When one undertakes to create a model there are a number of guidelines that are considered essential for consideration if there is to be a success with the model.

Balancing Loop with Stock & Flow Diagram.

Illustrates the effect of sleep, exercise, and lifestyle factors on one's level of energy.

Depicts a behavior over time graph.

The Home Heating System can be used to demonstrate how we get caught in dilemmas and become victims of ourselves.

If we are to develop a strategy for dealing with a situation we must first understand what has caused the situation to be the way it is. If we don't know why it is the way it is then any action we take is little more than meddling and unlikely to produce the desired result.

A small change in one variable can have a marked impact on multiple variables. Run the model [quits change] = 0  and consider the output. What happens if  you change [quits change] = 5. Run the model to find out. Was the change what you expected?

Diagram from CDC conference.

All you wanted to do was put a bird feeder in your yard to attract birds and make for a more pleasant morning. And...

Introduce the concept of modeling and simulation.

Once the strategy has been developed it's up to the Stakeholders who own the segments of the revised model to implement it so a new pattern of behavior is created thus effecting the desired situation.

Part 1 demonstrates Picture primitives and Links to create representations of interactions. These are made visually attractive because the Picture primitives are overlayed with images.

The generic stock & flow form for a balancing loop.

Balancing Loop with Stock & Flow Diagram.

CLD of Eric Wolstenholme Syst. Dyn. Rev. 23, 371–389, (2007) See IM-1008 for a stock flow version.

Balancing Loop with Stock & Flow Diagram.

Introduce the concept of modeling and simulation.

A description of how Systems Thinking World came to be and where it's seems to be heading at present. There is a video for this at About Systems Thinking World

The meaningful relationship between a business and its customers should be a reinforcing structure.

Joe P. is currently managing a project that's behind schedule and he's experiencing substantial pressure to get the project back on track.

A quick example for creating a simulation in Insight Maker.

Reinforcing Loop/SFD Simulation allow one to experience the explicit implications of the interactions.

Because our problem solving approaches in today's reality don't produce very good solutions we end up continually dealing with unintended consequences which make the original problem worse or create new problems to be dealt with.