An Introduction to General Systems Thinking
Gerald Weinberg
Consultant
For more than twenty-five years, An Introduction to General Systems Thinking has been hailed as an innovative introduction to systems theory, with applications in software development and testing, medicine, engineering, social sciences, architecture, and beyond.
Used in university courses and professional seminars all over the world, the text has proved its ability to open minds and sharpen thinking.
In this eBook we’ll look at Chapters 1, 2 & 5.
Chapter 1: The Problems
A major problem in software testing is the growth of complexity in the software being tested. General systems thinking is an approach to dealing with complex systems, and has proved helpful to thousands of testers. This chapter provides a foundation by examining the sources of complexity and where some other approaches fall short of dealing with it.
Chapter 2 – The Approach
This chapter outlines the general systems approach, preparing the reader for putting that approach to work in solving practical problems such as testing complex systems.
Chapter 5 – Breaking Down Observations
This chapter provides powerful tools for simplifying the observation (such as testing) of complex systems.
About Me!
Gerald (Jerry) has always been interested in helping smart people be happy and productive. To that end, he’s published more than 50 award-winning best-selling non-fiction books on human behavior, thinking, leadership, and all phases of information technology. He incorporates his knowledge of science, engineering, and human behavior into all his writing, including such classics as Becoming a Technical Leader, The Secrets of Consulting, General Systems Thinking, Weinberg on Writing, Perfect Software, Errors, Do You Want to be a (better) Manager, as well as the 9-volume Quality Software Series.
He writes mysteries, science fiction, and technothrillers about smart people: Freshman Murders, Where There’s a Will There’s a Murder, The Death Lottery, The Aremac Project, Aremac Power, Jigglers, Quantum String Quartet, Quantum String Sextet, Quantum String Band, The Hands of God, Earth’s Endless Effort, and Mistress of Molecules. In them, his brilliant protagonists solve problems and learn to be happy.
Jerry is a charter member in the Computing Hall of Fame, but the “award” he’s most proud of is the book, The Gift of Time(Fiona Charles, ed.) written by his students and fans for his 75th birthday. These stories show he’s been quite successful at helping smart people be happy.