Systems thinking and design methods are part of our promise to clients that we can help them turn complexity into progress. A Causal Loop Diagram ("CLD") is part of the toolkit. But why should you create one for your challenge? This example from a large global educational institution illustrates how a CLD can be a very powerful and practical tool to guide an organization through change and transformation.
You're solving a problem. But are you seeing the system?
That was the challenge facing a global education institution faced in redesigning the sprawling process by which schools are authorized to deliver its programs.
The work touched every corner of the organization—operations, pedagogy, finance, technology, customer support, and policy and nearly every stakeholder—schools, educators, students, regulators, and internal teams. It wasn’t a “redesign” in the narrow sense. It was an opportunity to evolve the entire system.
That’s why we brought in a systems thinking approach, with one essential tool at the centre: a system map. We began with a “spaghetti model”—mapping how information and influence flow among actors, tools, and teams. The visual tangle revealed where interdependence was hidden, where complexity piled up, and where change could unlock multiple outcomes at once.
As Jordan put it in Seeing the Whole Picture where he introduced three scales of focus to look at the system you're in: “When we work in complexity, we need to see not just the parts, but the patterns that connect them.”
As part of the Northstar prototype toward our future state, we introduced a causal loop diagram (CLD) to make visible the gap between today’s patterns and those we wanted to cultivate. It doesn't just inform the redesign - it functions as a lasting asset for future innovation, continuous improvement, and strategic evolution of the organization.
What is a Causal Loop Diagram?
A causal loop diagram is a visual representation of how different variables within a system influence one another. It shows not just what’s connected, but how - and with what effect.
Here are the building blocks:
- Variables (or nodes) represent conditions, elements, or factors that change over time.
- Relationships (arrows) show how one variable affects another.
- Polarity markers (+/-) indicate whether a change in one leads to an increase (+) or decrease (−) in the other.
- Feedback loops show reinforcing (R) or balancing (B) dynamics. Reinforcing loops amplify change. Balancing loops resist it.
- Delays illustrate when effects unfold over time, often obscuring cause-and-effect.
What makes a causal loop diagram so powerful is that it reflects causal system dynamics - the feedback, delay, and interdependence that make complex systems behave in unexpected ways. That’s why interventions based on linear thinking so often fail. You’re pulling one lever in a web of influence.
Causal Loop Diagrams in Solution Design
In the redesign of this authorization experience, the CLD offered a shared, strategic lens for understanding the system - not as it was hoped to be, but as it actually functioned.
We didn’t just make a map. We created a working model - one that can evolve over time and deepen as we learn. This model has many potential uses:
1. Strategic Planning
The CLD helps us predict how proposed changes might ripple through the system. For example, improving support tools for schools isn't just a usability win—it could increase school confidence, reduce onboarding delays, and improve internal resource allocation downstream. One change, many effects.
2. Decision-Making
The diagram helps us prioritize initiatives by revealing their system-wide impacts, surfacing true leverage points—moments where small shifts yield disproportionately large benefits. It helps us see where change might meet resistance from balancing feedback loops or delayed effects.
3. Research and Validation
The map can also guide qualitative research. Instead of generic discovery, we can ask focused questions to validate assumptions: What drives school confidence? How does internal team clarity affect turnaround times? We can design research to test specific causal links.
4. Organizational Learning
The map is a shared learning asset. Cross-functional teams could see how their work connected to others’, and where interdependencies lived. It offered a new kind of conversation - one grounded in curiosity, not blame. This sets the foundations for improved collaboration across the organization's many moving parts.
5. Future State Planning
We can use the causal loop diagram to back-cast from desired future states. What would need to be true for the system to deliver faster, more equitable experiences for schools? What interventions would need to be staged first? The map can help us scenario-plan, prototype, and pace the change and development roadmap.
6. Continuous Improvement
The diagram is now a reference point for future evolution. As data becomes available, the model can be refined, relationships quantified, and the real impacts of change assessed over time. It’s not a one-and-done deliverable. It’s a living tool.
Using these tools demands humility: admitting we don’t have all the answers. But it also invites curiosity, helping us learn how the system truly behaves.
The Value of Systems Thinking in Action
Systems thinkers see the world differently, and that difference can be quite powerful and practical. In a world that is increasingly complex and where past failures point to the dangers and risks of unintended consequences, the only question is why aren't these tools more widely adopted?
System mapping is not some abstract, academic exercise. Used well, it can be a very practical and useful tool to engage with complexity with a more nuanced understanding of the systems our work is embedded within. Creating better outcomes with limited resources is made possible when we better understand the levers of change and impact.
At The Moment, we are believers and evangelists. That's why we included increasingly systemic approaches into the our model of design maturity of organizations.
Don't just redesign. Map the system.
Mark Kuznicki
Mark (he/him) is the kind of person you want around when things feel messy. He has a knack for bringing clarity to complexity, helping teams, leaders, and organizations navigate change in a way that makes them more sustainable and ready for the future.