ABSTRACT
Models enable the prediction of system or architecture behavior in order to provide information that people will use to determine requirements and to select the implementation approach. Behavior is how the system or architecture transforms a set of inputs, which may be varying with time, the environment, or the state of the system or architecture, into a set of outputs. Analysis allows for the examination of the intricacies of the input-to-output transformation. Synthesis enables the determination of the functional and performance requirements and the implementation approach that will optimize the desired transformation. Models are valuable in proportion to how quickly and inexpensively they provide trusted results to make decisions. The model may be a diagram, or a miniature physical representation of the system or architecture. The model may be the system itself operated under controlled conditions. The model may be a single input, a single-output algebraic function, or a set of simultaneous nonlinear stochastic differential equations. To develop mathematical models it is necessary to understand the system or architecture at a deep level. The modeler’s adage is “All models are wrong; some models are useful.” All models are wrong because aspects of reality are excluded by conscious decision or error.
