As a society, we are dealing with increasingly complex problems and working in environments where there are many competing agendas. To uncover the complex nature of these problems, and identify the individuals, groups and organisations involved in the problem, we use systems mapping.
Systems thinking is the 'art and science of making reliable inferences about (system) behaviour by developing an increasingly deep understanding of underlying structure' (Richmond, 1994). Though it may 'simply' involve analysing a situation or problem of interest, it can be challenging.
This is because, by understanding the individuals that make up the whole (system), it can reveal where behaviour change will have the biggest impact... ideally for the least effort.
Experience tells us that many organisations need help defining the problem to begin with, so we normally recommend that organisations bring us in early to help unpack the problem.