mystrategy

Frequently Asked Questions (13)

• Where is the link for my software download?
• Go to the "My Library" link near the top right of the page. When you are logged in you will be able to access links for all the materials you have requested from this site.
• What is mystrategy®?
• mystrategy® is a strategy planning software tool for managers and other business professionals. The mystrategy® user can map key features of a business and chart their performance through time. The software can be used in "drawing" mode or as a simulation tool to show how key resources change in response to management decisions.
• Will I need special training in order to be able to use mystrategy®?
• This software is accessible without special training. Tutorials and demos are provided with the software. However, best use may be obtained with additional training. If you are interested in courses please . Additional materials will be provided to users as they become available.
• What does mystrategy® do for me?
• mystrategy® assists you to create a quantified, numerical picture of 'performance through time' for any specific management issue, or for the business as a whole. The software helps you produce an implementation plan for any strategic or tactical situation. This helps you to decide who does what and when to achieve required goals. It should help you identify areas of business performance that require attention - e.g. re-focusing on customer retention rather than acquiring new customers
• How do I use mystrategy®?
• The starting point is to identify a key issue of concern for example a loss of customers, or a fall in profits. You then identify and map, using the software, the key business components that contribute to the performance of this key issue until you have an "architectural" plan. It can be possible to get a sufficient understanding of the key components of the problem with a fairly small number of elements - in other cases larger plans may be required.
  
  The next stage (which can be done at the same time) is to add data to the components or if this is not readily available estimates can be used. By specifying the relationship between the parts of the business (the same as in a spreadsheet but with the advantage of the visual representation) you complete a dynamic (literally, through time) picture of the issue.
  
  Using the model created mystrategy® will then allow you to simulate the probable consequences of strategic actions you take and allows you to test the model with different decisions - again, much in the same way as spreadsheet models but laid out in a much more visual manner.
• What benefits can I get from using mystrategy®?
• Some example benefits are:
  
  You can build a quantified, dynamic map of your business that allows you to make better decisions by seeing through time the consequences of your planned actions;
  
  You can identify business critical resources, including so called "soft" factors, like your reputation with customers, and begin to understand how and to what extent these impact performance
  
  You can trace back from the desired future outcomes changes that need to be made today and through time or check whether those future outcomes are feasible!
  
  
• What is the 'Strategy Dynamics' approach?
• Strategy Dynamics tackles crucial questions largely ignored by existing strategy approaches and textbooks.
  
  
  • Why has my organisation performed as it has up to now?
  • Where is it headed if we carry on with current policies?
  • How can we transform its prospects with better choice of strategy?
  
  Strategic management is concerned with building and sustaining the quantitative performance of business through time, so the approach focuses exclusively on numerical time-charts of performance and of the underlying architecture of resources that drive that performance. The strategy field includes a strong foundation - the 'resource-based view' and closely-allied competence-based and knowledge-based approaches. Fundamental to these is the unavoidable and vitally important notion of accumulating resources – performance today reflects the resources you have right now, so future performance relies on building, developing and retaining these resources.
  
  The way these processes play out through time turns out to be quite tricky. Add to this the fact that resources have to rely upon each other to grow and sustain, and it becomes clear why the dynamics of business performance is difficult to understand and manage.
• Why can't I just use regular spreadsheet methods?
• Spreadsheets are fundamentally ill-equipped to serve the purpose that mystrategy® fulfils. First, there is no pictorial connection between variables. In mystrategy® you can only calculate an item from others that are physically connected to it. Secondly, mystrategy® makes explicit for all variables the way in which its values are developing through time. Although you can produce time-charts for variables in spreadsheets, you can't see the relationships between them.
  
  mystrategy® is considerably more useful than spreadsheet approaches for top-level planning for 4 main reasons:
  • it shows diagrammatically what causes what
  • every item is shown with time-charts to show how it is changing
  • the software captures a crucial notion often missing from spreadsheet plans … business resources like customers, staff and morale, build up and drain away over time
  • these resources depend upon each other to grow and decline over time, giving rise to feedback that can drive or constrain growth, or trigger collapse.
• Will upgrades be provided and how do I get them?
• mystrategy® upgrades within the current release cycle are available free online. If you obtained your copy from the Strategy Dynamics website then you can simply download the software again from "My Library" when logged in.
  
  If there is a substantial upgrade the software developers reserve the right to charge for upgrades.
• Why are equations in Equation tab and Model tab not the same?
• The equations in Equation tab and Model tab are identical for ordinary variables, flows and constants.
  
  The exception is how Resources are defined. The Equation tab and model tab appear different because of the default behavior of resources. It is a fundamental of the approach that resources accumulate through inflows and deplete though outflows. In the Model view. it is not necessary to specify the equation as the joining of inflows and outflows automatically creates this behavior. To demonstrate: take a blank model and add a single resource. If you look at the equation tab there is nothing in the equation as there are no in- or out- flows. Back in model view, add an inflow and check the equation view again: you will now find that the resource equation reflects the inflow, when you add further in or outflows you will see the equation build to reflect the items added. This then explains how the equation you use for illustration is made up.
  
  There is an equation possible for resources - but only to establish its initial value [thereafter, every period's value is the previous period value +/- flows]. The initialisation can be a constant [e.g. start with 10 customers] or it can be an equation that depends on other initial values [e.g. start with 5 sales people for every 20 customers] .. The Equation tab displays this initialisation constant or equation as 'init(…)'
• Do I need a new unlock code when I change PC?
• When upgrading or re-formatting your computer you will need a new unlock code for the mystrategy software. If you have a full licence you are entitled to have two unlocks at any time: one for a main PC and the second for another, a laptop or home PC.
• If I purchase a licence do I need to download again?
• No. If you have downloaded the demo the unlock key will unlock the full features - no additional download necessary.
• How does mystrategy compare with Stella or iThink?
• Mystrategy was purpose-built as an entry-level tool, for getting quickly into dynamic modelling, especially for business and management issues. It is therefore as simple as we could make it. We also wanted to keep it inexpensive. Key design features were:
  • Explicit behaviour-over-time charts for all variables, to ensure models are always showing relationships between real-world variables
  • The ability to ‘map’ the structure, with data – without necessarily making a working simulation, so management can visualise how and why performance is changing over time
  • The ability to include both estimated or imported data alongside simulated data for every variable, so you can easily compare what the working model is doing alongside real-world information.
  • We also deliberately excluded any ability to build causal-loop diagrams that do not include accumulating stocks, for two reasons. First, accumulating stocks, such as customers, staff, cash and reputation, are of fundamental importance to strategy and performance, so it is essential that management be explicit about them and their behaviour. Secondly, it is not possible for feedback to exist in the real world without an accumulating stock in the loop at some point.