„The reason that structural explanations are so important is that only they address the underlying causes of behavior at a level at which patterns of behavior can be changed. Structure produces behavior, and changing underlying structures can produce different patterns of behavior. In this sense, structural explanations are inherently generative. Moreover, since structure in human systems includes…“ 1/

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„All too often, teams in business tend to spend their time fighting for turf, avoiding anything that will make them look bad personally, and pretending that everyone is behind the team's collective strategy-maintaining the appearance of a cohesive team. To keep up the image, they seek to squelch disagreement; people with serious reservations avoid stating them publicly, and joint decisions are watered-down compromises reflecting what everyone…“ 1/

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„But what happens when we can no longer observe the consequences of our actions? What happens if the primary consequences of our actions are in the distant future or in a distant part of the larger system within which we operate? We each have a "learning horizon," a breadth of vision in time and space within which we assess our eflectiveness. When our actions have consequences beyond our learning horizon, it becomes impossible to learn from direct…“ 1/

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„If you wanted to design a cave person for survival, ability to contemplate the cosmos would not be a high-ranking design criterion. What is important is the ability to see the saber-toothed tiger over your left shoulder and react quickly. The irony is that, today, the primary threats to our survival, both of our organizations and of our societies, come not from sudden events but from slow, gradual processes: the arms race, environmental…“ 1/

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„… continue to evolve too. But there is great value in planting a stake in the ground and saying, "This is what constitutes the software engineering body of knowledge at this time."

As Francis Bacon pointed out when he laid the foundation for modern science almost 400 years ago, errors are a better basis for progress than confusion is. Bacon knew that when his systematic approach was used, many of the initial conclusions it produced—…“ 4/

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„Arthur C. Clarke said that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Software technology is sufficiently advanced, and the general public is mystified by it. The public doesn't understand the safety risks or the financial risks posed by software products. As high priests of powerful magic, software developers need to use the technology wisely. Engineering may be regarded as boring in some quarters but, boring…“ 1/

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„Many programmers go through a gradual occupational awakening. When I wrote my first small programs, I thought,

"Once I get the program to compile and quit getting all these syntax errors, I'll have computer programming figured out."

After I stopped having problems with syntax errors, sometimes my programs still didn't work, and the remaining problems seemed even harder to figure out than…“ 1/

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