Redundancy in model specifications for discrete event simulation

Abstract

Although redundancy in model specification generally has negative connotations, we offer arguments for revising those convictions. Defining “representational redundancy” as the inclusion of any symbols not required to fulfill the study objectives, we cite several sources of redundancy, classified as accidental or intentional, that contribute positively to the model development tasks. Comparative benefits and detriments are discussed briefly. Focusing on the most interesting source of redundancy‐that which is intentionally induced by a modeling methodology—we demonstrate that automated elimination of redundancy can actually improve model execution time. Using four models drawn from the literature that are easily understood, but which represent some differences in size and complexity, the direct graphical representations shows improvements over a base case ranging from 27.3 percent to 68.1 percent in execution time. Further, increasing improvement is realized with increasing model size and complexity. These results are encouraging because they suggest that modeling methodologies with automated model diagnosis can significantly reduce both execution and developments time and cost.