A methodology for input data management in discrete event simulation projects

Discrete event simulation (DES) projects rely heavily on high input data quality. Therefore, the input data management process is very important and, thus, consumes an extensive amount of time. To secure quality and increase rapidity in DES projects, there are well structured methodologies to follow, but a detailed guideline for how to perform the crucial process of handling input data, is missing. This paper presents such a structured methodology, including description of 13 activities and their internal connections. Having this kind of methodology available, our hypothesis is that the structured way to work increases rapidity for input data management and, consequently, also for entire DES projects. The improvement is expected to be larger in companies with low or medium experience in DES.