An Icon-Based Language

For example, Dynamic Modeling can be used to look at pricing/inventory/demand dynamics in a particular industry. Items such as Inventory and Capacity which accumulate and can be counted at any single timepoint are represented as stocks. The actions which directly affect these accumulations (such as production, sales, and capacity starts) are shown as flows which occur over a period of time. Variables housed in the circles are called auxiliaries and can hold inputs (such as base demand per consumer), show key relationships (operating rate is based on level of Inventory), and house calculations (actual demand per consumer is a function of base demand per consumer and the effect of Price.) Finally, the thin arrows or connectors show the dependent relationships between variables (the inputs for Price are Inventory and base demand per consumer.) This operational structure provides a framework which can be expanded for more detailed analyses.

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