Create System Maps
Generate comprehensive systems maps from natural language descriptions.
How It Works
Go to the Create Map tab in the Systemic panel
Describe the system you want to explore
Click Generate
Review the preview and click Accept to add to your board
Quick vs Pro Mode
Systemic offers two generation modes, toggled at the top of the app panel:
Character limit
2,000
50,000
AI approach
AI generation
Live web research + AI generation
Extras
Differentiated connections, AI reasoning
Citations, live web research, upload sources (URLs & PDFs)
Quick mode is fast and free, great for exploring ideas. Both modes include differentiated connections and AI reasoning. Pro mode adds live web research, citations, and the ability to upload your own sources. See Free vs Pro for full details.
Knowledge cutoff note: Quick mode has a knowledge cutoff of January 1, 2025. Information published after this date won't be incorporated. Pro mode overcomes this through live web research.
Writing Effective Prompts
The quality of your map depends on your prompt. Here are some tips:
Be Specific
Instead of vague topics, add context:
"Traffic"
"Urban traffic congestion in London"
"Climate change"
"Climate change feedback loops in Arctic ecosystems"
"Business growth"
"What drives customer retention in SaaS companies"
Ask Questions
Frame your prompt as a question to get more focused results:
"What causes employee burnout in tech startups?"
"How does social media affect teenage mental health?"
"Why do some startups fail while others succeed?"
Include Context
Add relevant details like:
Timeframes - "in the 2020s", "over the past decade"
Locations - "in Southeast Asia", "in urban areas"
Domains - "in healthcare", "for small businesses"
Example Prompts
Business & Economics
"The factors driving inflation in 2024"
"How remote work affects company culture and productivity"
"Supply chain disruptions and their ripple effects"
Science & Environment
"Ocean acidification feedback loops"
"The water cycle and climate change interactions"
"Deforestation impacts on local and global ecosystems"
Society & Psychology
"Social media's effect on political polarisation"
"The psychology of habit formation"
"Urban gentrification causes and effects"
Understanding Your Map
Once generated, your map shows:
Nodes - Key concepts, factors, and elements in the system
Connectors - Relationships and influences between nodes, colour-coded by polarity (red = reinforcing, blue = balancing) with thickness reflecting relationship strength
AI reasoning - Click any node to see the AI's explanation for why it exists in the map
Layout - Related concepts clustered together for easy understanding
Preview and Accept
After generation, your map appears as a preview on the board. Nothing is committed until you decide:
Accept — Commits the map to your board as permanent elements
Reject — Removes the preview entirely so you can try a different prompt
Processing Time
Quick mode: Typically completes within seconds
Pro mode: Typically takes 1-3 minutes due to live web research and source processing
Processing time varies with topic complexity, number of sources, and system load.
Next Steps
Expand your map to add more depth
Auto-format if elements overlap
Review tips and best practices
Last updated