Forio Simulations

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Forio Business Simulations is an online, software as a service (SaaS), company distributing custom simulations and simulation development software to businesses, universities, and government agencies around the world. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Forio was founded in April, 2001 by two MIT graduates Michael Bean and Will Glass-Husain. Forio focuses on strategic planning and training simulation using the system dynamics simulation methodology, developed at MIT, which describes the consequences of managerial decisions over time.

Forio enables customers to develop complex simulations using a text-based modeling language, based on the System Dynamics methodology, and a Web-based development environment called Simulate. While you can use Simulate for any of your modeling and simulation needs, the environment is ideal for system dynamics applications. System dynamics is method for describing the structure and dynamics of complex systems such as population, ecological, and economic systems, where constituent parts of the system interact strongly with each other and over time. What differentiates system dynamics from other analytical methods is the ability to describe the dynamics of systems using causal loop diagrams. These diagrams show the interrelation and influence of one set of variables on another set of variables, often resulting in cumulative causation, i.e. positive feedback, or homeostasis, i.e. negative feedback.

Customers can register for a Simulate account and upload an existing model, or from scratch create a new model, including a Flash or HTML interface, and run a simulation online. Simulate supports models created by Vensim, Microsoft Excel, iThink/Stella , and PowerSim studio.

Customers

Notable Forio customers include:

  • Harvard Business School Publishing
  • MIT Sloan School of Management
  • Kellogg Graduate School of Management
  • Johnson & Johnson
  • Raytheon
  • Pfizer

See also

Related subjects
  • Causal loop diagram
  • Ecosystem model
  • Plateau Principle
  • System Archetypes
  • System Dynamics Society
  • World3
Related fields
  • System Dynamics
  • Dynamical systems theory
  • Complex systems
  • Operations research
  • Social dynamics
  • Systems theory
  • Systems thinking
Related scientists
  • Jay Forrester
  • Dennis Meadows
  • Donella Meadows
  • Peter Senge
  • John Sterman
  • Forio.com 1
  • Simulate Webpage 2
  • System Dyanmics Homepage 3
  • MIT System Dynamics Homepage 4
  • AbOUT System Dynamics 5
  • Business Dynamics Book 6
  • Control Theory Control theory