System levels and analysis

System levels

When doing OD&D work, you will want to think about what level of the organisation system you are working with and how they interact with each other.

total system, organisation, function, team levels.

Macro-level

In doing any strategy, business model, design work you’ll want to consider both the internal and external factors that are impacting the organisation now or potentially will in the future.

You might have heard of PESTLE, STEEPLE, PEST etc. The letters mainly mean the same things. Sticking with PESTLE, they are:

  • Political
  • Economic
  • Socio-cultural (societal)
  • Technological
  • Legal
  • Ethical

This list isn’t exhaustive. In retail and service organisations then consumer or citizen demographics might be important – so you might want to add a D. Organisations with niche capability requirements might find that trcking education might want to add another E. Be inspired and not constrained by the list.

How to use it

  • Use it to conduct research and gather data. Check out resources such as PwC Megatrends
  • Workshop it with your team – use flip charts or online collaboration tools such as Miro
  • Scenario and contingency plan with it – in an increasingly complex world it is hard to predict the future…how many organisations planned different scenarios for the UK’s EU Exit ahead of the referendum and during implementation
  • Use the insights you find from paying attention to it to inform your strategy and operating model.

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