Bigger questions about the system of focus:

• How will we know this system is working well? What will be different?

• What will help this system to work well? What will help this system to flourish? What do we need to get right?

• What will hinder this system working well? What could get in the way?

• Who are the stakeholders? What do they want from this system? What does this system need from them to be successful?

• Now write the story of your system/ business/ venture

Questions to extend a CLD:

• What else affects variable X? What makes it go up? What makes it go down? How?

• What else does variable Y affect? How?

• Does an increase in variable X make variable Y go up or down? (If up relationship is "S", if down relationship is "O".)

• Can we close any loops? ie are there relationships between existing variables that are missing?

• Can you think of any existing virtuous or vicious cycles in this system?

• Can you think of any corrective/balancing loops in this system?

Questions to verify a CLD:

• Cul de sacs (Variables affecting nothing else in the diagram): What do they affect (either existing or new variables?) How?  

• Dangles (Variables with nothing affecting them in the diagram) What affects them (either existing or new variables?) How? 

• Disconnected (Variables with no connections to other variables) What do they affect? What affects them?  

• Are the variables capable of variation? Is the wording specific enough?

• Do the relationships make sense?

• Does the conversion to english make sense? Can you tell the story of the diagram?

Questions to help design an intervention:

• What variables can we influence in this diagram?

• How can we influence them?

• What are the true root causes of the issue? What can we do about those?

• Who needs to be involved in making this happen?

• What will be the impact (positives and negatives)?

• Who will be impacted? How?