REPLY Future Development Directions (SD6274)

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Posted by  Bill Harris <bill_harris at facilitatedsystems.com>

>> Posted by  "Jim Thompson" <james.thompson at strath.ac.uk>
>> Each engagement involved one or
>> more SD practitioners working for more than 250 hours within an
>> organization, usually with a team of three to thirty individuals.


That's one "fact of life" that seems pertinent.  When you can, for
example, run through a Kepner-Tregoe decision analysis or do some CLD
work in a few hours, 250+ hours adds delay and costs money.  That's not
saying simulation won't be worth it; it is pointing out that the time
creates a barrier to its application.  (It also seems to support Jay's
contention that you might as well work on the big problems.)


>> In those engagements in which the SD-generated insight was
>> supported by other analytics, organizational satisfaction with results and
>> the likelihood of implementing an SD-generated solution was much higher.  

I'm not sure if by "analytics" you mean people or methodologies.  In the
first case, you have more "political" support.  In either case, you have
a good example of the perceived (and likely real) utility of
triangulation -- more below.


>> Posted by  Edward Anderson {andersone} <Edward.Anderson at mccombs.utexas.edu>
>> have two choices as a field: (1) Accept the fact that SD-inspired
>> policies have to compete 
>> or (2) Wait for Jay Forrester's K-12 program (or


Perhaps we have a third choice.  I seem to recall James Lyneis having
written something to the effect that a model isn't a purveyor of truth;
it's another discussant in the room (triangulation again).  When I've
seen highly effective statisticians working with management, they
haven't necessarily led the effort; they've tended to mix their time
between educating, reseaching particular problems, and collaborating
with management.  Sometimes I sense a slightly different emphasis, as if
SD folk sometimes want to bring SD into play, while those statisticians
I'm thinking of clearly wanted to help management make better decisions.

As for the model aiding discussion, see

http://facilitatedsystems.com/weblog/2007/01/systems-language-for-business.html

for an example of how training a team helped change the course of their 
business conversations.

Bill
-- Bill Harris 
Facilitated Systems 
Posted by  Bill Harris <bill_harris at facilitatedsystems.com>
posting date  Thu, 15 Feb 2007 14:46:03 -0800