Rockwell Automation Arena Contact Center Edition Users Guide - Manual (Page 26)

A RENA C ONTACT C ENTER E DITION U SER ’ S G UIDE
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Documentation and implementation
At this point, we have completed all the steps for the design, development, and running of
the model and for analyzing the results; the final elements in the simulation effort are
implementation and documentation. No simulation project can be considered successfully
completed until its results have been understood, accepted, and used. Although documen-
tation and implementation are obviously very important, many studies fall short in the
reporting and explaining of study results.
Documentation and reporting are closely linked to implementation. Careful and complete
documentation of model development and operation can lengthen the model’s useful life
and greatly increase the chances that recommendations based on the model will be
accepted. Good documentation facilitates modification and ensures that the model can be
used—even if the services of the original developers are no longer available. In addition,
careful documentation can help us to learn from previous mistakes; it may even provide a
source of submodels that can be used again in future projects.
Amazingly, modelers often spend a great deal of time trying to find the most elegant and
efficient ways to model a system, and then they throw together a report for the sponsor or
user at the last minute. If the results are not clearly, concisely, and convincingly pre-
sented, they will not be used. If the results are not used, the project is a failure. Presenting
results is as critical a part of the study as any other part, and it merits the same careful
planning and design.
Several issues should be addressed in model and study documentation: appropriate
vocabulary (i.e., suitable for the intended audience and devoid of jargon), concise written
reports, and timely delivery. We must also ensure that all reports (both oral and written)
are pertinent and address the issues that the sponsor or user considers important.
References
McKay, K. N., J. A. Buzacott, and C. J. Strang (1986), “Software Engineering Applied to
Discrete Event Simulation,” in Proceedings of the 1986 Winter Simulation Confer-
ence, Washington, D.C., pp. 485-493.
Schriber, T. J.(1987), “The Nature and Role of Simulation in the Design of Manufacturing
Systems,” in Simulation in CIM and Artificial Intelligence Techniques, J. Retti and
K. E. Wichmann (eds.), Society for Computer Simulation, pp. 5-18.
Sheppard, S. (1983), “Applying Software Engineering to Simulation,” Simulation, vol.
10, no. 1, pp. 13-19.
Weinburg, G. M. (1975), An Introduction to General Systems Thinking, John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., New York, NY.