Download System Dynamics eBook

Mathematically, the basic structure of a formal System Dynamics computer simulation model is a system of coupled, nonlinear, first-order differential (or integral) equations. Simulation of such systems is easily accomplished by partitioning simulated time into discrete intervals of length dt and stepping the system through time one dt at a time. Conceptually, the feedback concept is at the heart of the System Dynamics approach. Diagrams of loops of information feedback and circular causality are tools for conceptualizing the structure of a complex system and for communicating model-based insights.