Person to Project: A Relationship

From SystemsWiki

A project is, as relates to a person, any activity undertaken to change some current state of something into a desired state. In this sense, the Person to Project relation may be represented by the standard Balancing Loop Systems Archetype.

Contents 1 Causal Loop Diagram 2 Stock & Flow Diagram 3 MapSys Simulation 4 Simgua Simulation 5 Conclusion 6 References

Causal Loop Diagram

Fig. 1 presents a Causal Loop Diagram of a Balancing Loop drawn with MapSys. The difference between the desired state and the current state creates a gap. This gap then influences me to take action to move the current state toward the desired state. As the current state becomes closer and closer to the desired state the gap becomes smaller and smaller, thus influencing less and less action on my part. When the current state finally equals the desired state the gap is reduced to zero and there is no more influence for action.

Stock & Flow Diagram

Fig. 2 represents the same Balancing Loop implemented as a Stock & Flow Diagram using MapSys.

Note that the action rate element was added as a way to control extent to which the gap produced action.

MapSys Simulation

Fig. 3 shows the results of running this model with a specific set of values.

Notice how as the gap decreases the action decreases while the current state continues its migration toward the desired state. Action rate is a control that can vary between 0 and 1 and determines how quickly the transition occurs.

Simgua Simulation

Fig. 4 represents the same Stock & Flow Diagram as Fig. 2 though it looks a bit different in Simgua. As you define primitives in Simgua it figures out how to draw the diagram based on the relations you define.

Fig. 5 provides the output of the model run with the same parameters used to produce Fig. 3.

Click Person to Project to run this model in your web browser.

Conclusion

There seems to be an implication inherent in this structure. Since there is a direct relation between the size of the gap and the amount of activity, as the gap becomes smaller the amount of activity decreases. This might provide some insight as to why projects often seem to go slower and slower as they get closer and closer to completion. Strange as it may seem, as many times as I've built this model, I never thought about this implication until I was writing this description. Maybe I'm just slow sometimes.

This example could continue to be elaborated as there are numerous other relevant influences which are part of the real world version of this.

References

• Diagrams and simulations created with MapSys and Simgua

Additional Resources Systems Thinking World Discussions Systems Thinking World Q&A * Gene Bellinger