Do parallel lines meet? How can pathway participation metrics and eigenvalue analysis produce similar results?

Abstract

The search for tools and techniques aimed at model analysis has gained momentum in the system dynamics community during the last decade. A variety of approaches have been developed, modified and applied to replace or enhance the traditional intuitive-based schemes for understanding the behavior of dynamic models according to their feedback structure. In spite of the diversity of the methods developed for model analysis, recent studies suggest that there is considerable convergence in the results they produce. This paper explores the metrics used by the pathway participation approach and eigenvalue elasticity analysis in order to explain how, despite the significant differences in the process of model analysis, they can produce similar and comparable results. The paper discusses the application of pathway participation metrics in four well-known models that have been previously analyzed using the eigenvalue elasticity method. The case studies highlight some of the similarities and differences between the two approaches in detecting the dominant structure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.