Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Mission: Input-Output.

So one way to organize a system organically is to think about the contents of that system in terms of it's inputs and outputs. This is something I learned from permaculture. You take, say, a chicken, and then determine all the things it needs to continue (Food, water, air, shelter, dust, grit, other chickens), All the things it produces (Eggs, meat, feathers, manure, methane, co2, body heat), and all the behaviors it exhibits (Scratching at the ground, foraging, some flying, fighting). You then repeat this process for everything on the farm. Then you start finding out where there are outputs of one part of the farm that are met by another part.

Anywhere you see a need that some other part of your system doesn't provide, You have to provide it. That's more work for you. Anywhere you see an output that isn't put to good use, that's pollution. And anywhere you see a behavior that isn't somehow planned for, you have disruptions.

This is basic systems analysis, and this is what your challenge from me is. For at least one superstruct you are a member of, I want you to figure out what the inputs and outputs of that superstruct are. What does your struct need to do what it is supposed to? What products or service does it provide, and what are any other byproducts of the struct? Write it out in the "How this superstruct works" section. Then let me know. I guarentee I will rave any superstruct that does this. And it will make facilitation so much easier.

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