Definition
The purpose of a system is what it does (POSIWID) is a heuristic in systems thinking coined by the British management consultant Stafford Beer, who stated that there is "no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do". It is widely used by systems theorists, and is generally invoked to counter the notion that the purpose of a system can be read from the intentions of those who design, operate or promote it. When a system's side effects or unintended consequences reveal that its behaviour is poorly understood, then the POSIWID perspective can balance political understandings of system behaviour with a more straightforwardly descriptive view.
Related concepts
Complex systemsCyberneticianCyberneticsDescriptive researchDictumDuck testEmergenceForm follows functionFunctionalism–intentionalism debateHeuristicHostile architectureJan-Hendrik S. HofmeyrMachine learningManagementMoral judgementNoble liePrefigurative politicsSide effectSmoking carriageStafford BeerSystemanticsSystems designSystems theorySystems thinkingTeleologyUnintended consequencesUniversity of ValladolidWiktionary
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