A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something.
A system must consist of three kinds of things: - elements - interconnections - a function or purpose.
A system is more than the sum of its parts. It may exhibit adaptive, dynamic, goal-seeking, self-preserving, and sometimes evolutionary behavior.
Systems thinkers see the world as a collection of stocks along with the mechanisms for regulating the levels in the stocks by manipulating flows. That means system thinkers see the world as a collection of “feedback processes.”
Meadows, Donella H.. Thinking in Systems (p. 11). Chelsea Green Publishing. Kindle Edition.