A case study in system dynamics optimization

This paper presents the use of optimization as a tool for policy analysis and design in system dynamics models, and presents a demonstration of its use on the ‘project model’ developed by G.P. Richardson and A.L. Pugh III in their book ‘Introduction to System Dynamics Modelling with DYNAMO’. The use of optimization to design parameters, table functions and new model structure is shown to produce a very significantly improved performance for this model compared to conventional approaches.