System Dynamics Pitfalls and Pointers

Governing Business Rules in System Dynamics Models

Systemic structure underpins the way complex problems behave. This is particularly so for feedback mechanisms. When building models we have to pay particular attention to the rules that govern the flows and control the operation of feedback mechanisms.
     This is not just a matter of identifying all the rules that might operate and including them. Not all rules are of equal importance. So, it does not make sense to include every possible rule. To do so would result in models that would be as complicated as the real world. Complicated models are hard to fully understand and almost impossible to build without making errors.
     When constructing models, we need to include the most important structural elements. These need to be connected according to the most influential governing business rules.
     The following is designed to explain how to identify the most influential governing business rules which might apply and how to include them in our system dynamics models

© Argos Press Pty Ltd, Canberra, 2003-2005. All rights reserved. Please contact Argos Press to seek permission to broadcast, adapt, reproduce and communicate content from this web site (for example this glossary entry on Governing Business Rules in System Dynamics Models).