[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-656345-105":59,"doc-detail-656345-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","describing-systems-causal-flow-diagrams","Describing systems - Causal flow diagrams","","Explains how to move from a static system picture to dynamic causal thinking using causal flow diagrams and causal loop concepts. Covers feedback loops, variables as measurable entities, and how interconnections help model how systems change. Distinguishes causation from correlation using examples like ice cream sales and murder rate. Emphasizes iterative diagramming, validating assumed relationships through empirical data collection, and identifying reinforcing versus balancing dynamics.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":30,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/technology/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/describing-systems-causal-flow-diagrams/656345/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/describing-systems-causal-flow-diagrams/656345.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Cipher","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-25",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":19},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the main purpose of causal flow diagrams in systems thinking?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"To represent the structure of a system dynamically by showing causal linkages and feedback loops between variables rather than treating the system as a static picture.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How are variables defined for use in causal diagrams?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Variables should be nouns or noun phrases that represent measurable things that change, helping model how different parts of the system relate.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do you distinguish causation from correlation in a system?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Correlation does not reveal system structure; causal diagrams must express genuine causal relationships. The ice cream sales and murder rate example illustrates that simultaneous movement can reflect a shared underlying cause.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},656345,1792967959,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":29,"category_name":30,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":19,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":143},687208528416,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","Describing systems | Causal flow diagrams  \nWe're going to return to that particular casein a few minutes, but I want to take you from describing a system as a static picture and introduce to you some tools to be able to set that picture in motion.  \nWhat I want to do is introduce you to a few key concepts around causal flow diagrams—the idea of feedback loops, for instance—and give you a sense of how to use some of these tools in a fairly simplistic way.  \nWhen you start to imagine modeling a system—not necessarily in a quantitative sense—but even just to begin to understand how a system works so that you can think about changing it, it can be very useful to think about the kinds of causal linkages and or feedback loops—and I'll define those in a few minutes—that are holding the system in place or perhaps driving the system off in a particular direction.  \nIt can be very useful to identify those rather than wasting time trying to push back against them. It can be very useful to think about, \"Well, how do I decouple that or reinforce that particular feedback loop to get the system to move towards the kinds of change I want to affect?\" So, it's effectively taking your static  \nsystem diagram and thinking about those interconnections and components in a much more dynamic way. Moving from components to variables, i.e. , things that are measurable, things that change, and thinking about how those variables are interconnected.  \nYou can think about conceptually modeling a system in many different ways. I'm going to use some content by Dr. Jan Sendzimir, a colleague and systems thinker. When I talk about how to model these, he's got some wonderful material that we've adapted here.  \nWhen we think about conceptually modeling a system, we can begin using words, pictures, or diagrams to start thinking about the way systems interact and work. I've already gotten you to do a static picture of the Victor Diamond environmental assessment consultation process and we'll return to that example in just a few minutes. You can think about using those kinds of basic pictures and diagrams and then think about causal loop diagrams feedback loop diagrams.  \nIt’s useful to begin with the kinds of diagrams—or rich pictures—that I imagine you produced when we did that initial sketch  \nof the Victor Diamond Mine environmental assessment consultation process. To think about how various components or variables within a system interrelate, this kind of rich pictured development has been used extensively by people like Peter Checkland and the idea of soft systems thinking versus hard systems thinking or engineering approaches. The integration of multiple perspectives and surfacing local knowledge can be really, really useful in understanding systems.  \nIt’s useful to think about cause and effect. Typically, when we think about cause and effect, we often think about one component or variable causing another. But, in a systems approach, we think about various variables interacting with each other in different ways. Oftentimes, the outcomes are not quite as clear as if they would be when they were just talking about one variable and one effect. When you've got multiple variables and different effects, that's where complexity comes in.  \nIt’s useful to distinguish between causation versus correlation. Correlations do not represent the structure of the system. Causal diagrams must include genuine causal  \nDescribing systems | Causal flow diagrams  \nrelationships. You want to avoid making assumptions about systems and these can be often avenues for exploring and doing empirical data collection or looking for other sources of data about a system or even published academic material or other gray literature might help you understand your system of interest.  \nFor instance, this idea that Jan highlights here, that as ice cream sales increase, the murder rate increases. This is not a causal linkage. This is just a correlation that happens to surface in terms of statis","cbCaik72r2sllBBC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaik72r2sllBBC","pdf",182394,"English","# Causal flow diagrams and dynamic system understanding\n## From static pictures to moving models\n## Key concepts: variables and causal linkages\n## Causation vs correlation and validating assumptions\n## Iterative diagram construction","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of causal flow diagrams in systems thinking?\",\"answer\":\"To represent the structure of a system dynamically by showing causal linkages and feedback loops between variables rather than treating the system as a static picture.\"},{\"question\":\"How are variables defined for use in causal diagrams?\",\"answer\":\"Variables should be nouns or noun phrases that represent measurable things that change, helping model how different parts of the system relate.\"},{\"question\":\"How do you distinguish causation from correlation in a system?\",\"answer\":\"Correlation does not reveal system structure; causal diagrams must express genuine causal relationships. The ice cream sales and murder rate example illustrates that simultaneous movement can reflect a shared underlying cause.\"}]","Describing systems - Causal flow diagrams | PDF",13]