REPLY Meaning of Stock/Level (SD6901)

[SDMAIL Chip Hines]

Posted by  "Chip Hines" <hines.chip at gmail.com>

It would seem to me that in many situations  soft variables have a
significant role, and that if they are not accounted for there is no
hope of understanding the entire system dynamics through a model.  The
points about introducing more uncertainty into the model are indeed
valid, but if you ignore them the model isnt truely representative of
the situation.  Creating the model with soft variables does carry with
it the obligation to be as thorough as possible and to be sure that
their inclusion is known.  Creating one without them requires that
analysis and documentation of the effects of exclusion are well known.

I also believe that while the person building the model may not always
understand the dynamics of soft variables, it is likely that the end
user (assuming they arent the same person) will want to be able to use
the model to explore how these variables effect the system.

chip hines
Posted by  "Chip Hines" <hines.chip at gmail.com>
posting date  Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:32:41 -0400