Model Simulation

Model Simulation

Simulating models offers several benefits by helping you to:

• Gain a better understanding of how a model actually works at run-time
• Validate that your behavioral models describe the correct process or event flow
• Verify the behavior of user interface wire-frames before committing to implementation
• Identify potential bottlenecks, inefficiencies and other problems in your system model or business process
• Detect errors early in the development cycle prior to committing resources for implementation.

Model simulation can be applied to four types of behavioral models in Enterprise Architect, including:

• UML Activities
• UML Interactions
• UML State Machines, including those rendered as a State Table
• Business Process Models using BPMN notation.

You can also simulate the behavior of dialogs and controls that have been modeled using Enterprise Architect's Win32 profile for user interface designs.

You control the speed of the simulation and the pathways through the simulated model: Either manually control the choices taken at each decision point or script in advance how each trigger fires.

Using the latter approach you can automate several simulations of the same model, revealing how the system behaves under different run-time scenarios.

With the ability to set arbitrary breakpoints, Enterprise Architect's model simulation capability is a powerful tool for analyzing decision making, and improving business processes or executable system models in a risk-free environment.