Information Management Cybernetics

Viable Systems Modelling

The use of Viable Systems Modelling (VSM) recognises that management systems are built up of self managing sub-systems that interact with the wider organisational systems that surround them. The key success factor for any management sub-system is that it should be viable in its own right and able to self-manage, given appropriate support services and resources.

The value of the VSM approach is that it specifically addresses the issues of communications and control capacity in the management system. It seeks to balance the high and low complexity components of the system through structures that ensure requisite variety. It is for this reason that it falls within the scope of the trans-disciplinary approach of cybernetics.

What this means in practice is that the low capacity and complexity of management has to be amplified to meet the control and communications requirements of the system being managed. Equally, the high complexity of the information being received by managers about the system operations needs to be attenuated for them to be able to absorb that information and respond in an effective way.

The benefit of modelling the management system in this way is that in easily identifies communications and control problems that impact on management effectiveness. A typical example would be communications and control bottlenecks that prevent organisational goals being met in a timely and cost-effective way.

The VSM model is recursive, in that each sub-system has the same general management structure with the communications and control capacity to successfully perform its management role. This is represented diagrammatically in the student information management systems shown in the examples below with the Viable System on the right hand side and the management Environment with which it interacts on the left.

Viable Systems Models:

The Student Application, Enrolment and Registration Processes

The structure of the VSM models that follow are derived from the series of interviews conducted with the stakeholders involved with the management activities concerned. The purpose of each model is to stimulate and inform a discussion about the management processes involved with a view to identifying opportunities for improvement.

The focus in the models is on communications and control capacity. The questions to be asked are:

Are the requisite communications and control channels in place?

Do the channels have the capacity to deliver their intended outcomes?

Does the system balance the differential complexities effectively?

The comments made following each management process representation shown below address these issues.

Comments:

Process: The application process is managed by the potential student and carried out with assistance (when needed) from institutional advisers and UCAS guidelines;

Management: The process represents a self-contained management activity controlled by the prospective student;

Requirements: An intuitive interface and process for non-technical users with clear feedback on successful completion and process outcomes/results;

Current System: The current system is provided by UCAS with information and application management by the institution. The student applies and receives a decision through the UCAS website;

Areas for Improvement: The present system is reported to work effectively and efficiently from the student point of view. Bottlenecks occur when examination results are published, particularly national A level results.

Comments:

Process: The application process is managed by the potential student and carried out either online or by submitting an application form by post;

Management: The process involves the manual transcription of all application data onto the institutional system by registry staff;

Requirements: The system accommodates both online and postal applications and caters primarily for part-time and overseas students;

Current System: Both online and postal applications are received in registry by either the UK admissions or overseas admissions sections and are manually uploaded to the institutional applications database;

Areas for Improvement: An online applications system that does not require manual transcription of information would be a significant improvement.

Comments:

Process: The enrolment process is managed by the potential student and carried out with assistance (when needed) from institutional advisers;

Management: The process represents a self-contained management activity controlled by the prospective student;

Requirements: An intuitive interface and process for non-technical users with clear feedback on successful completion and process outcomes/results;

Current System: The current online system for self-enrolment by students is reported to work effectively and efficiently;

Areas for Improvement: No specific system improvements identified. It is recommended that the system be used for all student enrolment modes including part-time and international students.

Comments:

Process: Student registration occurs when the enrolment process is completed and approved;

Management: Upon verification, a series of follow-on processes are triggered which lead to the student support services being set up;

Requirements: A complete and consistent semi-automated system that ensures the sharing of all core student data, the inclusion and verification of additional service data, and confirmation of successful completion to both management and students;

Current System: All the student registration systems stem from the completion of the enrolment process by the student/staff and the verification of that enrolment. The enrolment is either completed online by the student (mainly full-time students) or is carried out by staff (mainly part-time and overseas students);

Areas for Improvement: A fully online student based enrolment process that, once verified by the institution, leads to the sharing of core student data with all information sub-systems. This would range from the physical issuing of student identity cards to the creation of their Moodle learning accounts.

Conclusions:

The various components of the student information management system become populated following student enrolment and registration. It is at this stage that core data is distributed to each of the support systems and students are registered on the various information management sub-systems and identity cards are issued.

The VSM models of these processes are presented here as representations of current management practice and are designed to assist an analysis of the extent to which they fulfil their purpose. It is hoped that they will contribute to discussions about improved systems and practice as the institution progresses with its merger process.

The key point being made by these models is that each management sub-system needs to be independently viable in its own right to optimally contribute to the management system as a whole. A clear implication from an optimisation point of view is that each sub-system needs to be designed in a consistent way and that all sub-systems are viewed as both independently viable and as components of the overall management information system.

This is not the way things necessarily happen in practice. Often, local management sub-systems, though effective for local management needs, do not integrate well with the corporate system. This is typically because the local systems were not designed as a component of the larger system and, in the absence of corporate direction, were created by the local management team (sometimes just a single individual) to meet their information processing responsibilities.

The application, enrolment and registration systems considered in this report already integrate reasonably well. Other systems, such as student attainment reporting and attendance monitoring are less consistent across the institution. VSM representation of these systems can be expected to assist conversations about improvement.

Tony TooleDecember 2012