In a previous post, the concept of the System of Profound Knowledge was introduced. The first part of the System of Profound Knowledge (SPK) is an "Appreciation of a System". Appreciating a system is an understanding of the overall processes involving suppliers, producers, and customers (or recipients/consumers) of goods and services. Deming's simplistic but insightful model of a system is shown below.

In The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education, Dr. Deming formally defines a system as "a network of interdependent components that work together to try to accomplish the aim of the system. A system must have an aim. Without an aim, there is no system. The aim of the system must be clear to everyone in the system. The aim must include plans for the future. The aim is a value judgment." Examining the two key concepts ("interdependent components that work together" and "the aim") is it evident that all the different components must work cohesively with one another to accomplish a common goal (the aim).

The first of Deming's 14 Points for Management – "Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive, stay in business, and to provide jobs" - supports his definition of a system and the concept that a system must have an aim. The most important part of the system is the "feedback" into the system based on the customers' feedback because this is how the aim is determined. This allows the suppliers and the process performers to continually optimize the inputs and outputs based on customer's needs and desires.

Systems may have multiple "aims". Rarely will a system only have one aim. As an example, an electric utility company may have a desire to deliver power to its customers with no interruptions. However, this level of reliability requires a given level of cost to the customer. Because customers want reliable power as cheaply as possible, a balance must be established between the cost the customer is willing to pay and the level of reliability that can be delivered. The ultimate goal of any Process Improvement team is to identify as many of the aims as possible, then utilize various tools to optimize each of the aims simultaneously. Additional topics that need to be addressed with the Appreciation of a System are (1) the Boundaries of a System, (2) Defining the Aim and last but definitely not least is (3) Optimization of the System. Each of these topics will be addressed in future posts.