IE 8550 Fall 2024
Homework 6
(a deliverable within Module 6)
Due: Monday, November 4 at 11:59pm (EDT)
PART 1:
Four articles have been posted to Canvas in which simulation was an important tool in assessing
or predicting performance on a project. Please complete the following:
1) Decide which two simulation-based papers are the most relevant or beneficial to you.
2) Describe how simulation was used effectively to communicate analytical details that
would otherwise have been difficult to capture.
3) Critique the application of simulation to the proposed issue. Discuss any weaknesses in
the two papers as well.
4) Finally, how would you like to see discrete event simulation used to solve (or at least
address) an open problem in your industry?
The entire discussion should be at least two pages in length (although it certainly can be longer if
you have more to say). Be sure to use your “limited” knowledge of discrete event simulation to
your advantage in your discussion of these two papers.
Please read all of the abstracts to make your selections. You are not required to read each paper
in its entirety. The individual papers are listed on Canvas.
PART 2:
Create a basic single server simulation model in Arena, with the following parameters:
• Customer arrivals follow an inter-arrival distribution that is exponentially distributed with
a mean of 5 minutes. First creation is at time 0.
• Customers arrive at a ticket window to purchase tickets from an agent. The ticket
purchase time is uniformly distributed between 2 and 7 minutes. There is only one agent.
• The ticket office is open for 8 hours. Run a single replication only.
• Your model should automatically report the average time required to purchase tickets.
This should include waiting time. You can confirm this in the Entity section of the report.
Use Canvas to submit both the review/discussion in Part 1 and the Arena .doe file in Part 2.