Systems Thinking, Project Management, and Agile - Part 3: Let the Interactions Begin!

[For this series, it will help to have read "System Dynamics and Causal Loop Diagrams 101."]

In a previous article we learned how to read an important feature of system diagrams. Namely, the interactions - the direction and whether the effect of the interaction was direct or indirect. With that understanding in hand, we can begin to look at real-life interactions. Well, real in the sense they are reflections of real-world interactions. These are interactions that take place outside the Work Loop but nonetheless affect the performance of the Work Loop.

By the time we're done building out the model, you'll be aware of just how many brake and gas peddles there on in this project management automobile (building on the metaphor used in the previous post for this series!)

Revisiting the Work Loop¹ (indicated by the “A” in a circle icon)...

Figure 1