The ERAF Systems Diagram is a very efficient analysis tool to quickly get a holistic view of a system that needs to be changed. Entities, relationships, attributes, and directions of action are systematically examined and visually represented.
This tool can be used to analyze quite complex systems. For example, if you want to innovate and understand systems such as a supermarket, a library, a sales floor, or a production process, you are properly equipped with this method.
Let’s look at the four areas that the ERAF Systems Diagram analyzes per system:
Entities:The entities are the relevant main components of a system (people, places, areas, things). In the case of a supermarket, for example, this would be customers, staff, shelves, checkout area, return of deposits, parking spaces, et cetera.
Relationships: This describes the way in which the individual entities are fundamentally connected to each other. Example: “The staff advises the customer”, “Customer runs to return the deposit” and so on. Here, one prefers to use verbs to describe the relationships among each other.
Attributes: These are primarily the properties of the entities. Here we are concerned with both the qualitative attributes, which include brands, names, perceptions, and emotions, and the quantitative attributes, such as quantity, age, size, cost, duration, or other dimensions.
Flows: These are the directions of actions or entities to each other. Effective directions can be temporary or represent a permanent process from input to output. Words like “from/to”, “in/out”, “before/after” or “first/last” are used to describe directions of action.
The ERAF Systems Diagram works on two levels. It synthesizes a system from all its components, and at the same time it analyzes a system to reveal existing or emerging problems, gaps, or mismatches.