A goal hierarchy diagram

While writing my final thesis proposal this week and trying to figure out what the heck I’m actually doing, I found it helpful to draw a diagram situating my intervention in a broader context…

For those of you unfamiliar with the work of Paul Pangaro and Hugh Dubberly, this is basically a “stack” of simplified cybernetic diagrams. Each unit or layer shown is a “cybernetic system” – a feedback loop that has a stated goal, an actuator (that carries out an action to achieve that goal), a sensor (that measures the impact of that action), and a comparator (that compares the sensor’s input to the goal and determines what to do next). In my diagram, each layer can be considered a “sub-goal” of the one above it — it represents a set of requirements that must be achieved in order for the goal above it to be possible. These “sub-goals” are called methods in official Dubberly-Pangaro-speak: they describe how the goal above will be accomplished, e.g. the “method” via which it will be accomplished.

To read the diagram, start at the bottom and work your way up. Step 1 is where my thesis is situated: getting people to cook. This diagram then explains how this simple intervention could potentially lead to a positive change in the US food system…