X.2.2 · Skill in Systems thinking

Feedback loops

Cycles where an effect feeds back into its cause.

Reinforcing loops drive growth or decline, such as more users bringing more content and more users. Balancing loops limit it. Recognizing loops explains why some metrics accelerate and others plateau.

Your status · Feedback loops

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Resources

articleStart here
Introduction to systems thinking ↗
Will Larson · 2018 · 4 min
Stocks, flows and feedback applied to an engineering team, in a few minutes.
articleGo deeper
Leverage points: places to intervene in a system ↗
Donella Meadows · 1999 · 43 min
The classic essay on where a small change moves a whole system, and why the obvious levers are often the weakest.

Tools

ToolFree
LOOPY
ncase.me ↗
Draw causal loop diagrams in the browser and watch the feedback play out.