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#critical systems heuristics

October 2026 2 notes

notes updated 6 min read

OrgLens: 3. Teaching a tool to be careful, then giving it more than one lens

AI summary

Doug's OrgLens project aims to create a tool that can provide a useful organisational health check by analysing what people say about an organisation. The latest developments have focused on teaching the tool to be more careful and giving it multiple "lenses" to examine an organisation, including System Dynamics and Perspectives. The tests have shown promise, but also highlight the need for human judgement and the importance of verifying the tool's conclusions.

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ideas updated 15 min read

OrgLens: 1. Can an AI agent do systems thinking?

AI summary

Doug has been experimenting with AI tools, specifically Raven, to see if they can help with organisational diagnosis using systems thinking, particularly the Viable System Model (VSM). He found that the AI agent was better at modelling than expected, but still made similar mistakes to people, such as choosing the wrong level of recursion or swapping certain system components. Doug concludes that an agent can make a credible first pass at modelling an organisation, but honesty and transparency need to be designed into the process.

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September 2026 1 note

reflections updated 4 min read

#SysPrac26 – Day 1

AI summary

Doug attended the #SysPrac26 conference in Cranfield, where he was pleased to find a diverse and welcoming community of systems thinkers. The conference featured a range of sessions, including an opening panel discussion and workshops on De-Misting Critical Systems Heuristics and Multi-Methodology, which explored the use of multiple methodologies in systems thinking. Doug found the discussions and presentations to be intellectually stimulating and really tasty food was an added bonus.

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