System Dynamics Society Blog
The Latest in System Dynamics Insights and Innovations
Practitioner Profile: Douglas McKelvie, Symmetric Scenarios
Practitioner Profile: Douglas McKelvie, Symmetric Scenarios Welcome to Practitioner Profiles, a series of up-close blog-length interviews...
Systems Thinking, Fast and Slow
Systems Thinking, Fast and Slow In 2011, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman published his best-selling book “Thinking, Fast...
Practitioner Profile: John Ansah, Duke NUS Medical School
Welcome to Practitioner Profiles, a series of up-close blog-length interviews with experienced System Dynamics practitioners. We have a...
Practitioner Profile: Drew Jones, Climate Interactive
Practitioner Profile: Drew Jones, Climate Interactive Welcome to Practitioner Profiles, a series of up-close blog-length interviews with...
Practitioner Profile: Steve Peterson, Independent Consultant
Practitioner Profile: Steve Peterson, Independent Consultant Welcome to Practitioner Profiles, a series of up-close blog-length interviews...
Webinar Q&A | Applied System Dynamics for Students and Beginners
Webinar Q&A | Applied System Dynamics for Students and Beginners We had an insightful Webinar with the participation of Andries Botha...
Practitioner Profile: Birgit Kopainsky, University of Bergen (UiB), Norway
Practitioner Profile: Birgit Kopainsky, University of Bergen (UiB), Norway Welcome to Practitioner Profiles, a series of up-close...
Practitioner Profiles: Peter Lacey, Whole Systems Partnership
Practitioner Profiles: Peter Lacey, Whole Systems Partnership Welcome to Practitioner Profiles, a series of up-close blog-length...
Moving Beyond the Threshold of System Dynamics: Thoughts for New Practitioners
I’ve heard students and colleagues say that learning system dynamics transformed their thinking–it gave them ways to...
Modeling for Implementation: an Illusion of Control?
Modeling for Implementation: an Illusion of Control? Every so often, I see someone in our field drawing attention to the fact that many...
Webinar Q&A | Local Level COVID Models
Webinar Q&A | Local Level COVID Models We had an insightful Webinar with the participation of The COVID 19 Localisation Modelling...
Models, Maps, and Levels of Evidence
Models, Maps, and Levels of Evidence Anyone who has attended a System Dynamics conference in recent years, or has read past posts in the...
Modeling for Impact in the Era of Big Data
Modeling for Impact in the Era of Big Data On the occasion of the field’s 50th anniversary, in 2007, Jay Forrester spoke to us (SDR...
Models Don’t Make Predictions, People Do!
Models Don’t Make Predictions, People Do! Models and I go back a long way. I created relatively simple spreadsheet models by hand for 6...
Simulation During Times of Crisis
Simulation During Times of Crisis Scientists and researchers spend a long time crafting mathematical models that simulate multiple...
Renewing my membership in the System Dynamics Society
Renewing my membership in the System Dynamics Society In 2009, at the International Conference of the System Dynamics Society, President...
Why we do not always simulate
Why we do not always simulate By Vincent de Gooyert, Inge Bleijenbergh, Hubert Korzilius, Brigit Fokkinga, Monic Lansu, Stephan...
What scientific rigor can and cannot buy us
What scientific rigor can and cannot buy us Many words have been written about how System Dynamics modeling should be scientific and...
How to right-size your model
How to right-size your model I once developed a relatively compact System Dynamics model to help a major chemical company restructure...
Group model building: a dialogue
Group model building: a dialogue In the late 1980s, academics on both sides of the Atlantic started to develop structured techniques for...
The endogenous perspective: a friendly amendment
The endogenous perspective: a friendly amendment I have developed lots of System Dynamics models over the years for both private and...
Let’s consider policy feasibility
Let’s consider policy feasibility I was once consulted by a semiconductor equipment maker who wanted to reduce their service maintenance...
Six Reasons to Apply System Dynamics Modeling in Medical Research
Six Reasons to Apply System Dynamics Modeling in Medical Research (Moderator’s Note: After several recent conversations with Ken about...
The need for SD modeling of human biological systems and diseases
The need for SD modeling of human biological systems and diseases It is within our capability to reduce dramatically the long time and...
First, look at the data
First, look at the data I recently received an e-mail from a college student, someone I’d never heard of before, wondering whether...
Why we mentor (and should mentor more)
Why we mentor (and should mentor more) In the Odyssey, the ancient Greek epic poem of adventure and personal insight, we meet...
System Dynamics at Sixty: The Path Forward
System Dynamics at Sixty: The Path Forward By John Sterman, Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management Director, MIT System Dynamics Group...
How to write a great SD conference paper
How to write a great SD conference paper Let me start by introducing myself, for those who don’t know me. I’ve been involved in...
Come Together: 2019 ISDC
Come Together: 2019 ISDC By Martin Schaffernicht, 2019 President of the System Dynamics Society A conference is “a formal meeting of...
Message from Incoming Society President
Message from Incoming Society President Dear fellow members of the System Dynamics Society, In late 2003, I attended my first System...