accreditation
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 1998 10:29 am
I would like to add my support for the accreditation of SD
professionals,
and I especially enjoyed Nelson Repennings latest comment (SD1416).
Granted, some of the details need to be discussed, but the concept is
worth pursuing.
I am a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ, formerly known
as ASQC, the American Society for Quality Control) and ASQ has several
certified programs that seem to have helped the quality profession by
demonstrating competence (e.g., certified reliability engineer,
certified
quality inspector ). As new areas of focus emerge, new certifications
are
added to address a specific focus. For instance, with the growth of TQM
and the growing role of quality management in general, ASQ added the
Certified Quality Manager to its accreditations in the last 2 years.
As another professional society example, the Project Management
Institute (PMI) has a certification for Project Management Professional
(PMP) to demonstrate a knowledge of the fundamentals of sound project
management. This certification has also seemed to help the field and
give
it credibility.
I see industry benefitting from SD accreditations in the same manner.
Jim Hines asked earlier for any examples of unqualified people sullying
the
reputation of SD. I have one specific example.
I recently observed a presentation by a so-called SD practitioner in
which a
management flight simulator for a specific model was discussed. The
presentation focused mainly on the management flight simulator interface
that was built on top of the model with very little attention given to
the
underlying model structure and logic. All the bells and whistles were
emphasized, and the presenter told how all the customers that bought
this
tool enjoyed its features, etc.
I was finally able to talk with the presenter to get some of the details
of the
model. As it turns out, the model contained very few feedback loops and
instead contained many time-series inputs (based on statistical
correlations) that drove the behavior of the model. For example, one of
the
main outputs was the cost of a project. When I asked how the cost was
determined in the model, the presenter happily referred to an input
time-
series variable called "average cost of project" that started low and
ended
with a large "balloon" at the end of the project. The presenter argued
that
data had shown that most projects cost very little in the beginning and
more at the end, hence, the shape of the input. Amazingly, the same
shape was seen as an output! Sadly, many customers were using this
tool and achieving great "insights".
This presenter was self-taught by using SD modeling software.
Inherently,
theres nothing wrong with that approach. However, there is much more
to
SD than learning how drag-and-drop icons on an interface. But, when
there is money to be made or people to be impressed, there is often not
time to do the real learning.
I am also self-taught using SD modeling software, so my views are not
coming from academia. Yet, to be a benefit to society I want to have a
certain level of competence. Even though my pocket book would be fine,
I
could not be pleased with myself if I were advising others based on the
outputs of models whose validity I doubted. By agreeing to
accreditation, I
run the risk of not being at the proper level of competency, but this is
something I want to know.
J. Chris White
Program Manager
Decision Dynamics, Inc.
4600 East West Hwy, Suite 410
Bethesda, MD 20814
tel: 301-657-8500, ext. 107
fax: 301-657-8626
email: jcwhite@decisiondynamics.com
website: www.decisiondynamics.com
professionals,
and I especially enjoyed Nelson Repennings latest comment (SD1416).
Granted, some of the details need to be discussed, but the concept is
worth pursuing.
I am a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ, formerly known
as ASQC, the American Society for Quality Control) and ASQ has several
certified programs that seem to have helped the quality profession by
demonstrating competence (e.g., certified reliability engineer,
certified
quality inspector ). As new areas of focus emerge, new certifications
are
added to address a specific focus. For instance, with the growth of TQM
and the growing role of quality management in general, ASQ added the
Certified Quality Manager to its accreditations in the last 2 years.
As another professional society example, the Project Management
Institute (PMI) has a certification for Project Management Professional
(PMP) to demonstrate a knowledge of the fundamentals of sound project
management. This certification has also seemed to help the field and
give
it credibility.
I see industry benefitting from SD accreditations in the same manner.
Jim Hines asked earlier for any examples of unqualified people sullying
the
reputation of SD. I have one specific example.
I recently observed a presentation by a so-called SD practitioner in
which a
management flight simulator for a specific model was discussed. The
presentation focused mainly on the management flight simulator interface
that was built on top of the model with very little attention given to
the
underlying model structure and logic. All the bells and whistles were
emphasized, and the presenter told how all the customers that bought
this
tool enjoyed its features, etc.
I was finally able to talk with the presenter to get some of the details
of the
model. As it turns out, the model contained very few feedback loops and
instead contained many time-series inputs (based on statistical
correlations) that drove the behavior of the model. For example, one of
the
main outputs was the cost of a project. When I asked how the cost was
determined in the model, the presenter happily referred to an input
time-
series variable called "average cost of project" that started low and
ended
with a large "balloon" at the end of the project. The presenter argued
that
data had shown that most projects cost very little in the beginning and
more at the end, hence, the shape of the input. Amazingly, the same
shape was seen as an output! Sadly, many customers were using this
tool and achieving great "insights".
This presenter was self-taught by using SD modeling software.
Inherently,
theres nothing wrong with that approach. However, there is much more
to
SD than learning how drag-and-drop icons on an interface. But, when
there is money to be made or people to be impressed, there is often not
time to do the real learning.
I am also self-taught using SD modeling software, so my views are not
coming from academia. Yet, to be a benefit to society I want to have a
certain level of competence. Even though my pocket book would be fine,
I
could not be pleased with myself if I were advising others based on the
outputs of models whose validity I doubted. By agreeing to
accreditation, I
run the risk of not being at the proper level of competency, but this is
something I want to know.
J. Chris White
Program Manager
Decision Dynamics, Inc.
4600 East West Hwy, Suite 410
Bethesda, MD 20814
tel: 301-657-8500, ext. 107
fax: 301-657-8626
email: jcwhite@decisiondynamics.com
website: www.decisiondynamics.com