System dynamics: a methodological perspective

Abstract

System Dynamics has been a recognised means of modelling and understanding the behaviour of complex systems for over 30 years. In that time it has been interpreted from several different perspectives. In this paper a theme is developed which cuts across these different views and opens up a further area of investigation. By considering the methodology of System Dynamics, the changing purpose and role of the approach are identified. Issues which were previously seen as sources of conflict may now be re-interpreted as examples of confusion caused by different views of what problems the discipline tackles, how it goes about investigating them and how this relates to the decision-making process.