Systems thinking and a conceptual model of a solution

Name:

Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which statement best describes systems thinking?

A Focusing on one part of a solution and ignoring the rest

B Seeing a solution as connected parts that work together

2. A conceptual model of a solution is usually created...

A Before building, to show the parts and how they relate

B After the solution is finished, to replace testing

3. A student draws a diagram of a school canteen app showing the user, the menu database, the payment service and the arrows between them. What is this?

A A finished program ready to run

B A conceptual model showing parts and relationships

4. Which question reflects a whole-system view of a solution?

A How will a change to the database affect the interface and the reports?

B How can I make this one button a nicer colour?

5. In a conceptual model, what do the relationships between parts show?

A How the parts connect, depend on or pass data to each other

B The exact lines of code inside each part

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1systems thinking		ASeeing a solution as connected parts that work together, not as separate pieces in isolation
2conceptual model		BA simplified diagram showing the parts of a solution and how they relate, made before building begins
3A system is made of parts that are linked, so one part's output can become another part's input		CCustomer -> Order form -> Database -> Report
4Model before building: sketch the parts and their links first, so problems are found before coding starts		DThe conceptual model is drawn after building, but it should be made before building to plan the parts and relationships
5Building the login screen, the database and the report page separately, never checking how they connect		EDraw model -> Check links -> Build solution
6Start coding the app straight away, then draw a conceptual model once it is finished		FTreating the parts as separate pieces instead of one connected system, so the relationships between them are ignored

Definitions

systems thinking

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

SYSTEM Canteen ____ Till PART Menu

SYSTEM Canteen PART Till LINK Till __ Menu

MODEL Canteen CHECK model with client _____ Canteen

whole = parts + _____________

IF Till FAILS THEN CHECK whole ______

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A system = "Canteen"

B parts = ["Menu", "Till"

C print(system, len(parts))

Question 2

A links = ()

B links.append(("Till","Menu"))

C links.append(("Cook","Till"))

D print(len(links), "links")

Question 3

A def show_system(parts)

B for p in parts:

C print("Part:", p)

D show_system(["UI", "Data"])

Question 4

A parts = ["Input", "Process"]

B parts.append("Output")

C whole = len(parts)

D print("Parts:", len(whole))

Question 5

A parts = {"UI": 1, "DB": 1}

B parts["DB"] == 0

C working = all(parts.values())

D print("Works:", working)

Answer Key

Systems thinking and a conceptual model of a solution

Section A: Quick Questions

B — Seeing a solution as connected parts that work together

A — Before building, to show the parts and how they relate

B — A conceptual model showing parts and relationships

A — How will a change to the database affect the interface and the reports?

A — How the parts connect, depend on or pass data to each other

Section B: Match the Pairs

systems thinking → Seeing a solution as connected parts that work together, not as separate pieces in isolation

conceptual model → A simplified diagram showing the parts of a solution and how they relate, made before building begins

A system is made of parts that are linked, so one part's output can become another part's input → Customer -> Order form -> Database -> Report

Model before building: sketch the parts and their links first, so problems are found before coding starts → Draw model -> Check links -> Build solution

Building the login screen, the database and the report page separately, never checking how they connect → Treating the parts as separate pieces instead of one connected system, so the relationships between them are ignored

Start coding the app straight away, then draw a conceptual model once it is finished → The conceptual model is drawn after building, but it should be made before building to plan the parts and relationships

Section C: Definitions

systems thinking — Seeing a solution as connected parts working together, and using a conceptual model to show those parts and their relationships before building anything.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

SYSTEM Canteen
  PART Till
  PART Menu

SYSTEM Canteen
  PART Till
  LINK Till -> Menu

MODEL Canteen
CHECK model with client
BUILD Canteen

whole = parts + relationships

IF Till FAILS THEN
  CHECK whole system

Section E: Spot the Error

B — The list is missing its closing bracket. The parts of the system should be stored as parts = ["Menu", "Till"].

A — A tuple cannot be changed, so .append() fails. The relationships between parts need a list: links = [].

A — A function definition must end with a colon. It should be def show_system(parts):.

D — whole already holds the number of parts, which is an integer. len() only works on collections, so use print("Parts:", whole).

B — == compares values and does not store anything, so the failed part is never recorded. The whole system would still look like it works. Use = to assign 0.