Rolf Olsen, Workshop Participant

I was very excited about a last-minute chance to attend the introductory iThink/STELLA workshop, but to be honest, on the flight to Colorado Springs, I started to become apprehensive.  Who was I trying to kid?  Sure, I’d heard the terms “stock” and “flow” and I understood their roles as the nouns and verbs of the software.  I’d even read a few chapters in Barry Richmond’s Introduction to Systems Thinking.  But the first time I started up the software and stared at that blank workspace, I had no clue where to begin!  Adding to my anguish, I was quite certain there would be others there who were much smarter than me and really knew what they were doing.

In college I spent most of my time and energy studying English and French, language, literature, cinema, art history, and so forth. I managed to avoid all higher math like the plague (although I did reasonably well in basic statistics).  My engineer father often reminded me that my degree in Humanities prepared me for almost nothing.  After college, I stumbled into a career in marketing – quite fertile territory for exploring system dynamics and modeling, as it turns out.  I spent a few formative years in an ad agency and at a regional banking system, before finding my stride marketing and managing nonprofit arts and culture organizations. Today I work in marketing and communication in a large academic medical center.

For years I’ve used spreadsheets to model various ‘what if’ scenarios.  In the arts, I used spreadsheets to create budgets and set ticket prices, always seeking ways to better predict revenue from ticket sales at different prices, for different types of performances (e.g., modern dance, string quartet, jazz ensemble), or on different days of the week.

Preparing for the iThink/STELLA workshop, I decided I’d like to try to model demand in a market area for laser vision correction surgery, popularly known as LASIK or PRK.  That seemed simple enough.  I might be able to bluff my way through this workshop after all!

In the end, all my concerns and fears of inadequacy were for naught.  Corey Peck is a remarkable teacher.  Within the first hour of the first day, he’d already explained that almost everybody who starts iThink for the first time takes a deep gulp at the sight of that blank workspace, wondering how to begin.  That was comforting, to say the least.

Others in this workshop included a nurse from Nigeria, two men from a large consulting firm that counts the military among its principal clients, three people with separate interests in systems used to deliver electrical energy, two from the IS planning department of a large national insurance company, a woman from an Oregon health care system, and two women from Hong Kong who teach English at a university there.  And there was me, the health care marketing geek.

Despite the diversity of our backgrounds and fields of endeavor, somehow, over two and a half days of workshop, Corey always managed to guide and instruct us, as a group and individually, in a way that was neither too complex and esoteric nor too simple.  He obviously comprehends dynamic systems so well, and knows the software so thoroughly, that no matter what type of model one of us presented, Corey could quickly offer clear and helpful guidance.  I never felt lost, and I always found myself learning something as I eavesdropped on Corey’s conversations with others in the class.

Our other instructor, Mark Paich, was a protégé and colleague of some of the pioneers of Systems Thinking, including Barry Richmond and Peter Senge.  Mark’s tales from years of consulting work with clients, such as General Motors, were fascinating and, for me, they helped place the concepts we were exploring within a much larger context.  Although the scope and complexity of some of the projects Mark described were daunting, these stories helped me appreciate more clearly what is possible when you begin to view almost any situation you encounter as a dynamic system.  And the stories were fascinating and fun, providing an excellent “brain break” from the rigors of our lessons with Corey!

By the end of the first day, we’d all constructed our first working models, and begun to sketch out the models we hoped to build.  As I mentioned, I wanted to try to create a simple model to explore dynamic demand, based on several variable factors, for LASIK vision correction surgery.  I’d start with the population of our market area and then determine the number of people who wear glasses or contacts.

• Of those people, how many are aware that our hospital offers LASIK surgery?
• How many of the “aware” group might be willing to attend a free information session and preliminary evaluation?
• Of all qualified candidates, how many would be willing and able to actually go through with the surgery?
• Then, after successful LASIK surgery, how many people would tell their friends, neighbors or colleagues how happy they were, thus spreading awareness and influencing a new group of candidates to have LASIK surgery?
• And what might be the impact on surgery volume of marketing efforts at various levels of expenditure?  How about a discount or referral incentive?

I started out pretty simply because, as Corey reminded us often, “There’s plenty of time to make it more complex later.”  That proved to be great advice.  And in the end, I went home with a rudimentary model that seemed to work.  Well, mostly.  It needs more work and I need more practice.  And when I mentioned to Corey that I hoped to figure out how to factor in the “word of mouth” effect into my model, he promised to send me information about the “Bass Diffusion Model” that addresses that very topic.  And sure enough, an email arrived a few days after I’d returned home.

