A Trajectory for Validating Computational Emulation Models of Organizations

  • Authors:

  • Jan Thomsen;Raymond E. Levitt;John C. Kunz;Clifford I. Nass;Douglas B. Fridsma

  • Affiliations:

  • Construction Engineering and Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4020. Jan.Thomsen@dnv.com;Construction Engineering and Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4020. rel@cive.stanford.edu;Construction Engineering and Management Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4020. kunz@cive.stanford.edu;Department of Communication, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-2050. nass@leland.stanford.edu;Palo Alto Veterans Administration Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94306&semi/ Stanford Medical Informatics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5479. fridsma@smi.stanford.edu

  • Venue:
  • Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory
  • Year:
  • 1999

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Abstract

Validation of complex simulation models is a challengingproblem in computational organization theory research. In thispaper, we describe a validation strategy suitable for emulationsimulation systems, and show how a comprehensive validation consistsof a sequence of steps that evaluate different aspects of acomputational organizational simulation model. We demonstrate howthis strategy can be applied to the evaluation of the Virtual TeamAlliance (VTA), an emulation simulation system designed to guidemanagers charged with organizational change. VTA required a“trajectory” of successive validation experiments, before managerswhere willing to follow the recommendations of VTA. Ultimately, webelieve this validation approach can be applied to a wide range ofdifferent simulation systems, and will make identification of thestrengths and weaknesses of organizational simulations easier.