The Qualities of An S-D Modeler

["fred nickols"]

A systems dynamics modeling effort at my company (with the fine help of
Jack Homer) has led to an interest in acquiring an in-house modeling
capability. Setting aside for the moment the pros and cons of such a move,
I was asked to indicate the kind of person I thought would make a good
modeler. The characteristics below are the ones that came to me. Id be
very interested in others opinions.

Such a person should be:

bright, that is, alert, attentive, quick, intelligent, and verbally
facile

knowledgeable in general regarding organizations, business, and
systems (of both the "hard" and "soft" variety)

adept mathematically, with particular emphasis on differential and
integral calculus and simultaneous algebraic equations

skilled interpersonally, and well grounded in consulting skills

visual, that is, able to "see" relationships in his or her minds eye,
and to depict them in diagram or schematic form

My initial response regarding the acquisition of the capability has been to
suggest we ought to "buy" it by way of hiring someone, perhaps a
job-hungry-soon-to-graduate-from-MIT-grad-student and not try to develop it
as a result of training a member of our current staff. Opinions on that are
welcome, too.

Regards,

Fred Nickols
Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives
Educational Testing Service
Mail Stop 10-P
Princeton, NJ 08541
fnickols@ets.org
(609) 734-5077 Tel
(609) 734-5115 Fax

[wakeland@ccgate.leupstv.com]

irt Fred Nickols, SD0264

Ill grant you that you ought to be able to assume that MIT graduate
students will be quick and mathematical, but the following items
on your list of qualities, may or may not be guaranteed by hiring
an MIT graduate student:

--knowledgeable in general regarding organizations, business, and
systems (of both the "hard" and "soft" variety)

--skilled interpersonally, and well grounded in consulting skills

But, it is really the last one that is the most difficult to find
and/or "cultivate":

--visual, that is, able to "see" relationships in his or her minds
eye, and to depict them in diagram or schematic form

This, to me, represents the "art" of modeling, and is more than
"seeing" and "depicting" relationships--it also involves being
able to discern what is important and what is not.

I have to confess that as much as I want to teach this to my
graduate students, most if not all of the outstanding modelers
Ive "taught" brought this ability with them into the class.

In any case, I suspect that if you post a job opportunity to do
systems modeling, youll get more than just recents grads--some of
whom are likely to have considerable experience as well...

--Wayne Wakeland
wakeland@leupstv.com