REPLY Renaming System Dynamics (SD6396)

[SDMAIL Jean-Jacques Laublé]

Posted by  Jean-Jacques Laublé <jean-jacques.lauble at wanadoo.fr>

Hi Bill

Thank you for your answer.
I have always been puzzled about the sense of culpability that many SDers
convey and the way they manage to live with this sensation.
The last thread on renaming the name of the field is an example of how the
profession tries to exorcise that feeling.

The only explanation I can find about this fear of naming SD, is that there
must be, or must have been a lot of studies pretending to use SD that failed
to deliver the expected results.

Having practised now the field for about 5 years and having made standard
programming for 40 years with all sorts of languages, I can tell that SD is
really a field whose difficulty stands at least two points above current
programming difficulty (with SQL,C or any language) .

Kim Warren in his book, writes about the rarity of really good SD modellers,
probably exaggerating, but certainly with a good part of truth.

SO I cannot tell if SDers are right to overemphasize the importance of the
name thinking that other people care.

If it was well recognized that SD delivers great value, the problem of
renaming the field and the sensation of culpability would not exist.
So I cannot say whether it is good or not to name the field, when
communicating. It probably depends on the circumstances.

In France, saying that one practices SD, will have no effect, the field
being completely unknown.
Of course not living in the USA and not selling SD, I may be wrong and other
reasons may exist.

You mention that I know when to use or not use SD.
I have a better knowledge about it, but it is far from sufficient, even with
my problems that I know very well. I can then still be wrong about it.

To my opinion instead of looking towards wrong directions, the profession
should ask the right questions.

1.  What are the characteristics of the business or any organisation
susceptible to be interested by SD?
The characteristics being their job, their size, their length of service,
the type of  problems they currently encounter that can be solved by SD, the
expected profit and the expected cost (money, time), the delay to deliver
the study, the delay to notice the expected profits etc..
and once the characteristics are defined, how to practically find and
get in relation with such businesses and organisations.

2.  How to verify that one prospect fulfils the above characteristics, and
that there are reasonable chances that the prospect has real problems
susceptible to be solved by SD.

3.  How to verify that one has the necessary resources in expertise, time,
people to model that problem?  To what point is it necessary to already
know the profession of the prospect. Sders who work with the health
profession seem to have better results.

4.  When one is sure to have a good prospect, how to convince him to start a
relation and what should be proposed at first?
Is it mandatory to start with SD, or is it possible or better to start with
something easier?

5.  How to make sure of the quality of the service offered after the
prospect has been convinced?
6.  At least at what stage are the real difficulties?
Finding a prospect, convincing him or doing the job?

But you know certainly these questions better than me.
Regards.
Jean-Jacques Laublé 
Posted by  Jean-Jacques Laublé <jean-jacques.lauble at wanadoo.fr>
posting date  Tue, 10 Apr 2007 14:44:01 +0200