Course Title: System Dynamics Modelling

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: System Dynamics Modelling

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

ISYS2397

City Campus

Postgraduate

620H Business IT and Logistics

Face-to-Face

Spring2008,
Spring2009,
Sem 2 2010

Course Coordinator: Dr France Cheong

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 5929

Course Coordinator Email: france.cheong@rmit.edu.au


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no formal prerequisites for this course. Students are assumed to possess basic computing, mathematical and reasoning skills.


Course Description

System Dynamics (SD) is systemic approach to problem solving that views a system in a holistic manner rather than its elementary components. It is appropriate for analysing complex systems composed of a large diversity of elements linked together by strong interactions. This course introduces you to the area of System Dynamics for modelling and simulating complex business problems. You will learn how to model the dynamics of complex systems, the components of which usually interact strongly with each other by means of feedback loops. You will also learn how to simulate these complex systems and run “what if” simulations to evaluate certain scenarios.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the conclusion of this course, you should develop the following capabilities:
- Ability to model the behaviour of complex systems using systemic approaches
- Ability to solve complex problems in creative and innovative ways
- Ability to evaluate business policies before they are implemented using simulation
- Ability to generate future business scenarios and evaluate them using simulation


At the conclusion of this course, you should be able to:
- Create models that use global perceptions and emphasize interactions between elements
- Use models that are insufficiently rigorous but useful for decision making.
- Generate plausible scenarios and evaluate them using simulation techniques


Overview of Learning Activities

In order to develop the stated course capabilities, you are expected to actively participate in the following learning activities:
- Regular attendance and active participation in scheduled lectures and workshops.
- Reading of course notes and other assigned reading materials.
- Satisfactory completion of assessment tasks.

While a minimum attendance standard is not compulsory in this course, satisfactory completion of the program is required. Most students will find that regular class attendance is needed to achieve the necessary standard to pass this course.


Overview of Learning Resources

You are expected to regularly visit the Learning Hub of the Distributed Learning System (DLS) located at http://www.rmit.edu.au/online. The DLS provides access to important announcements, staff contact details, teaching schedule, assessment timelines and a variety of important teaching and learning materials.
You are expected to purchase the prescribed text book. You are advised to contact Student Services for assistance with learning and information on a range of supports available to support your academic success.


Overview of Assessment

The assessment for this course is on the basis of satisfactory completion of assignments and class tests.
Should the course coordinator deem that variation to the assessment tasks is needed, then this will be discussed with the class and will only proceed with documented consent of 75 percent of the class.