Two notes on ST & SD in half an hour
Posted: Sun Apr 06, 1997 9:06 am
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 15:23:04 +0100
From: fabian szulanski <fabians@ifi.uib.no>
To: gr383@cnsvax.albany.edu
Subject: Re: REPLY ST & SD in half an hour (SD0701)
Dear Prof. Richardson,
Thank you for your insights.
Ive read the paper you mentioned about group model building, and that was
the paper Ive mentioned in my query, which was motivated precisely for
reading that paper.
What I was wondering is if there exist some reference publication(s) where a
more operational explanation about what should be said to a general audience
is presented.You mentioned some "concept" models.Are they always custom made
for each specific purpose? Couldnt be developed a general methodology for
presenting ST & SD that could fit to any situation ? May be those custom
"concept" models could come after the generic and more basic generic
presentation.
...Fabian
-----
Richardsons reply:
In our applied group work we have believed that if we did not get the
group talking about THEIR problem within about 45 minutes of the start
of the meeting we were in trouble.
So we have always tried to tailor our introductory concept models to the
groups professed dynamic problem, rather than to begin with a generic
introduction to system dynamics. Its true that sometimes we have had to
use a sequence of concept models that had been prepared for a different
(but similar) group, but the goal always is to give people the tools to
work with and to get them working on what THEY want to talk about as soon as
possible.
It might be possible to achieve these ends with a generic intro to system
dynamics, showing some simple but extremely attractive sequence of maps
and models. Id have to think about what Id use. I have the feeling
that I would always try to tailor the sequence to the sorts of things the
group is interested in, if not exactly to their problem. Pendulums or
project management wouldnt work well when the group is anxious to talk
about homelessness.
However it is done, it seems crucial to decide exactly what you want the
participants to get out of the system dynamics introduction, what they
absolutely need to get going and what they can do without on the first
pass. Our criteria were spelled out in the Teamwork paper. One could
imagine that other criteria would work as well, e.g., a more prominent
emphasis on feedback loops than we have generally built into our
introductory 30-minute sequence. (Its there, of course, but not heavily
emphasized -- we could do it better.)
...GPR
G.P.Richardson@Albany.edu
Date: Thu, 06 Feb 1997 15:23:04 +0100
From: fabian szulanski <fabians@ifi.uib.no>
To: gr383@cnsvax.albany.edu
Subject: Re: REPLY ST & SD in half an hour (SD0701)
Dear Prof. Richardson,
Thank you for your insights.
Ive read the paper you mentioned about group model building, and that was
the paper Ive mentioned in my query, which was motivated precisely for
reading that paper.
What I was wondering is if there exist some reference publication(s) where a
more operational explanation about what should be said to a general audience
is presented.You mentioned some "concept" models.Are they always custom made
for each specific purpose? Couldnt be developed a general methodology for
presenting ST & SD that could fit to any situation ? May be those custom
"concept" models could come after the generic and more basic generic
presentation.
...Fabian
-----
Richardsons reply:
In our applied group work we have believed that if we did not get the
group talking about THEIR problem within about 45 minutes of the start
of the meeting we were in trouble.
So we have always tried to tailor our introductory concept models to the
groups professed dynamic problem, rather than to begin with a generic
introduction to system dynamics. Its true that sometimes we have had to
use a sequence of concept models that had been prepared for a different
(but similar) group, but the goal always is to give people the tools to
work with and to get them working on what THEY want to talk about as soon as
possible.
It might be possible to achieve these ends with a generic intro to system
dynamics, showing some simple but extremely attractive sequence of maps
and models. Id have to think about what Id use. I have the feeling
that I would always try to tailor the sequence to the sorts of things the
group is interested in, if not exactly to their problem. Pendulums or
project management wouldnt work well when the group is anxious to talk
about homelessness.
However it is done, it seems crucial to decide exactly what you want the
participants to get out of the system dynamics introduction, what they
absolutely need to get going and what they can do without on the first
pass. Our criteria were spelled out in the Teamwork paper. One could
imagine that other criteria would work as well, e.g., a more prominent
emphasis on feedback loops than we have generally built into our
introductory 30-minute sequence. (Its there, of course, but not heavily
emphasized -- we could do it better.)
...GPR
G.P.Richardson@Albany.edu