Proposal to Conduct Research in Simulation Model Validation

This effort will investigate the development of a statistically sound methodology for validation of simulation models of moderate to high complexity. Typical examples are the use of modern high performance weapon systems in a mission environment, as simulated for system acquisition, test, evaluation, training, or mission rehearsal. Key elements of the investigation are use of metrics to determine how near or far a specific application is from anchor points based opn empirical data or previously validated simulations, and the use of nonparametric multivariate statistics for obtaining such metrics. Tasks to be conducted emphasize the application of the methodology to actual simulations for which previous validation experiance or a large base of real data are available. The output will be an evaluation of validation techniques and a recommended general methodology,