REPLY Getting a Good Problem Statement (SD6615)

[SDMAIL Jim Hines]

Posted by  "Jim Hines" <jim at ventanasystems.com>

George's posting concerning how constraining a reference mode is, is quite
right.  My only nit would be that I'd define the term "system dynamics" more
expansively than he implies.  So, at least some of what he is terming
not-SD, I would put in the SD column.  

I think of system dynamics as being concerned with how structure produces
behavior.  Historically the field has concentrated mostly on feedback
structure and integration as dynamics-producing structures.  But there are
potentially some dynamics that are produced by structures better modeled in
ways other than stocks and flows and/or which doesn't involve feedback.   

The work on organizational evolution (which is on my mind because of the
other discussion thread going on) is one example where a group of SDers used
agent based techniques as part of the arsenal to investigate how a
particular class of structures generates a particular class of behavior
(evolutionary behavior).  

Jim
Posted by  "Jim Hines" <jim at ventanasystems.com>
posting date  Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:33:55 -0500