https://systophia.ir/en Last 10 notes on Systophia Quartz -- quartz.jzhao.xyz https://systophia.ir/en/lipstick-on-a-pig/timeless-way-of-building-alexander/ https://systophia.ir/en/lipstick-on-a-pig/timeless-way-of-building-alexander/ Notes on the concepts in Christopher Alexander's *The Timeless Way of Building*: the quality without a name, patterns and pattern languages, and a gradual, living way of designing ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:28:54 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/lipstick-on-a-pig/no-spin-era-clarke/ https://systophia.ir/en/lipstick-on-a-pig/no-spin-era-clarke/ Notes on the principles in Torie Clarke's 2006 book on strategic communication in an age of transparency: tell the truth early, don't create a pig in the first place, and judge… ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:28:54 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/lipstick-on-a-pig/financial-bailouts-deane-johns/ https://systophia.ir/en/lipstick-on-a-pig/financial-bailouts-deane-johns/ Notes on the concepts in Simon Deane-Johns's 2012 book on bank bail-outs, the distribution of risk and loss, and the case for public representation and organising. ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 19:28:54 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/analysis/dikw https://systophia.ir/en/analysis/dikw Where the DIKW pyramid (data, information, knowledge, wisdom) came from, which question each level answers, the critiques of it, and why it matters to a systems analyst. ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/analysis/theory-first-or-data-first https://systophia.ir/en/analysis/theory-first-or-data-first Two traditions in data analysis: theory first and then data (hypothetico-deductive, Popper), or data first and then theory (grounded theory, Anderson); and what a systems analyst ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/design/automating-a-bad-smell https://systophia.ir/en/design/automating-a-bad-smell Technology is an enabler, not a miracle. Using the two-toilets story from Jānestān–Kābolestān, why automation on a broken process only repeats the fault faster. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/analysing-and-classifying-requirements https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/analysing-and-classifying-requirements How to give raw requirement data structure and classify it, resolve conflicts, prioritise (MoSCoW) and document it. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/assumption-vs-hypothesis https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/assumption-vs-hypothesis An assumption is taken as true without checking, a hypothesis is a testable claim; why an analyst must separate the two and what to do with each. Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/common-mistakes-new-analysts https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/common-mistakes-new-analysts Six common errors (not asking the right questions, undocumented assumptions, relying on explicit wishes, ignoring indirect stakeholders, vague documentation, ignoring change) ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/critique-of-modernity https://systophia.ir/en/foundations/critique-of-modernity Spengler and the decline of the West, the question 'is man for civilisation, or civilisation for man?', and why a systems analyst should also think about the meaning and purpose of ... Tue, 13 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT