A Possible Method for Assessing The Relative Values of Alternative System Dynamics Models

摘要

Recent years have seen a debate within the system dynamics community aboutwhether diagrammatic models can provide useful insights into problemsinvolving feedback or whether one must always build a simulation model.Since building and testing a simulation requires much more effort thandrawing a diagram the question arises of the measurement of the value addedby that extra work or the value lost by forgoing it. However, there may be ananalytical project also involves issues such as cost, replication of detail and soforth and different models might satisfy those requirements to a greater orlesser degree. The paper therefore uses another management sciencemethodology, the Analytic Hierarchy Process, to propose a method ofcalculating an index of the relative value for money of competing systemdynamics models. This may be a completely novel approach to some aspects ofsystem dynamics practice.