Intervention points in systems

Places to Intervene in a System (in increasing order of effectiveness)¹

1. Numbers: Constants and parameters such as subsidies, taxes, and standards
2. Buffers: The sizes of stabilizing stocks relative to their flows
3. Stock-and-Flow Structures: Physical systems and their nodes of intersection
4. Delays: The lengths of time relative to the rates of system changes
5. Balancing Feedback Loops: The strength of the feedbacks relative to the impacts they are trying to correct
6. Reinforcing Feedback Loops: The strength of the gain of driving loops
7. Information Flows: The structure of who does and does not have access to information
8. Rules: Incentives, punishments, constraints 4. Self-Organization: The power to add, change, or evolve system structure
9. Goals: The purpose of the system
10. Paradigms: The mind-set out of which the system—its goals, structure, rules, delays, parameters—arises
11. Transcending Paradigms

1. Meadows, D. H. Thinking in Systems: A Primer. (Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vt, 2008).