Mastering Complexity

11

What Depends on What?

11.1 INTRODUCTION

To begin to understand what depends on what, put a list of elements together. Their initial order is unimportant and creating an initial DSM spreadsheet can be a top-down or a bottom-up process.

In a DSM spreadsheet, each element will be represented—once as a row and again as a column. Elements are listed down the left-hand side of the DSM spreadsheet. The same list of elements is placed along the top of the DSM spreadsheet, from left to right. Their row order and their column order are identical. Each element’s row and column intersect at the DSM spreadsheet diagonal cell.

•  Needs give marks in rows, and feeds give marks in columns.

Where an element’s results are used by another element gives ...