.edu.eg 5
Course Policy
Grading:
*10% Quizzes & Coursework (CW)
*5% assignments & Oral/Practical
*25% on Midterm Exam (T.E).
*60% on the Final Exam (F.E).
*100% Total Mark
*TALKING and SLEEPING are strongly forbidden during class.
*Late assignments
40%
6. 24
Time Table
July 5, 2025 www.su.edu.eg 6
Lecture Topic
1 Introduction to Systems
2 Types and Classification of Systems
3 System Thinking Basics
4 System Thinking in Problem Solving
5 System Behavior Over Time
6 Controlling System Output
7 Introduction to Modeling
8 Modeling System Behavior
9 Evaluation and Validation of Models
10 Introduction to Informatics
11 Types and Applications of Informatics
12 Tools and Trends in Informatics
7. Outline
7
• What is a System?
• What is system thinking?
• Some main principles of system thinking
8. What is a System?
“A system is more than the sum of its parts” (Ackoff 1973)
“A set of elements or parts that is
organized and interconnected in a
pattern or structure that produces a
characteristic set of behaviors, often
classified as its function or purpose.”
(Donella Meadows, 2008)
“A system is a complex whole (structure) the functioning of which depends
on its parts and the interactions between those parts” (Jackson, 2003)
8
9. Concept of System
• Systems consists of three things:
1.Elements
2.Interconnections
3.Function (non-human system) or Purpose (human system)
• Examples of systems
- Sports team
- City
- National Economy
- Forest
- School
- Factory
- IT system
- Solar system
9
10. System vs. Collection
• A system isn’t just any collection of things: “A collection is also
composed of a number of parts but they are just dumped together and
are not interconnected”, (Sherwood 2002)
• How to know whether you are looking at a system or
just a bunch of stuff :
A)Can you identify parts? . . . and
B)Do the parts affect each other? . . . and
C)Do the parts together produce an effect that is different
from the effect of each part on its own? . . .
D)Does the effect, the behavior over time, persist in a
variety of circumstances?
5
“The behaviour of a system cannot be known just by knowing
the elements of the system” (Meadows 2008)
11. Traditional reductionism analysis vs. system thinking
• Reductionism: a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts
• If you want to understand (and subsequently, optimize) the system,
just decompose it to elements, analyse (and optimize) those elements
and parts
11
12. Traditional reductionism analysis vs. system thinking
• Reductionism: a complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts
• If you want to understand (and subsequently, optimize) the
system, just decompose it to elements, analyse (and optimize)
those elements and parts
12
13. Traditional reductionism analysis vs. system thinking
13
• Traditional analysis focuses on the individual pieces of
what is being studied.
• Systems thinking focuses on how the things being studied
interact with the other parts of the system.
• Instead of isolating smaller and smaller parts of the system
being studied, systems thinking works by expanding its view
to consider larger and larger numbers of interactions as an
issue is being studied.
14. What is Systems Thinking?
14
• “Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for
seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of
change rather than static snapshots. It is a set of general principles-
distilled over the course of the twentieth century, spanning fields as
diverse as the physical and social sciences, engineering, and
management...” (Senge, 2006)
15. Reductionism analysis leads to sub- optimization
• Looking at parts or elements (and optimizing them) separately, may
lead to (and sometimes hide the) conflicts and sub-optimization
• For example, in a company, when the marketing department pushes the
company to produce a greater variety and number of products, the
operation department may prefer low inventory of products >> the higher
cost of production can be to the detriment of the company as a whole.
• Ackoff: systems may be destroyed by separately improving the
performance of one or more of their parts
• The aim of systems thinking is to understand the functioning
of the system as a whole: holistic thinking
15
16. Linear problem solving vs. non- linear problem solving
• Problem: insect A is damaging crops
• Linear problem solving: spray pesticides to kill the insects
Pesticide application Insect A is declined Crops flourish again
16
17. Linear problem solving vs. non- linear problem solving
• Problem: insect A is damaging crops
• Linear problem solving: spray pesticides to kill the insects
Pesticide application Insect A is declined Crops damaged even more
Population of
Insect B is growing
17
19. Lacking a Systems Perspective… the solution to one problem can
easily lead to a new and bigger problem later on or somewhere else
in the system
“unintended consequences”
20. System perspective: events, patterns, structure,
and mental models
Iceberg of Systems Thinking
20
Source: https://blog.methodkit.com/the-iceberg-of-how-
21. Events vs. patterns/ system structure/ mental
models
• Systems fool us by presenting
themselves as a single event.
15
Pandemonium ruled on the trading floor of the New York
Stock Exchange on October 29, 1929. Photo: Hulton
Archive/Getty Image
The stock market crashed in
1929, making headlines.
Black Tuesday was the fourth and last day of
the stock market crash of 1929. It took place on
October 29, 1929. Investors traded a record
16.4 million shares. They
The moment the opening bell rang, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8 points to
252.6. Panicked sellers were shouting "Sell!
Sell!" so loudly that no one heard the bell ring.
In a half hour, they sold three million shares
and lost $2 million.
lost $14 billion on the New York Stock
Exchange, worth $199 billion in 2017
dollars.
The prominent banks of the day tried to stop the crash.
Morgan Bank, Chase National Bank and National City
Bank of New York bought shares of stocks trying to
restore confidence in the stock market.
Instead, the intervention signaled the
exact opposite. Investors saw it as a sign that the
situation is not normal. When the market closed at 3
p.m., it had lost 11 percent of its value, closing at 230.7.
(Source: "The Crash of 1929," Time Magazine, October
29, 2008.)
22. Events vs. patterns/ system structure/ mental models
16
Events
Patterns
System structure
Systems fool us by presenting themselves as a single event.
Mental models
23. Events vs. patterns/ system structure/ mental models
• Long-term behavior provides clues to the underlying system structure.
Do not look just at the events; look at the patterns.
• System structures are created by the choices people make consciously
or unconsciously over time, and these choices are made based on their
mental models or paradigms.
17
24. Summary
18
• Systems are made up of interrelated parts that produce a set of
behaviours (system’s function or purpose)
• Unlike reductionism approach, Systems Thinking looks at the
system as a whole and aim at understanding a system by looking
at the linkages and interactions between the components that
comprise the entirety of a system.
• System thinking help us:
• View the system as a whole, not as a series of parts
• Realize that most problems are not isolated. . . they are interrelated >>
think about unintended consequence
• Do not look into events but the patterns and system structures as well
as mental models
25. References and reading materials for system thinking
19
• Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in systems: A primer. chelsea
green publishing.
• Senge, Peter M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice
of the learning organization. Broadway Business.
• Jackson, M. C. (2003). Systems thinking: Creative holism for
managers (p. 378). Chichester: Wiley.
• Ackoff, R. L. (1973). Science in the systems age: beyond IE, OR,
and MS. Operations research, 21(3), 661-671.
26. “The significant
problems we face
today cannot be
solved at the same
level of thinking at
which they were
created.”
Albert Einstein
20
