System dynamics applied to music

One of the project teams from last year's system dynamics class in the Information School at the University of Washington will be presenting their work at the International System Dynamics Society Conference this summer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Look on the tentative schedule for "Exploring the Dynamics of Music Piracy" by Trond Nilsen, Brian Houle, Douglas Kuzenski, and Arpan Sheth, or check out their abstract, paper, and models.

Congratulations Trond, Brian, Doug, and Arpan! For the rest of you, check out their work. Perhaps it will shed light on a subject you've talked about.

IMT 586: Information Dynamics at the University of Washington

If you are a University of Washington graduate student interested in understanding the impact of information feedback on the systems in which we live and work, check out this winter's IMT 586 (also offered as INSC 586). This is the second year it's been offered, and I'm looking forward to exploring this field with a whole new group of you. If there's enough demand, we hope to offer the follow-on IMT 587 in the spring this year, so there's even more potential this year than there was last year.

If you are not a UW graduate student, but you are an interested professional who lives within commuting distance of UW, consider signing up, too. For any of you, studying system dynamics (okay, it's offered in the Information School, so we call it Information Dynamics) offers a great opportunity to learn a new way to make sense of the challenges we face and to find and test solutions.

Last year, all of the students brought their laptops to class. That let us create and explore computer models and simulations in class, which seemed to make for faster, more solid, and much more interesting learning. I hope to do even more of that this year. If you sign up and can bring your laptop, great. If you can't because you have a desktop machine, that's okay. We'll be fine as long as at least half the class brings laptops.

I look forward to seeing many of you in January! Please ask if you have questions.

System dynamics in Seattle

I just ordered texts for IMT 586, Information Dynamics I, in the Information School of the University of Washington, which reminds me to tell any of you at UW or within commuting distance who have been interested in system dynamics that we do plan on teaching system dynamics again this winter quarter. Registration starts November 7.

If there's enough interest, we hope to teach the follow-on IMT 587 in spring 2009. If you take IMT 586 this winter, consider leaving time in your spring schedule. If you took IMT 586 last year and would like to go further, think of IMT 587. If you've already got a system dynamics background (equivalent roughly to the first fourteen chapters of John Sterman's Business Dynamics) and would like to go straight to IMT 587, let's talk sometime before spring quarter enrollment.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Sneak peak: Information Dynamics I / II

If you are a current University of Washington graduate student or you live within commuting distance of the University of Washington and if you are interested in learning about system dynamics in an academic setting, put IMT 586 and IMT 587 on your calendar for the coming winter and spring quarters.

If you took IMT 586 last year or if you have a solid background in the material of the first half of John Sterman's Business Dynamics, put IMT 587 on your calendar for the coming spring quarter (yes, that's nine months away). We plan to offer it, assuming we have sufficient enrollment.

I'll make a fuller announcement as we get closer. Ask if you have questions, and let me know if you think you're interested: I'm curious and interested.

IMT 586: Information Dynamics I

If you're in the Puget Sound area and have been thinking about enrolling in IMT 586 (Information Dynamics I, called system dynamics by most of the rest of the world) at the University of Washington, now's the time; the quarter starts next week.

For more on the course, see my two prior announcements.

System dynamics course

Have you heard of system dynamics here or in your reading elsewhere? Would you like to learn more, including how to create computer simulation models to make sense of some of the challenges and puzzles you face, be they at work or in the news?

The University of Washington Information School is offering IMT 586, a first course in system dynamics, in the winter quarter. Yes, I'll be teaching it. You can learn more about it, including tips on how to register, in my earlier posting called Information Dynamics: IMT 586. My instructor class description lists the three goals I have for this course. For anyone concerned about the level of mathematics required in this course, that page also points to a brief description by the author of our text describing the level of mathematics needed to do this work.

I look forward to meeting some of you in that class!

Information Dynamics: IMT 586

Have you ever wondered ...

• what causes some ideas, products, and companies to become fads that peak and die, while others have staying power?
  
  
• why there are business cycles?
  
  
• what causes some diseases to become epidemics and others to subside with little effect?
  
  
• why real change often takes so long?
  
  
• the role information plays in the answer to each of these questions?
  

Would you like to learn to answer these and other such questions
yourself? Are you a student at the University of Washington, or do you live within commuting distance?

Then sign up for the Information School's IMT 586, Information Dynamics I, in the Winter Quarter 2008. I look forward to seeing some of you there.

IMT586: a course in system dynamics

While I have taught system dynamics and systems thinking courses and workshops for various organizations, some have asked if I was planning any public courses. I can now tell you that I'm the lecturer in spe for IMT586, a graduate course in information (system) dynamics for the Information School at the University of Washington. IMT586 will be offered starting in the winter quarter of 2008. It will be offered in the MSIM program to both day and executive students. It currently appears it will also be open to non-matriculated students, so, if you live within commuting distance of the University of Washington's main Seattle campus and are interested in learning system dynamics, check it out.

As we get closer and more information is available on the UW iSchool Web site, I'll post updates on Making Sense With Facilitated Systems.

Of course, if you want custom training tailored for your organization's needs, feel free to contact me.