In all, my experience at the introductory iThink/STELLA workshop was excellent, even transformative.  I now often find myself thinking in terms of stocks, flows, converters and connectors. I don’t literally model every situation I encounter, of course, but I see applications all around me. I know I have an enormous amount yet to learn, the introductory course covered just the basics for me. But now I have more confidence and I feel inspired to move forward, because I’ve had a tantalizing glimpse of what’s possible with a proper grasp of key concepts, the right software tool – and remarkable teachers.

Our next Introduction to Dynamic Modeling Workshop is scheduled to be at Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vermont on August 5th – 7th.  You may be wondering  “Why Lake Morey?”

For starters, the resort is located along the shores of Lake Morey, surrounded by Vermont hills in a beautiful natural setting. It has a golf course, tennis courts and lake front swimming facilities that attendees can enjoy while taking a break from the workshop.

Not only is Vermont a wonderful place to visit in the summer months, but Lake Morey is only ten miles north of the isee systems offices. We love being able to drop in on workshops that are close by or meet with customers over a beer after hours.  It gives us an opportunity to learn more about the amazing work people are doing with our software and to get their ideas for future development.  It also gives our customers a chance to get to know us and to put a face to someone they’ve been talking to over the phone or via email.

We hope to see you this summer! If there’s someone on the isee staff that you’d like to meet with, be sure to let us know.

Please give us a call at (603) 448-4990 or send an email to support@iseesystems.com to check on availability. 

Among other topics, Karim covers how to organize your model with modules, draw causal loop diagrams and import data from multiple spread sheets.  Preview the 40 minute presentation with this 1.5 minute video clip.

>> Download the sample model files used in the presentation.

>> View complete webinar presentation.

In this session, Jeremy Merritt presented a live demonstration of  isee Netsim.  isee Netsim lets you publish your STELLA or iThink models to the web so that anyone with an internet connection and a web browser can run them. If you’re curious about how this simple process works, you can view the archived webinar video that shows how to prepare, export and publish a model to the web.

Get a taste of the higher resolution 40 minute presentation by watching this one minute preview.

>> View complete webinar presentation.

One of the questions I often get asked in both my professional and personal life is “What is Systems Thinking?”  It seems like a simple question but the answer can be very different depending on who you’re talking to.  Much of my career has been involved in the development of software so it is only natural for a lot of the folks I know to think of “systems” as having something to do with computers.  Then there are certain unnamed members of my family who still don’t quite understand what it is I do for a living.   And even when I do my best to explain, their eyes glaze over and they claim to get it “sort of”.  That’s why I was so excited after I read the book Thinking in Systems – A Primer by Donnella Meadows.  Finally there’s a book I can recommend to everyone because it so clearly explains what this systems stuff is all about.

I have Chris Soderquist of Pontifex Consulting to thank for recommending Thinking in Systems to me but also for suggesting we collaborate on an online course based on the book.  Chris was one of the book reviewers and together with Diana Wright of the Sustainability Institute (the book’s editor) we developed a syllabus for a four-session web seminar series titled Thinking in Systems: Practical Lessons for Building Sustainable Organizations & Communities.

Here’s how the online course will work.  For four consecutive Fridays in April and May participants will log on to a web site where the course is being hosted. (We use the GoToWebinar service.)  During each 70 minute session, Chris and Diana will present materials  and provide step-by-step instruction followed by an interactive discussion period.  Sessions will be recorded and all of the course materials will be available for download afterwards.

[UPDATE:  The live course is now complete but we have made the recorded series available for purchase]

We’re really excited about this course because it is so relevant to the headlines we’ve been reading daily and will provide a framework for discussion regardless of your Systems Thinking experience level.   If you’ve never done any modeling before, this course will be a great place to start.  We’re even offering a time limited student license of iThink or STELLA for course participants.

Looking forward to having you join us on Fridays, beginning April 17^th.

Steve Peterson coaches workshop attendees

Our next workshop Introduction to Dynamic Modeling with STELLA and iThink will be held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston in Cambridge, MA on March 24-26th. 

One of the benefits of attending the workshop is access to our consulting partners from Lexidyne LLC who bring a ton of real-world practical experience to class.  Come with a real modeling  project in hand and they’ll coach you through the process of conceptualizing and creating a dynamic model with STELLA or iThink.

Due to the hands-on nature of the workshop, class sizes are limited.   Please give us a call at (603) 448-4990 or send an email to support@iseesystems.com to check on availability. 

We look forward to seeing you in Cambridge!