ABOUT
DIGITAL
TWINS,
COMPLEX
SYSTEMS,
&
DECISION
SCIENCE
"Is a model or simulation necessary?"
"How can you see the hidden dynamics at play?"
The practice forum event day includes sessions and talks that explore two complementary themes shaping the future of System Dynamics practice: Digital Twins and Conveying Complexity. Through real-world case studies in aerospace, cybersecurity, education, and organizational strategy, participants will examine how dynamic models help reveal hidden structures, identify leverage points, and improve decision-making in complex environments.
The first theme focuses on digital twins as living representations of real-world systems that enable organizations to test assumptions, explore alternative futures, and guide action before committing resources in the real world. The second explores how systems stories, visualizations, and stakeholder perspectives help communicate complexity when the most important drivers of behavior are difficult to quantify.
Together, these perspectives demonstrate how System Dynamics not only helps us understand complex systems but also enables us to communicate insights and turn understanding into effective action.
Lead Session: A Tale of Caution — Hidden Bottlenecks, Counterintuitive Causes, and the Cost of Delay
by Ventana Systems, MIT Alumni
The history of Douglas Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas presents a striking paradox: some of the company’s most successful commercial aircraft programs coincided with periods of severe financial distress. The DC-9 and MD-80 were widely regarded as engineering and market successes, yet both ultimately contributed to organizational outcomes that led to mergers first with McDonnell and later with Boeing. Over decades, dozens of improvement initiatives sought to address persistent productivity and cost challenges, but none identified the underlying causes. This session examines how System Dynamics revealed counterintuitive bottlenecks that had remained hidden despite extensive analysis, investment, and management attention.
Beyond the technical findings, this story highlights a broader challenge facing leaders in complex organizations: discovering the true source of a problem is often far more difficult than solving it. Participants will explore why local optimization efforts repeatedly failed, how deeply held mental models can obscure critical constraints, and why organizational resistance frequently emerges when evidence challenges conventional wisdom. The lesson is not merely about aerospace manufacturing—it is about understanding how hidden structure can shape outcomes across any complex system.
Session Part 2: A Recipe for Impact — From Bottleneck Discovery to Dynamic Decision Making
by Ventana Systems, MIT Alumni
If the first session demonstrates why organizations struggle to find the right problem, the second focuses on how System Dynamics can help identify and address it. Using lessons drawn from aircraft development programs, this session explores a practical approach for diagnosing performance constraints, evaluating alternative interventions, and anticipating the next limiting factor before it emerges. Participants will see how the modeling process itself helps direct attention toward the most influential drivers of system behavior and away from symptoms that can distract decision makers.
The discussion then extends beyond diagnosis to continuous organizational learning. A well-constructed System Dynamics model can serve as a dynamic decision-support environment—a form of digital twin that enables leaders to test policies, evaluate tradeoffs, and improve performance before committing resources in the real world. This capability forms the foundation of what many fields describe as Model Predictive Control: continuously identifying constraints, selecting interventions, and adapting as conditions change. The result is a disciplined approach to managing complexity that moves organizations from reactive problem-solving toward proactive system stewardship.
Session: AI, Cybersecurity, and Modern Governance — When Green Means Red
by Dr. Sander Zeijlemaker
Organizations increasingly rely on dashboards, scorecards, and governance reports to assess cyber risk, yet these indicators often provide a misleading picture of reality. In an environment where AI-driven threats evolve faster than organizations can adapt, security programs may appear healthy on paper while underlying capabilities quietly erode. Drawing from a Fortune 500 case study, this session explores how simulation and System Dynamics can uncover “watermelon risks”—situations where reported performance remains green while actual resilience and risk exposure are trending red.
Participants will examine how forward-looking simulation can strengthen governance by revealing strategy shelf life, identifying emerging vulnerabilities before they become incidents, and exposing delays between operational reality and executive reporting. The session demonstrates how System Dynamics extends beyond operational improvement into the realm of AI-era governance, providing leaders with a means to test assumptions, anticipate future risk, and make more informed investment and oversight decisions.
Knowledge in Action.
Join the Community Network.
Participation is encouraged across all levels of experience. Whether you are new to System Dynamics or have an extensive background in the field, the event offers industry perspectives and diverse applications.
Network and meet others during breaks and after the event.
