What Is Systems Dynamics?
Systems dynamics is a methodology for understanding complex systems and how objects in these systems interact with each other and change over time. Systems are a pervasive part of everything human beings do. They include social systems, environmental systems, engineering systems, biological systems, and many others. The approach of systems dynamics is to focus on a system as whole instead of trying to break it down into smaller parts, as other disciplines do. The main focus is on feedback loops within the system. In a feedback loop, object A affects object B, and in turn object B affects object A through a chain of causes and effects. Instead of examining the link between A and B independently from the link between B and A in order to predict how the system will behave, system dynamicists study the system as a whole.
