Building Modelers: Teaching the Art of Simulation

There has been considerable discussion of the role of standards in the field of simulation. However, when one examines the areas of application and methodology employed in simulation studies, one might seriously question whether simulation is a unified field amenable to standardization at all. Likewise, when one examines the educational and other backgrounds of those who consider themselves simulation professionals, relatively little commonality is found. Even textbooks on simulation tend to fragment the discipline. This paper propounds the twin theses that there is a common body of knowledge amenable to standardization of what is called simulation, but that before these standards can be formulated and implemented, there must be standards for the preparation of simulation professionals themselves. A set of possible standards for preparing modelers is presented.