<>The System Dynamics Group was founded in
the early 1960s by Professor Jay W. Forrester at MIT. At that time, he began
applying what he had learned about systems during his work in electrical engineering
to every day kinds of systems. What makes using system dynamics different
from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use of feedback loops.
Stocks and flows help describe how a system is connected by feedback loops
which create the nonlinearity found so frequently in modern day problems.
Computers software is used to simulate a system dynamics model of the situation
being studied. Running “what if” simulations to test certain policies
on such a model can greatly aid in understanding how the system changes over
time.
See http://web.mit.edu/sdg/www/