{
  "schema": "vedokrok.public-item.v1",
  "release_id": "MHC-RPUB-20260920-75ad787a",
  "url": "/knowledge/define-the-system-boundary-before-optimizing",
  "id": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9119",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "title": "Define the system boundary before optimizing",
  "summary": "Optimization starts by deciding what is inside the model.",
  "kind": "protocol",
  "body": "Name the outcome, time horizon, actors, stocks, flows and dependencies included in the analysis, plus important factors deliberately left outside. Revisit the boundary if the proposed fix pushes cost beyond it.",
  "limits": [
    "A causal map is a hypothesis, not proof. Keep evidence, time scale, boundary choices and alternative explanations visible before acting on a loop."
  ],
  "topics": [
    "union-systems-strategy-and-leverage-thinking"
  ],
  "intents": [],
  "source_ids": [
    "RS-592B2C21A3CDE468"
  ],
  "evidence": [
    {
      "claim": "System dynamics work emphasizes that well-intended interventions can be defeated by feedback-driven system responses, a pattern described as policy resistance.",
      "source_id": "RS-592B2C21A3CDE468",
      "role": "supports",
      "note": "A qualitative feedback story is not enough; links, delays and predicted behavior still need empirical or operational checking.",
      "locator": "Abstract"
    }
  ],
  "use_when": [
    "When a local process looks inefficient but upstream causes and downstream consequences are unclear."
  ],
  "avoid_when": [
    "A causal map is a hypothesis, not proof. Keep evidence, time scale, boundary choices and alternative explanations visible before acting on a loop."
  ],
  "example": "A support team wants faster ticket closure; widening the boundary reveals that premature closure moves rework into customer escalations.",
  "check": "The boundary is explicit and the proposed improvement cannot succeed merely by exporting the problem.",
  "steps": [
    "State the outcome and time horizon.",
    "List included actors, resources and dependencies.",
    "List major exclusions.",
    "Ask where cost or risk could be displaced."
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "RS-592B2C21A3CDE468",
      "title": "System Dynamics Modeling: Tools for Learning in a Complex World",
      "url": "https://cmr.berkeley.edu/2001/08/43-4-system-dynamics-modeling-tools-for-learning-in-a-complex-world/"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "from": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9119",
      "to": "MHC-D-RESEARCH-9120",
      "type": "useful_with",
      "url": "/knowledge/separate-stock-from-flow"
    }
  ],
  "collections": [
    {
      "id": "RC-28D91C30CEA1CB4A",
      "title": "Systems and strategic leverage: feedback, flow, modularity, robust options, and information value",
      "url": "/collections/systems-and-strategic-leverage-feedback-flow-modularity-robust-options-and-information-value"
    }
  ]
}