Gaining acceptance of simulation: a social challenge

The issue of how to deal with human behaviour in discrete-event simulation models has become more prominent due to the increased use of the technique in business process initiatives, particularly those in the service industries. Approaches to modelling human behaviour in discrete event simulations has been categorised by level of abstraction. Three methods described (termed simplify, facilitate and integrate) require no actual modelling of human behaviour in the simulation itself and three methods (termed resource/entity, generic, individual) require an increasing level of modelling detail. It has been found that there are significant challenges in modelling people at an individual level and alternatives such as using simulation with other OR techniques and simulating at a generic person level may represent a more appropriate approach.

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