Constitutive rules for guiding the use of the viable system model: Reflections on practice

•Review of VSM philosophy, methodology and application•Development of constitutive rules and explicit epistemology for the VSM•Presentation of the epistemology as a performative model using Hierarchical Process Model•Illustration of how the model can aid practitioner reflection and learning using 3 case studies•Discussion of how this approach helps identify what counts as VSM practice