Catalogue of Systems Thinking Tools

Tool                       Description                                                           Possible Use                                            How                                                 Useful Resources               Evidence                                          
Causal Loop Diagram               CLD is an analytical tool to document, model, and visually map the different interactions among a system’s elements, variables or subsystems, and represent the nature and direction of their relationships.  1. Describe the system and its boundaries
2. Identify and understand systems problems
3. Support decision-making processes                                                 
Paper
vensim.com
www.youtube.com/watch
www.youtube.com/watch
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6310960/pdf/12961_2018_Article_394.pdf
CynefinCynefin offers five decision-making contexts or "domains"—simple, complicated, complex, chaotic, and disorder—that help managers to identify how they perceive situations and make sense of their own and other people's behaviour. 1. Describe the system and its boundaries
2. Identify and understand systems problems
www.mindtools.com/pages/article/cynefin-framework.htmpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22128193/
Decision Space
Used to design and evaluate the decentralization of health systems. It examines choice as a function of agency. 1. Describe the system and its boundaries
2. Identify and understand systems problems
3. Support decision-making processes
Excel

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29149317/

Effectiveness Decay
The concept describes the achievement of “effective coverage” of an intervention to the conditional probability of its successive events. System factors are considered (e.g beginning with if and where a patient accesses care; whether and how services are administered, received and adhered to; and the success rate of treatment in producing a positive health outcome).1. Identify and understand systems problems
2. Identify solutions to problems
3. Support decision-making processes
4. Monitor and evaluate system interventions
public.tableau.com/s/
powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/
www.youtube.com/watchwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32772891
Embedded Research
Embedded research is best understood as an approach, not a specific method nor a tool. It describes the type of research in which researchers are part of the health system they are aiming to study. 1. Identify and understand systems problems
2. Identify solutions to problems
3. Support decision-making processes
4. Monitor and evaluate system interventions
N/Awww.ahpsr.org/stories/the-bumpy-road-to-better-health/
Mind Mapping
Is a method by which you can take notes and visually organize information. Useful for brainstorming.1. Identify and understand systems problems
2. Identify solutions to problems
3. Support decision-making processes
Paper
www.xmind.net
www.youtube.com/watch
Outcome Mapping                  
Outcome mapping facilitates planning of complex interventions by clarifying who are the key stakeholders, what are their relationships and how their work should contribute to immediate outcomes. 1. Analyse stakeholders
2. Monitor and evaluate system interventions

Paper

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23526058
Process Analysis
Systematic approach to understand, analyse and optimize processes in a participatory and action-oriented manner. 1. Describe the system and its boundaries
2. Analyse stakeholders
3. Identify and understand systems problems
4. Identify solutions to problems
5. Support decision-making processes
www.bizagi.com
www.bonitasoft.com
www.youtube.com/watchwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32146901
Reflective Practice
Integration of guided critical thinking into routine activities. Can be used to reflect on planning activities or any other priority. 1. Identify and understand systems problems
2. Monitor and evaluate system interventions
Paperpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29177215
Social Network Analysis
Is the process of investigating social structures within the health system with the use of networks and graph theory. 1. Describe the system and its boundaries
2. Analyse stakeholders
NodeXL
UCINet
PowerBI
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21840934
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28637228/
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7121135/
Soft System Methodology (SSM)
SSM is an organized learning system that can be used for general problem solving and in the management of change. It  compiles several approaches and tools to understand the system. No software is needed. (e.g root cause analysis, CAWOT, etc)1. Describe the system and its boundaries
2. Analyse stakeholders
3. Identify and understand systems problems
4. Identify solutions to problems
5. Support decision-making processes
Paperwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31521156
www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1057/jors.2012.21
Stakeholder Mapping
Stakeholder mapping is the visual process of laying out all the stakeholders of a product, project, or idea on one map. The main benefit of a stakeholder map is to get a visual representation of all the people who can influence your project and how they are connected.1.  Analyse stakeholdersPaper
www.xmind.net
www.youtube.com/watch
System Dynamics Modelling
Systems dynamics is an approach to describe, model, simulate, and analyse  dynamically complex issues/systems at a relatively high system level. It allows to simulate feedback and accumulation effects on specific blocks of the system. 1. Identify and understand systems problems
2. Identify solutions to problems
3. Test and model potential solutions
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4056198/pdf/AJPH.2014.301884.pdf
Theory of Change
Theory of Change is essentially a comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context. 1. Identify and understand systems problems
2. Identify solutions to problems
3. Support decision-making processes
Paper
Several open software available
www.theoryofchange.orgpubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32760440/