Systems Stories — Making Complexity Visible Beyond the Numbers
Session:
The Power of Systems Stories: Understanding Inclusion Through Multiple Perspectives
by Aakriti Gupta, MIT Sloan System Dynamics Group
Inclusive education is often discussed through outcomes, funding levels, or program metrics, yet many of the factors that determine success are difficult to measure directly. Relationships, trust, accessibility, stakeholder incentives, and institutional assumptions frequently shape outcomes as much as formal policies or investments. This session explores how systems thinking can help reveal these hidden dynamics and communicate complexity in ways that are accessible to diverse audiences, including funders, policymakers, educators, and community stakeholders.
Using an inclusive education case study, participants will examine how a systems perspective challenged conventional assumptions about where problems resided and where interventions would be most effective. Through the use of systems stories, feedback structures, and stakeholder perspectives, the session demonstrates how complexity can be conveyed even when critical variables are not easily parameterized. The discussion concludes by exploring how systems views can reshape funding strategies, unlock new sources of support, and expand the range of interventions considered possible within complex social systems.
Session:
Communicating Complexity: Making Systems Visible to Decision Makers
by Rebecca Niles, MIT Alumna,
System Dynamics Society Director
Sponsor an MIT System Dynamics Chapter & Group Event
As we expand our impact through events, workshops, and upcoming System Dynamics challenges, we invite sponsors to partner with us in advancing systems thinking, innovation, and education. Your support helps fund hands-on learning experiences, student-led initiatives, and cutting-edge explorations at the intersection of AI, modeling, and complex problem-solving. Join us in shaping the future of the MIT System Dynamics group and the System Dynamics Society MIT Chapter.
If you’re interested in sponsoring or learning more, contact: systemdynamicshelp@alum.mit.edu
Session: Beyond Strategy — Running the Organization with a Living Digital Twin
by Jorge Sousa, CEO, Whatxnext
What happens when the model stops running?
Most organizations develop a strategy, create an implementation plan, and then rely on reports and dashboards to determine whether they are succeeding. Yet strategies often fail because the environment changes faster than plans can adapt. This session explores a different approach: treating a System Dynamics model not as a one-time analysis, but as a living digital twin that continuously informs strategic and operational decisions. Drawing from a real-world organizational case, participants will see how dynamic models can help leaders anticipate challenges, test policies before implementation, and maintain alignment between strategy and execution.
This session demonstrates how an organization evolved from traditional planning toward continuous strategy management through simulation, monthly learning cycles, and ongoing model refinement. Participants will explore how digital twins can reveal emerging constraints, improve investment decisions, strengthen organizational learning, and create a management process that adapts as conditions change. The discussion concludes by exploring how a continuously evolving digital twin can transform strategy from a periodic planning exercise into an ongoing process of learning, adaptation, and organizational steering.
Session: How Aviation’s Ultimate Digital Twin Keeps Millions Safe
by Steven Smith, MIT Alum,
Senior Director of Flight Systems
Every time a commercial aircraft takes off, it carries with it decades of learning from one of the most successful applications of digital twins ever created: the flight simulator. Long before “digital twin” became a business buzzword, aviation relied on physics-based replicas to train pilots, test scenarios, evaluate risk, and prepare for situations too dangerous or too expensive to reproduce in the real world. Today, commercial pilots can earn certification on aircraft they have never physically flown, relying entirely on simulations whose accuracy is measured not by convenience, but by safety.
Yet creating an accurate digital twin is only part of the challenge. Its value depends on whether people trust it enough to make decisions based on what it reveals. Drawing on decades of aviation experience, Steve Smith explores how organizations validate complex models, communicate counterintuitive results, and build confidence in simulated environments. Participants will gain practical insights into how digital twins move beyond analysis to become trusted decision-support systems, offering lessons that apply equally to aviation, manufacturing, supply chains, and other complex systems.
John D. Sterman, PhD
Director, MIT System Dynamics Group
FIELD LEADER AND JAY W. FORRESTER MIT PROFESSOR OF SYSTEM DYNAMICS AND ENGINEERING SYSTEMS
MIT Alum '82
OUR SPEAKERS & FACILITATORS
David Miller, PhD
CLEAN ENERGY VENTURES
CO-FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER
MIT Alum '90, '91, '2007
SUPPORTERS
THE VENUE
This is an in-person event at the Delft University of Technology.
Schedule
8:30 AM CEST Registration Opens
9:00 AM CEST Opening & Kick-Off
9:15 AM CEST Leading Talk/Session 1
10:00 AM CEST Break & Networking
10:15 AM CEST Session 2
10:55 AM CEST Session 3
11:30 AM CEST Lunch
1:00 PM CEST Session 4
1:35 PM CEST Session 5
2:10 PM CEST Break & Networking
2:30 PM CEST Session 6
3:15 PM CEST Session 7
3:45 PM CEST Wrap Up/Closing