REPLY Policy paradox and SD (SD6697)

[SDMAIL James Lyneis]

Posted by  "James Lyneis" <jmlyneis at verizon.net>

Fred Nickols writes:
> Just out of curiosity, where, how and when does an SD practitioner acquire 
> the knowledge, skills, insight, wisdom and competencies associated with
> effective implementation or change management? 

As George Richardson points out: "The field has a long history of worrying about 
implementation.  The emphasis on thinking about it from the start of an 
intervention traces back in our literature to an article by Roberts in his 
Managerial Applications of System Dynamics (1978) (article 9)."  

In fact, Ed Roberts taught a course at MIT called "Applications and 
Implementation of System Dynamics" as far back as 1969 (I don't want to admit 
my age, but I took that course). His teachings drew not only on his consulting 
experiences with the firm he and Jack Pugh founded in 1964 (Pugh-Roberts 
Associates, now part of PA Consulting), but also on the evolving research on 
change management.  The course involved group's of students executing a consulting 
project under Robert's guidance. The paper Richardson cites was first published 
in 1974.

Until relatively recently, successors to the original Applications and 
Implementation course were part of the System Dynamics course sequence at MIT.  
Jim Hines and I now co-teach a similar course called "Real World System Dynamics" 
in the WPI System Dynamics Distance Program.  Topics include the process of 
developing models working with clients and the change management and group-
modeling literature, as well as the student consulting project.  And for those 
of you interested in the evolution of the Pugh-Robert's approach, it is described 
in my paper "System Dynamics For Business Strategy:  A Phased Approach," System 
Dynamics Review Vol. 15, No.1 (Spring 1999). 

Jim  Lyneis
Posted by  "James Lyneis" <jmlyneis at verizon.net>
posting date  Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:06:29 -0500