MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR

DEPARMENT OF SOFTWARE ENGINEERING

Simulation & Modeling

Lecture 5: Purpose of Simulation

Engr. Samiullah Khan

Date: 17 May, 2021

 Purpose of Simulation

• The simulation modeling and analysis of different types of systems are

conducted for the purposes of:
• Gaining insight into the operation of a system

• Developing operating or resource policies to improve system performance

• Testing new concepts and/or systems before implementation

• Gaining information without disturbing the actual system

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 Purpose of Simulation

Gaining Insight into the Operation of a System

• Some systems are so complex that it is difficult to understand the operation of

and interactions within the system without a dynamic model

• It may be impossible to study the system by stopping it or by examining

individual components in isolation

• Example: Try to understand how manufacturing process bottlenecks

(blockages due to low efficiency) occur

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 Purpose of Simulation

Developing Operating and Resource Policies

• You may also have an existing system that you understand but wish to
improve

• Two fundamental ways of doing this are to change operating or resource

policies
i. Changes in operating policies could include different scheduling priorities for work
orders
ii. Changes in resource policies could include staffing levels or break scheduling

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 Purpose of Simulation
Testing New Concepts

• If a system does not yet exist, a simulation model can help give you an idea how
well the proposed system will perform

• The cost of modeling a new system can be very small in comparison to the cost
involved in installing actual manufacturing process

• The effects of different quality levels and expenses of equipment can be evaluated

• Use of a simulation model before implementation can help refine the configuration
of the chosen equipment

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 Purpose of Simulation
Gaining Information without Disturbing the Actual System
• Simulation models are possibly the only method available for
experimentation with systems that cannot be disturbed
• Some systems are so critical or sensitive that it is not possible to make any
types of operating or resource policy changes to analyze the system
• The classical example of this type of system would be the security checkpoint at a
commercial airport
• Conducting operating policy or resource level experimentation would have serious
impact on security effectiveness of the system

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 Simulation Model Building Can Require Specialized Training

• In the past, simulation modeling used to be extremely difficult to perform

• Before graphic displays, all modeling was performed with simulation

languages with a text editor
• It was necessary to create the source code, compile, link, and run the program
• If any comma, colon, or period was out of place, the practitioner received a batch of
compiling errors

• Without strong computer programming skills it was difficult to build

successfully simulation model

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 Simulation Model Building Can Require Specialized Training

• With emergence of Multimedia, personal computer has brought

simulation modeling more easier for practitioner

• The simulation programming languages have given way to

reasonably easy-to-use graphic interfaces

• Many simulation analysts do have engineering, computer science,

mathematics, or operations research degrees with specific coursework
in simulation modeling and analysis

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 Simulation Modeling and Analysis Can Be Very Costly

• Development of a complex simulation model can be very time

consuming and hence costly

• Even if the practitioner is proficient with a given simulation software,

a complex system still will require a proportionally larger amount of
time for data collection, modeling building and analysis

• Once the practitioner actually begins modeling, he or she may realize

that the system is far more complex than it originally appeared

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THANKS