10 Best Systems Thinking Courses and Certifications Online

Systems Thinking is a methodology that focuses on understanding the complex relationships and patterns within a system, and how they affect the overall outcome. It has become an essential tool for professionals across various industries, as it offers a holistic approach to problem-solving and decision-making. With the increasing demand for remote learning options, there has been a surge in online courses offering Systems Thinking training. In this article, we will explore some of the best Systems Thinking courses available online, highlighting their key features and benefits.

Here’s a look at the Best Systems Thinking Courses and Certifications Online and what they have to offer for you!

10 Best Systems Thinking Courses and Certifications Online

1. Systems Thinking: Enterprise Wide Change Fundamentals by Mike L (Udemy) (Our Best Pick)

The Systems Thinking: Enterprise Wide Change Fundamentals Course is a comprehensive video course designed to provide students with practical knowledge of Systems Thinking and its application in the business world. The course is handcrafted to impart core fundamental knowledge on Systems Thinking, equipping students with the ability to effectively deploy enterprise-wide changes in a strategic manner.

The course is targeted towards Management Professionals who wish to utilize Systems Thinking methodology as well as Business Owners who want to implement enterprise-wide changes effectively. By acquiring knowledge of Systems Thinking, professionals can gain an edge over their competitors and improve their career prospects in change management.

The course covers four main sections: Introduction, Foundation, Business Application, and Conclusion. Students will learn the fundamental concepts of Systems Thinking and how to apply them in the business world. The course offers a solid understanding of how corporations work, allowing students to conduct strategic enterprise-wide changes.

In conclusion, the Systems Thinking: Enterprise Wide Change Fundamentals Course is a comprehensive and practical course that equips students with the core knowledge required to conduct enterprise-wide changes effectively. This course is highly recommended for Management Professionals and Business Owners who are interested in acquiring knowledge of Systems Thinking to improve their career prospects in change management.

2. Systems Thinking Practitioner iGNLP™ Certified – Beyond NLP by Matthew Barnett, HeadgearLabs™ Personal & Professional Development (Udemy)

The Systems Thinking Practitioner iGNLP™ Certified – Beyond NLP course, with instructors Matthew Barnett, HeadgearLabs™ Personal & Professional Development, offers training in System Thinking and 4D coaching techniques. Matthew Barnett International Coach and Entrepreneur expands beyond Master Practitioner in NLP and CBT to the world of systems thinking, where everything exists as a connection or interaction with everything else. The course provides a holistic understanding of systems, leverage and feedback to achieve rapid and incredible results. Certification with the institute and membership with the iGPPA is a requirement for the course.

The course focuses on helping individuals view situations from a new perspective by understanding systems thinking. It covers the concept of feedback and feedback loops for consistent results. The science of failure and success is also addressed, helping individuals adapt their approach to life and win consistently. Limits and ceilings are discussed to help individuals push through them or adapt to them. Lastly, the course encourages thinking in circles to identify leverage cause and effect and discover the magic of emergence and unpredictable outcomes of an operating system.

The course covers the following sections: explaining systems thinking, defining systems and circular thinking, mental models, cause and effect and logic, learning and perspective, plotting systems, changing systems, and the history of systems thinking. The course is designed to be truly eye-opening and may change the way individuals look at life forever.

3. Systems Thinking Made Simple by Systems Innovation (Udemy)

The Systems Thinking Made Simple course provides a comprehensive introduction to systems thinking and theory. This course aims to equip students with the key concepts of systems thinking and provide them with the standardized language of systems theory to describe and model systems more effectively. It is designed to be accessible to a broad group of people, requiring no prior specific knowledge of mathematical modeling or science. The course is divided into four main areas, starting with an overview of systems thinking, followed by the development of a model of a system, adding the concept of the system’s environment, discussing emergence and hierarchy, and ending with the exploration of system dynamics and system sciences.

The first section of the course provides an overview of systems thinking and its distinction from traditional methods of analytical reasoning. The second section focuses on the development of a model of a system, starting with the basic model and adding concepts such as efficiency, functionality, energy, and entropy. In the third section, the model is expanded into a more powerful framework by adding the concept of the system’s environment, discussing systems boundaries, synergistic interactions between systems, and the emergence of hierarchical structure. The fourth section explores different models for capturing how systems change over time, including feedback loops, causal loop diagrams, and the phenomena of homeostasis.

The Systems Thinking Made Simple course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of systems thinking and theory. The course is structured in a way that allows students to develop their understanding gradually, starting with the basics and building upon them to create a more sophisticated understanding of systems. By the end of the course, students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to describe and model systems more effectively, using the standardized language of systems theory. The course is accessible to a broad group of people, requiring no prior specific knowledge of mathematical modeling or science. The course content is divided into four main areas: Systems Thinking, The Model Of A System, System’s Environment, Emergence & Hierarchy, and The Dynamics Of Systems, and Systems Sciences.

