Boundaries

Boundaries are a critical part of systems thinking, because there is no one 'right' boundary. They are entirely subjective! Often we need to be more aware of the biases and assumptions that are tied to different system boundary definitions.

The system boundary that we define impacts both the way we are able to perceive the problem, as well as opportunities and resources that may support improvement in the problem.

We can understand Boundaries by identifying what has been used to determine where the edge of the system is i.e. what line or ‘rule’ is drawn to determine what is in, and what is out?