This project (2020-1-SE01-KA203-077872) has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Insightmaker

Author
Scott Fortmann-Roe
Availability
Free download
Area
Natural Sciences, Humanities/Social Sciences, Technologies
Type of Analysis
Quantitative data
Thematic Area
Applied Chemistry, Sustainable Development, Sociology and Philosophy, Simulations of physical behaviors (computer science, biomedicine, mathematics, mechanics), Political science (international relations, international governance), Landscape planning and design, Green and sustainable Chemistry, Environmental studies, Energy Systems, Development studies, Community Development, Chemistry/Biology, Artificial intelligence (computer science and mathematics), Systems thinking-Theoretical framework and assessment
Main technical features and functionalities
The tool, Insight Maker, has been designed to make modeling and simulation accessible to a
wider audience of users. Insight Maker integrates three general modeling approaches –
System Dynamics, Agent-Based Modeling, and imperative programming – in a unified
modeling framework. The environment provides a graphical model construction interface
that is implemented purely in client-side code that runs on users’ machines.

Insight Maker as a web application means that users run it by accessing a URL through their web browser. In the website students and teachers can find existing models on various subjects with an easy to explore site where models can be found on a variety of topics.
The website also contains links to a manual and tutorials for students and teachers on how to construct their own models. The interface is graphical where you can put in stocks, flows, variables and converters if you go for a system dynamic model or agents populations, states and actions if you go for agent based modelling. In both cases you can add links between items. A pop-up window show the features and variables that describe any selected item on the interface. The pop up window links to a help function where you can learn more on how to use the item in a model.

Designing a system with various elements and links appear to be pretty easy, close to the design procedures used in powerpoint. The next step to insert values for the items is also pretty easy, but requires the student/lecturer to do some theorizing (although it would be possible to just play around to learn about the interface) To construct useful models would take some studies on the theories on System Dynamic Analysis and Agent Based Modelling.

If the website is introduced for student tasks early in study program, and then using it continously throughout courses, it would be possible for students to become pretty advanced at the end of their training


Examples on how to use them to analyse Complex Systems
This software can be used bot to view examples of modelling on a wide variety of topics. Or it can be used to create and explore your own models. The software allows for creating both models for system dynamic analysis and for agent based modeling.

A good description of the website model maker can be found in this article:
Fortmann-Roe, S., 2014. Insight Maker: A general-purpose tool for web-based modeling & simulation. Simulation modelling practice and theory, 47, pp.28–45.
Creative Commons License
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