Introduction to Dynamic Modeling II raises the bar on your modeling skill level, making you confident to build your first models.

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: Combining Feedback

While simple feedback can lead to very interesting behavior, the systems around us are composed of several interlocking feedback loops. In this class, we will explore some of the most common substructures that include multiple feedback loops.

Class 2: The Modeling Process

Successful model development requires a disciplined approach, starting from the reference mode and moving through model validation and sensitivity analysis. Each stage of this process will be presented using a specific modeling problem as an example.

Class 3: Limits to Growth

The Limits to Growth archetype is an important coupled feedback system that recurs with surprising regularity. We will explore this archetype in depth and look at examples of its use in several application areas.

Class 4: Graphical Functions

Graphical functions define relationships between variables at an aggregate level. Each graphical function stands in for more detailed model structure that does not need to be explicitly modeled, thus simplifying your model structure. This class explores the proper use of graphical functions and best practices for defining them.