Casual loop diagram

• The Essay topic: Casual loop diagram
• Class:4IT496 Simulation of Systems (WS 2014/2015)
• Author: Martina Nováková

Introduction

Everything is connected to everything else. It doesn´t matter if it is nature or human environment, there is a large and complex web of interactions. But sometimes we need only sections of these connections, and so we have to isolate issues which we would like to describe and observe. There are different word and arrow diagrams, e.g. causal-loop diagrams, cognitive maps or fishbone diagrams. They are widespread in system dynamics. This chapter is concentrated on issue of causal loop diagrams. (Haraldsson, 2000)

Description of causal loop diagrams

Causal loop diagrams (CLDs) are a very simple but powerful way of visualizing important parts of the system and how they interrelate. It is a great tool for dealing with complex problems and the striking component of system dynamics. Causal loop diagrams are useful for displaying the behaviour of cause and effect from system standpoint. they show the interrelation between causes and their effects. They are quite popular because it is easy to start drawing these diagrams. All you need to draw CLDs is pencil and paper or a whiteboard. You can use software for drawing this type of diagram too. These possibilities will be introduced later.