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Archive content is great but your new stuff is even better. I'm also enjoying the systems presentations I'm seeing online by you and Jessica.

I've acquired two new classic Kent quotes: "Agile/Certification Industrial Complex" and "I can't be a better software engineer than I am a person."

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May 26, 2023·edited Aug 8, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

I loved this, classic Kent Beck to my sense in that it offers an insight into the internal psychology of the author (and thus potentially the reader) rather than only appealing to the intellect.

I would have loved a couple more concrete examples of situations in which systems thinking helped tho.

Thanks Kent for all your work!

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author

Thank you for supporting my writing. Makes it all possible.

I’m trying to avoid writing too much about systems until I get these design books out of my system.

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May 25, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

Thank you for your work. Hope you will write more about software design in the context of systems thinking.

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Nice write up! I think you might enjoy https://www.amazon.com/Category-Theory-Sciences-MIT-Press/dp/0262028131

Category Theory provides a formal backbone for study of structures and in particular their relations. Spivak gives a nice introduction with some concrete useful examples. It helps when ones objective is to "Make sense of systems" :)

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May 29, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

When I really want to make some changes, but I have limited influence. I will try to go for it anyway and spend considerable energy exercising my influence, and then I will have trouble letting go. It has been a journey, and usually, I learn a lot in the process. Your boundaries learning resonated with me a lot.

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May 29, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

randomness plus confusion... Remindes me of a Einstein quote: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

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May 28, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

I recently listened to/read “Thinking in Systems” by Donella Meadows. I found it a very good introduction to this topic. Just passing along to others who might be interested.

Kent, I also liked the archival posts. My two cents.

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For what it's worth, as a paid subscriber, I'm enjoying the archival content and would be happy to see more: I think it's important for us to be reminded of past opinions and thinking on a variety of topics, to reflect on how applicable (or not) it may still be today, after so much change.

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May 26, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

One class of these complex systems that I've encountered a few times is organizations of people (usually employers or clients, in my case). They often baffle even those at the "top" of the organization, seeming to defy logic. I think the techniques you talk about here could help leaders and would-be leaders - those in the rank and file who just want some sanity and hope/pray for some kind of change.

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May 25, 2023Liked by Kent Beck

Thank you for sharing your journey on this. You identify an excellent way to positively effect complex systems. I've also found that looking for the boundaries between pace layers in analysis serves as a signal for differentiating how to effect change in a system with many layers.

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Thanks Kent for writing this one. During the workshop you used “Take appropriate responsibility” for the second goal which is now “Boundaries”. It’s much more clear now 🙂

In a practical way, how do you test those boundaries?

Maybe not that linear but can we assume this kind of process:

Model > Identify experiment to influence > Learn from experiment > Adjust model (and it’s boundaries) if needed

And repeat until you have the attended impact on the system?

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