Formulation Step

The purpose of the System Formulation Step is to systematically organize the quantification and the interpretive analyses of the Virtual System. The quantification leads to the construction of models that can simulate system behaviour. The interpretive analysis deals with information about system variables and processes that do become part of simulation models, either because of shortage of modelling resources or because the information concerns qualitative variables that are not amenable to modelling with easily-used tools. Essentially, the Formulation Step defines how to represent the functionality of the Virtual System for simulation/interpretation by selecting the most relevant inputs, processes, and internal interactions and by assembling these into functional components that can be independently modelled and calibrated.