4. Systems Thinking: Essential Concepts by Systems Innovation (Udemy)

The course titled “Systems Thinking: Essential Concepts” introduces foundational concepts in systems theory. The course aims to provide an overview of the systems paradigm, which is common to all areas of systems thinking and theory. It emphasizes systems thinking as a way of seeing patterns of change, interrelationships, nonlinear causality, and dynamic patterns. The course explores the two basic processes of reasoning, synthesis and analysis, and how they relate to each other. The course is designed for anyone interested in systems thinking and theory and should be accessible to all.

In the first section of the course, students are introduced to the systems paradigm and how it helps gain awareness of processes of reasoning, their assumptions, strengths, and limitations. The section covers the development of formal models and theories.

The second section explores the two basic approaches of holism and reductionism, their counterparts synthesis and analysis, and how they interrelate. The section highlights the consequences of using each approach.

The third section covers the theme of nonlinear causality, a reoccurring theme across all of the systems science. It explores how linear and nonlinear causality give very different conceptions to our understanding of cause and effect.

In the next section, students learn about the relational paradigm, a way of looking at the world in terms of the connections between things, the networked patterns they form, and how these shape and define the overall system. The section emphasizes the importance of interdependence and integration within systems thinking.

The final section of the course is dedicated to process thinking. Students learn how systems theory sees the world in terms of constant change and macro-level processes that shape events through systems archetypes. The section talks about the key structural process of differentiation and integration that drives evolution and change within all forms of systems.

In conclusion, the course “Systems Thinking: Essential Concepts” introduces foundational concepts in systems theory through the systems paradigm. The course covers synthesis and analysis, causality, the relational paradigm, and process thinking.

5. Systems Innovation by Systems Innovation (Udemy)

The Systems Innovation course is designed to teach participants about the new systems-based approach to enabling transformative change within complex organizations. The course recognizes the challenges faced by societies worldwide, such as the environmental crisis, public institutions in crisis, and critical systems in various stages of stalling. These challenges require a new organizational structure and capabilities that are currently significantly absent.

The course content is divided into several sections, including an overview, systems thinking, systems analysis, and digital transformation. The course draws upon the work of prominent systems thinkers such as Donella Meadows and Russell Ackoff, along with insights from contemporary researchers and social entrepreneurs. Participants will learn how to approach complex problems using a more holistic, networked, emergent and evolutionary approach.

The course is relevant to anyone interested in transformative change within large complex organizations. Participants will gain an understanding of the underlying dynamics and root causes of complex issues and learn how to work with the innate evolutionary potential of complex adaptive systems to enable transformative change in their structure, behavior, and functional capabilities. By the end of the course, participants should be able to apply systems innovation in their own organizations to address complex challenges.

6. Learn Game Design Tools to create Fun and Meaningful Games by Gabriel Chauri, Game Design Thinking (Udemy)

Course Title: Learn Game Design Tools to create Fun and Meaningful Games

Course Instructors: Gabriel Chauri, Game Design Thinking

Course Short Description: This course covers the fundamentals of game design, utilizing a combination of game design, psychology, and systems thinking to effectively engage players.

Course Long Description: This comprehensive course provides a framework for understanding and applying game design principles. Upon completion, learners will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to create games that captivate and retain players.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN…

– The role of the game designer and other key roles in game development
– Strategies for continuous improvement as a game designer
– An understanding of game parts, mechanics, and dynamics, and the language of games
– How to utilize Design Thinking to better empathize, ideate, and prototype games
– The use of psychology to understand players and how they engage with games
– The purpose of a Game Design Document (GDD) and game pitch, and how to communicate game ideas to a team
– The application of math and probability in board and video games
– The creation of simulations using Google Spreadsheets to test games early
– The use of random, procedural generation, and systems thinking to create systemic gameplay
– Analyzing real and game systems to create meaningful games

HOW WILL YOU PRACTICE WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

Learners will create three board games and transform one video game into a board game. Each board game is designed to practice the specific chapter’s material and can be modified for use in a portfolio to showcase learned skills.

WHAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THIS COURSE…

7. Systems Change – An Introduction by Systems Innovation (Udemy)

The course “Systems Change – An Introduction” focuses on applying systems thinking to tackle complex challenges and change organizations. The course aims to address the persistent and intractable social and environmental problems that remain despite the best efforts of countless public, private and civic organizations. The course introduces the concepts of systems change – a new way of thinking that leverages the power of complexity to create new ways of innovating, leading, organizing, and responding to complex challenges. The course is based on complexity theory and systems thinking, which emphasizes holism, emergence, self-organization, nonlinearity, networks, adaptation, and resilience.

