Simulation-Based Systems Design in Multi-actor Environments

Abstract

Much of the performance of a logistic system is determined by the quality of its design. A rich body of knowledge has been developed during the last decades that supports the product as well as the process of designing. Design methods for systems have initially defined the product by providing a framework to construct models to analyze the constructed artifact. This approach, which would later be coined the hard systems approach, would turn out to contain flaws in assumptions concerning of the existence of an (quasi-) optimal solution and by neglecting humans involved in the process. However, the techniques developed to support the approach, most notably simulation, have matured and are now commonly used to analyze designs. A major shift in approach took place to redeem for the perceived failures in systems design processes. This resulted in a tendency to focus on the diverging views of actors involved in the process, which was termed as the soft systems approaches. To profit from both sides, multimethodological approaches have been presented, assuming that a combination is feasible to take the best of both worlds. Participative simulation sessions have the potential to support the design processes: (1) in a multi-actor environment with diverging stakes, and (2) without ignoring the fact that human decision making relies on implicit knowledge that is insufficient and unreliable to evaluate decisions, thus requiring simulation for support. In this chapter, we present the rationale for requiring a multimethodological approach and discuss which aspects should be covered based on existing research literature.