Glossary: Solution Element




	Solution Element A solution element is a single, narrowly focused change to a system. In the System Improvement Process (SIP), each solution element is a structural change (or in rare cases a state change) designed to resolve or help resolve a specific flaw(s) or defect(s) that was identified in the analysis. A solution element has three critical aspects: 1. The objective – The most important thing about a solution element is its objective. The objective is what flaws or defects it is designed to resolve or help resolve. 2. How the objective is achieved – The second most important thing is how this objective is achieved, in system dynamics terms. Exactly how does an element change the dynamic behavior of the system? How does it neutralize the effect of undesired feedback loops? How, in some cases, does it add new feedback loops to the system that radically change its behavior? For questions like these to be answered there must be a model of how the system behaves before and after a solution element is applied. These models are built in the System Understanding and Solution Convergence steps of SIP. Because the second model builds on the first one, the first is by far the most important. 3. How the elements work together – The third most important characteristic of a solution element is how it works with others. This is because in difficult problems, it almost always takes a collection of system changes working smoothly together to solve the problem. One element can have an amplifying effect on another. One element may need to precede another. One element may ensure that the system responds in a certain way to another element. It may take two elements to have a certain effect, because no one element could do the job. And so on. Element interrelationships can become extremely complicated, and can often introduce unintended effects. These the problem solver must anticipate, and either design the solution so that undesirable new behavior will not occur, or design Implementation Plan contingencies that can be used if unwanted behavior does occur.

Dueling Loops Paper

The most popular page on the site by a factor of 3. This paper presents a simple model showing why activists have been unable to solve the sustainability problem, and an alternative solution strategy based on high leverage points.

Change Resistance Paper

This explains why the crux of the sustainability problem is change resistance, rather than what conventional wisdom thinks it is. That's why the problem has remained unsolved for over 30 years. The paper describes a high leverage point that's never been pushed on before that can solve the change resistance problem.

The Powell Memo

The most eye popping short read (7 pages) on the site, if you have never heard about it. The memo was written in 1971.

Dueling Loops Videos

These average 8 minutes. They give a quick introduction to the Dueling Loops model and how it explains the tremendous change resistance to solving the sustainability problem.