Abstract
A useful perspective on the economic value of simulation in engineering comes from considering the role simulation plays in constructing a system. We propose a conceptual model that combines an embryonic concept of the value of an information bit with cost estimation tools used in software engineering. The model provides an economic justification for the common conception that models should be built to address specific questions rather than to comprehensively represent a referent system. Extending these ideas, we offer a model for the incremental value of parallel execution to explain why simulation applications that take advantage of sophisticated parallel discrete event simulation tools form a relatively narrow niche despite the ubiquity of parallel computing hardware. The proposed model enables us to bring value of information criteria into model development and to make predictions about the future of parallel simulation applications.
