System or situation, process or entity

A "situation" is where "something is at issue" in a system(s) [?] (Ison, 2010, p. 34).

We can "choose to see a situation as a system [systemically]" (Ison, 2010, p. 37).

We also choose where we draw borders, what types of systems we see, and criteria for success (Ref. Ison/Morris in Systems and Systemic thinking). It is a trap to assume agreement about 'the system' (Ison, 2010, p. 45).

See 'system' "as a particular way of thinking about a complex set of interactions in particular situations" (Ison, 2010, p. 45).

Similarly, don't confuse a system as entity, and a system as process (Ison, 2010, p. 45); "the process of formulating systems of interest as a form of practice (i.e. inquiry)" (Ison, 2010, p. 52). Systems practice is "epistemological" more than "ontological" (OU, 2010, p. 70).

Ison (2010, p. 47) recommends;

1. Start with the situation not the system.
2. We choose how to characterise situations as different "types of system".
3. Distinguishing a system in a situation is a particular way of knowing the situation.
4. Beware "reifying" this choice.