By Vincent de Gooyert, Inge Bleijenbergh, Hubert Korzilius, Brigit Fokkinga, Monic Lansu, Stephan Raaijmakers, Etiënne Rouwette, Merel van der Wal With great interest we have been following and participating in discussions on what ‘good’ and ‘appropriate’ system dynamics modeling is. The system dynamics society, including its conferences and the wiSDom blog provide a stimulating environment … Continue reading Why we do not always simulate
What scientific rigor can and cannot buy us
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice Many words have been written about how SD modeling should be scientific and rigorous. An initial dynamic hypothesis will always have shortcomings, and these can be revealed by model testing. We must go through an iterative process, revising a model repeatedly so that we can get the dynamic … Continue reading What scientific rigor can and cannot buy us
How to right-size your model
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice I once developed a relatively compact SD model to help a major chemical company restructure their plastics business. The model was well received by senior management but was not considered granular enough for accurately projecting the financial consequences of a strategic shift. The company had recently developed a … Continue reading How to right-size your model
Group model building: a dialogue
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice In the late 1980s, academics on both sides of the Atlantic started to develop structured techniques for eliciting knowledge from expert and client groups as part of SD modeling. The goal was to democratize or “open up” the process, so that the ensuing model would have a stronger … Continue reading Group model building: a dialogue
The endogenous perspective: a friendly amendment
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice I have developed lots of SD models over the years for both private and public organizations. My models have all been built to answer strategic questions for which there was no single obvious answer, due to the presence of dynamic complexities including accumulations, delays, nonlinearities, and feedback loops. … Continue reading The endogenous perspective: a friendly amendment
Let’s consider policy feasibility
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice I was once consulted by a semiconductor equipment maker who wanted to reduce their service maintenance costs. The client team offered a variety of ideas, some of which were workforce-related and could be implemented fairly rapidly, while other options involved product improvement and would require several years of … Continue reading Let’s consider policy feasibility
Six Reasons to Apply System Dynamics Modeling in Medical Research
By Kenneth G. Cooper (Moderator's Note: After several recent conversations with Ken about different dimensions of SD in medical research, and as a follow-up to his recent post, I asked him to provide a short list of the top reasons why we should pursue more SD work in this area. The list below, shared with … Continue reading Six Reasons to Apply System Dynamics Modeling in Medical Research
The need for SD modeling of human biological systems and diseases
By Kenneth G. Cooper It is within our capability to reduce dramatically the long time and high cost of successful drug development for treating human disease. We can do so by adding to medical research the analysis of the elegantly complex, feedback-intensive systems of the human body—not just as a collection of components, but as … Continue reading The need for SD modeling of human biological systems and diseases
First, look at the data
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice I recently received an e-mail from a college student, someone I’d never heard of before, wondering whether system dynamics was the right approach for studying a particular issue: how the government’s publication of secondary school rankings in his country might influence parents’ attitudes and behaviors. The student wondered … Continue reading First, look at the data
Why we mentor (and should mentor more)
By Jack Homer, VP of Professional Practice In the Odyssey, the ancient Greek epic poem of adventure and personal insight, we meet Mentor, a wise old friend of the family whose name means “mental strength”, and who gives crucial guidance to Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. (In fact, the Mentor who appears to Telemachus is … Continue reading Why we mentor (and should mentor more)
