Simulation is an important aspect of engineering complex systems. In the real world,
numerous problems can prevent the effective use of simulation. This paper looks at the tough question: When is a simulation effective? How would we know? The context and purpose of simulation are important in answering the question. If the simulation is viewed as a system, it follows that it has stakeholders and requirements originating from the creating system. An important result is that measures of simulation effectiveness include fidelity, time-to-answer, and resource usage. The importance of a referent (codified knowledge) in defining fidelity and related pitfalls are discussed. Simulation effectiveness assessment enables simulation designers to trade simulation effectiveness against cost and risk subject to constraints. A brief overview of how abstraction and simulation method selection can be used for this trade-off is given. The impact of simulation effectiveness on risk is discussed. The benefits are balanced simulations with risk that is better matched to the problem at hand.
Reference:
Goncalves, DPD. 2006. Approach to simulation effectiveness. System Engineering: Shining Light on the Tough Issues INCOSE 2006 - 16th Annual International Symposium Proceedings, Orlando, Florida, 2006, 12p
Goncalves, D. (2006). Approach to simulation effectiveness. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1070
Goncalves, DPD. "Approach to simulation effectiveness." (2006): http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1070
Goncalves D, Approach to simulation effectiveness; 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/1070 .