engineering

Structure–organization–process

Structure–organization–process is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Structure–organization–process rather than just read about it. In short: In The Tree of Knowledge (1987), Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela set out a way of describing the nature of living things: “… [An] organization denotes those relations that must exist among components of a system for it to be a member of a specific class. Structure denotes the components and relations that actually constitute a particular unity [or thing]…” While Maturana and Varela (1987) do not pursue a spec…

Key takeaways

Structure–organization–process belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Structure–organization–process to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Structure–organization–process from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In The Tree of Knowledge (1987), Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela set out a way of describing the nature of living things: “… [An] organization denotes those relations that must exist among components of a system for it to be a member of a specific class. Structure denotes the components and relations that actually constitute a particular unity [or thing]…” While Maturana and Varela (1987) do not pursue a specific discussion about process, they set out to understand the role of cognition as “… the universal nature of doing”. Maturana and Varela are seeking to understand what they term autopoiesis, how living things self–produce. Maturana and Varela (1987) claim: “… by realizing what characterizes living beings in their autopoietic organization, we can unify a whole lot of empirical data about their biochemistry and cellular functioning”. In this description we find that structure refers to the component parts that comprise something and organizations refers to the way these parts are assembled (organized). In this way all real things can be described as having an organized structure. The term system can also be used for an organized structure. This idea forms the basis of Maturana and Varela’s idea of autopoiesis (self-production).

Capra In The Web of Life, Fritjof Capra (1996) synthesized the systems theory literature and, in particular, Maturana and Varela’s contribution, by setting out three criteria for a living system — the pattern of organization, the structure and the life process:

Pattern of organization is the configuration of relationships that determines the systems essential characteristics (Autopoiesis as defined by Maturana and Varela, 1987). Structure is the physical embodiment of the system’s pattern of organization (Dissipative structures as defined by Prigogine and Stengers, 1987). Life process is the activity involved in the continual embodiment of the system’s pattern of organization. (Cognition as defined by Gregory Bateson, 1979). While Capra concentrates his discussion on living things, the idea behind the concept of structure–organization–process is one in which a process [self] organizes [its own] structure (autopoieses as defined by Maturana and Varela, 1987). As we can see, the definitions for these three elements are a little confusing. This is why the idea of structure–organization–process (SOP) has been applied more generally by Linda Glassop (2007).

Levels At the level of a real thing, SOP describes:

Structure refers to the attributes distinguishing something (trait, value, shape and efficacy). Organization refers to parts that comprise something: the properties (evident by valued traits), and their relationship (evident by their shape and efficacy). Process refers to the constitution of parts (the bundle of related properties) that produces a whole thing. In the ontological literature, SOP describes:

Structure refers closed systems (or the attributes of the universe that are independent). Organization refers to open systems (or the parts of the universe that depend on closed systems). Process refers to social systems (or the wholes that are inter–dependent on closed and open systems that make up eco–systems, e.g., the universe). In the metaphysics literature, SOP describes:

Structure refers to individual things. Organization refers to categories of things (clusters of individuals, where a part is a category). Process refers to universal things (all things, e.g., parts as the set).

SOP model The SOP model described by Glassop (2007) opens up a way of looking at anything by considering:

what the thing is composed of (the structures that distinguish it), how the thing is composed (the organization of the parts), and that a whole thing is an organized structure (the process of comprising the parts). What we see in this description is that real things are multi–faceted and that each level needs to be considered separate and together. Glassop has utilized this framework to provide a theoretical description for the Periodic Table of Elements and the key features of DNA.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Structure–organization–process

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Structure–organization–process claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Structure–organization–process before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Structure–organization–process ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Structure–organization–process

In research: Structure–organization–process appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Structure–organization–process in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Structure–organization–process is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Systems theory, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Structure–organization–process outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Structure–organization–process in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Structure–organization–process means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Structure–organization–process out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Structure–organization–process in simple terms?

Why does Structure–organization–process matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Structure–organization–process?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Structure–organization–process.