ENHANCING UNDERSTANDING OF DISCRETE EVENT SIMULATION MODELS THROUGH ANALYSIS

This work extends current research in model analysis and program understanding to assist modelers in obtaining additional insight into their models and the systems they represent. Given a particular simulation implementation, this research demonstrates the feasibility of automatically-derived observations that could potentially enhance a model builder or model user's understanding of their models. One significant point of this research is that the newly-created tools do not necessitate that a modeler be able to encode the model, modify or add code, or even have a technical background. Another key point is focus on model aspects rather than simulation aspects: the model itself is detailed rather than the simulation implementation code. Results indicate these tools and techniques, when applied to even modest simulation models, can reveal aspects not previously apparent to builders or users of the models. This work provides modelers with additional techniques that can enhance understanding.