Dynamic Modeling II fills in the remaining gaps in model building, teaching more advanced concepts that are often needed to accurately model a system.

Join Dr. Karim Chichakly as he guides you, step by step, through some of the key components in the process of effective model creation. During each 55-minute class, you'll learn the ins and outs of model creation as he shares his personal workflow and additional tips and tricks that he’s learned in more than 20 years of experience in the field.

Each class is followed with a question and answer session with Dr. Chichakly. Online access to these class recordings, sample models, handouts, and homework assignments are included to cement your learning.

Course Overview

Class 1: Delays

Delays exist in every system and lead to important dynamics that can critically affect outcomes. Within a balancing loop, delays work to destabilize a system, leading at times to boom and bust cycles. In this class, we will examine the different types of delays that enter into a system and explore the consequences of these delays on system behavior.

Class 2: Oscillations

As demonstrated in class 1, delays in a system can cause that system to oscillate. The size of the delay itself affects the amplitude and period of oscillation. Other forces within the system can serve to damp that oscillation, giving you a powerful tool to bring a runaway system back into control. We will deconstruct the forces that lead to oscillation and explore at length how to tame an oscillatory system.

Class 3: Forecasts

Often decisions are made based on some forecast about what might happen in the future, usually based on what has been happening and the current state of the system. The assumptions used in this type of decision making, while often useful, can lead to undesirable outcomes. We will model and then explore the reliability of such methods under different circumstances.

Class 4: Molecules

We've covered many reusable components in this series. This class will explore a library of components that you can refer to whenever you aren't sure about a model formulation.