Working note · STD-NT-001
Synchronization and the evolution of systems: a working definition
Proposes a working definition of synchronization between the processes of SyncThinkDesign, consistent with its foundations, and relates it to the evolution of a system and to the appearance of unforeseen results. It suggests observable dimensions, ways of studying them in technical and human systems, and what would contradict the proposal.
Problem
The word synchronized is often used in descriptions of working methods without a precise definition. Sometimes it means simultaneous, sometimes coordinated, sometimes just fast. SyncThinkDesign puts it in its name and at the center of its proposal, so it needs a definition that respects what the proposal claims and that, at the same time, makes it possible to study it.
Working definition
We say that the processes of a system are synchronized when the information one of them produces can change the work of the others without waiting for a phase to close (F2). Synchronization is not binary: it comes in degrees, which can be described along three dimensions.
- Latency
- How long information from one process takes to change the work of another.
- Reach
- How many processes, and which parts of the system, that information reaches.
- Effective coupling
- What share of the information that flows ends up changing something.
The definition does not require simultaneity or zero latency, nor any particular tool. A workshop where whoever builds and whoever designs talk every day can be more synchronized than a team with a sophisticated tracking system nobody looks at.
Evolution and unforeseen results
Synchronization matters for its effect on the evolution of the system (F3): its goals, structure and behavior change as the processes influence one another. We call an unforeseen result a feature of the system that was not in the recorded initial intent and that can be traced back to an interaction between processes. It is the observable form of emergence (F4).
Not every unforeseen result is valuable. Telling a finding from drift is open question Q2, and any serious study will have to define that criterion before looking at the data.
A minimum audit condition
Version 0.1 of this note defined synchronization as the absence of work on assumptions another process already knows to be false. In version 0.2 that idea stops being the definition and remains as a minimum condition: if a process keeps working on something the rest have already discarded, information is not flowing. It is useful because it can be audited on any history, but it describes only one consequence of synchronization, not what the proposal claims.
Hypotheses
The note tests no hypothesis; it relates them to the definition. The main ones are H1 (synchronization shortens the time until a useful form of the system) and H4 (synchronization increases the frequency of unforeseen results, some of which turn out valuable).
How it could be studied
- In AAA3 systems: the version-controlled canonical document makes it possible to reconstruct what changed, when and from what. The latency and reach of propagation can be measured, and unforeseen results traced back to their originating interactions.
- In human teams: work logs, diaries or retrospective reconstructions make it possible to estimate the same dimensions with less precision.
- In organizations and creative processes: case studies that compare the initial intent with the result and document where the differences came from.
- Comparisons: projects of similar size and domain, some organized in phases and others with synchronized processes. We have not made this comparison.
What would contradict it
- That the degree of synchronization is not associated with differences in the system's evolution.
- That unforeseen results are not more frequent with synchronized processes, or that they almost never turn out valuable.
- That the cost of synchronizing systematically exceeds what it contributes.
Limitations
Measuring synchronization requires some kind of record, and introducing one changes the process being observed. Defining the «initial intent» is hard in systems that never wrote it down. And all available evidence comes, for now, from technical systems built by the same team that proposes the method.
Future work
- Reconstruct the latency and reach of propagation in the history of an AAA3 project.
- Design a protocol someone else can apply to a human team without our tools.
- Review the literature on concurrent engineering and complex adaptive systems to identify equivalent earlier definitions.
References
- Winner, R. I., Pennell, J. P., Bertrand, H. E., & Slusarczuk, M. M. G. (1988). The Role of Concurrent Engineering in Weapons System Acquisition (IDA Report R-338). Institute for Defense Analyses. apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA203615.pdf
- Takeuchi, H., & Nonaka, I. (1986). The New New Product Development Game. Harvard Business Review, 64(1), 137–146. hbr.org/1986/01/the-new-new-product-development-game
- Holland, J. H. (1995). Hidden Order: How Adaptation Builds Complexity. Addison-Wesley.
- Reinertsen, D. G. (2009). The Principles of Product Development Flow: Second Generation Lean Product Development. Celeritas.
- Forsgren, N., Humble, J., & Kim, G. (2018). Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps. IT Revolution.
- Popper, K. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Hutchinson.
Version history
| v0.1 | First version: it defined synchronization as the absence of work on already-refuted hypotheses. | |
|---|---|---|
| v0.2 | The definition is subordinated to the foundations: synchronizing means that information from one process can affect the others without waiting for a phase to close. The v0.1 condition remains as a minimum audit criterion. Evolution, emergence and their observables are added. |
How to cite
This note has no DOI and has not been peer reviewed. Until an archived version exists, cite it as a web document with its version and the date you accessed it:
Braida, I. (2026). Synchronization and the evolution of systems: a working definition (Working note STD-NT-001, v0.2). SyncThinkDesign. https://www.syncthinkdesign.org/en/research/std-nt-001