The Future of Systems X? : If you want a better Systems X discipline or program, upgrade your Systems Thinking to version 4.0

Systems Thinking is it’s own scientific disciplinary field, but it is also a meta-discipline that acts as a prefix for other fields such as: systems science, systems engineering, systems neuroscience, systems design, systems biology, system dynamics, systems evaluation, systems education, systems leadership, systems mapping, and systems research, and many more that don’t follow the strict naming convention but which are effectively doing the same thing such as: developmental systems theory, family systems theory, human ecology, and the list goes on. Integrating systems thinking into a discipline, or a program responsible for anointing degrees in such discipline is more difficult. It requires consideration of both the depth and breadth of content. This impacts the disciplinary field , and also the programs designed to teach that content from a ST lens. As a result, many scholars are seeking a better understanding of what a systems thinking is, and what it means to embed ST into their academic discipline. This paper offers principles that underlie the fourth wave of systems thinking as a field; and also applies them to the design of education programs in any field that includes an emphasis on systems, systems thinking, or a systems lens. Delineating the case example of Systems Engineering yields a specific formula for allocating educational effort used to better design programs for a long term value to both the fields and its graduates.