The course is divided into five sections – Introduction, Change Processes, Systems Mapping, Envision, and Strategy. The first section explores the nature of change within complex organizations and how it differs from traditional linear change management. Key models such as the two loops model and adaptive cycle are discussed to better understand the change process. The second section discusses systems mapping, which is the process of mapping out the key elements in the system and the relations between them that drive the system’s behavior and outcomes over time. The third section focuses on futuring and envisioning, which involves understanding the current trends of the system and envisioning where it would like to be in the future.

The fourth section covers strategy and discusses how making artful small interventions can work to connect or disconnect links within the system, to dampen down or amplify certain aspects. The final section explores the nature of building collaborative ecosystems for change. As no one organization can change a system, the aim of the system changer is to build ecosystems. This means making connections that facilitate the redirection of flows of resources and information into patterns of organization that are capable of responding successfully to the challenges at hand.

The course provides a holistic and networked approach to tackle complex challenges by leveraging the power of complexity to create new ways of innovating, leading, organizing, and responding.

8. Systems Thinking with Causal Loop Diagrams for Scrum Masters by Michael de la Maza, PhD, CEC (Udemy)

The Systems Thinking with Causal Loop Diagrams for Scrum Masters course, led by Michael de la Maza, PhD, CEC, aims to enhance participants’ comprehension of complex systems. The course is designed for individuals who struggle to describe complex systems to their teams and managers, and are seeking a simple technique to model complex systems that leads to powerful, actionable insights.

The course content is divided into three sections, starting with an introduction to the concept of causal loop diagrams. Participants will then be introduced to Loopy, a free tool for creating causal loop diagrams. It is emphasized that no programming knowledge is required to use the tool. The final section of the course provides examples of causal loop diagrams.

Upon completing this short course, participants will learn a valuable technique that they can apply to retrospectives and discussions with management. This will enable them to appear more knowledgeable and competent.

9. Systems Innovation Training by Systems Innovation (Udemy)

The Systems Innovation Training Course is a 17-week online crash course that aims to equip learners with the necessary ideas, methods, and tools to become a systems innovator. The course is built upon a series of 21 guides that cover the full suite of ideas and methods involved in systems innovation. Each guide presents one key aspect to doing systems innovation along with existing models and methods. The course consists of the set of guides combined with a 1-hour video lector for each guide where key themes, concepts, and learning points are highlighted.

The Systems Innovation Guides are a series of PDF guides designed to aid learners in understanding the process of systems innovation. The guides provide an accessible single point of access for the many different ideas, methods, and models involved in systems innovation. Each guide presents one key aspect to doing systems innovation along with existing models and methods. The guides are a summation of the answers that currently exist to the core set of challenges or questions that need to be answered in a systems change initiative.

Systems innovation is a very new area, and there is little support available for people looking to navigate the many new ideas involved in the process. The Systems Innovation Guides work to provide an accessible single point of access for the many different ideas, methods, and models involved in systems innovation.

The course is divided into four sections: Systems Thinking, Systems Inquiry, Systems Change, and Systems Building. The Systems Thinking section focuses on changing our way of thinking and looking at the world, recognizing and working with complexity. The Systems Inquiry section aims to provide learners with an in-depth analysis of the current state of the system. The Systems Change section focuses on identifying leverage points and influencing changes, while the Systems Building section aims to develop new forms of networked organizations that align diverse actors in new synergistic ways.

Upon completion of the full 17-week course, learners will receive a Systems Innovation Guides Certificate of Completion.

10. Systems Design – Key Principles by Systems Innovation (Udemy)

The course “Systems Design – Key Principles” introduces students to the fundamentals of systems design. The aim is to provide students with an understanding of the key concepts in systems thinking and complexity theory and how to apply these concepts to the design of complex systems of all kinds.

The course is organized into five sections. The first section covers holism, which involves understanding something in the context of the whole that it is part of. The second section covers open systems, which are fundamentally different from closed systems, as they lack boundary conditions and require designers to work with self-organization and emergence.

The third section covers the relational approach, which involves switching to a relational design paradigm to start to look at and design networks of connections. The fourth section covers decentralized networks, which are a fundamental characteristic of complex systems. The fifth section covers life cycle design, which is a departure from the traditional linear design paradigm and is necessary for designing regenerative, resilient, and sustainable systems.

This course is not meant to teach new design methods or tools, but rather to provide a foundational understanding of systems thinking and complexity theory to allow students to better work with complex systems. The course may be of interest to service designers, organizational designers, sustainable designers, urban designers, and other professions in which an understanding of systems design is relevant.