The ""usefulness"" of SD
Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2005 4:05 pm
Posted by ""Colm Toolan"" <subscriptions@toolan.de>
Query: Are there any studies that document SD and its application in multiple, diverse situations from a ""usefulness"" point of view? By ""useful"" I mean Return on Investment for commercial applications and proven, measurable change for the better in environmental/cultural/not-for-profit scenarios.
I ask the question because - after about three years as a (relatively) passive member of this list - I find the ongoing (and sometime repeated) discussions of ""SD is this, but not that..."", ""SD is better than xyz, because ..."" somewhat tedious.
Some members seem to be wishing for a major breakthrough in SD acceptance (reading between the lines in the ""SD and other approaches"" thread) and others (http://justinlyonandsimulation.blogspot.com/) see 2006 as ""The Tipping Point for Simulation Science"".
I have to ask ""what are we doing to help?""
John Sterman's story of Winston J Ledet's (Snr) use and application of SD to ""Play the Maintenance Game"" (Business Dynamics p66 et seq) is a perfect example of what I mean. Here was someone taking a theoretical modelling approach to understand a very real problem and to develop appropriate solutions. But he then went on to translate the insights into a hands-on experience that shop floor labour could understand and implement. He developed a board game! And the whole process resulted in measurable Return on Investment!
I'd be prepared to take a position that if we only could (or would) document the results of our SD efforts in terms of tangible results - RoI, quantifiable before and after metrics - then the discussions with the CEOs, strategists, policy makers etc. regarding the pros and cons of the methodology would quickly disappear. If the SD community were to concentrate more on demonstrating the usefulness of the methodology than on the nuances of its application, we might even stop being our own worst enemy!
OK - my forte is business development and getting project goals achieved and I've no formal qualifications in SD. But, believe me, it doesn't matter what stocks and flows are in our system, if we can't explain to our customers/sponsors/supporters that there'll be more value/volume/profit when we've completed our work!
Regards,
Colm Toolan, Business Architect
Germany
Posted by ""Colm Toolan"" <subscriptions@toolan.de>
posting date Tue, 27 Dec 2005 18:12:00 +0100
Query: Are there any studies that document SD and its application in multiple, diverse situations from a ""usefulness"" point of view? By ""useful"" I mean Return on Investment for commercial applications and proven, measurable change for the better in environmental/cultural/not-for-profit scenarios.
I ask the question because - after about three years as a (relatively) passive member of this list - I find the ongoing (and sometime repeated) discussions of ""SD is this, but not that..."", ""SD is better than xyz, because ..."" somewhat tedious.
Some members seem to be wishing for a major breakthrough in SD acceptance (reading between the lines in the ""SD and other approaches"" thread) and others (http://justinlyonandsimulation.blogspot.com/) see 2006 as ""The Tipping Point for Simulation Science"".
I have to ask ""what are we doing to help?""
John Sterman's story of Winston J Ledet's (Snr) use and application of SD to ""Play the Maintenance Game"" (Business Dynamics p66 et seq) is a perfect example of what I mean. Here was someone taking a theoretical modelling approach to understand a very real problem and to develop appropriate solutions. But he then went on to translate the insights into a hands-on experience that shop floor labour could understand and implement. He developed a board game! And the whole process resulted in measurable Return on Investment!
I'd be prepared to take a position that if we only could (or would) document the results of our SD efforts in terms of tangible results - RoI, quantifiable before and after metrics - then the discussions with the CEOs, strategists, policy makers etc. regarding the pros and cons of the methodology would quickly disappear. If the SD community were to concentrate more on demonstrating the usefulness of the methodology than on the nuances of its application, we might even stop being our own worst enemy!
OK - my forte is business development and getting project goals achieved and I've no formal qualifications in SD. But, believe me, it doesn't matter what stocks and flows are in our system, if we can't explain to our customers/sponsors/supporters that there'll be more value/volume/profit when we've completed our work!
Regards,
Colm Toolan, Business Architect
Germany
Posted by ""Colm Toolan"" <subscriptions@toolan.de>
posting date Tue, 27 Dec 2005 18:12:00 +0100