A toolkit of designs for mixing Discrete Event Simulation and System Dynamics

- A set of mixed method designs are developed by drawing from theory and practice.
- How DES and SD have been mixed in practice is demonstrated through the designs.
- The designs are proposed to inform project methodology selection.
- The applicability of the designs to the wider mixed OR methods field is considered.

In recent years there has been significant interest in multimethodology and the mixing of OR/MS methods, including Discrete Event Simulation (DES) with System Dynamics (SD). Several examples of mixing DES and SD are described in the literature but there is no overarching framework which characterises the spectrum of options available to modellers. This paper draws on a sample of published case studies, in conjunction with the theoretical literature on mixing methods, to propose a toolkit of designs for mixing DES and SD which can be implemented as a set of questions which a modeller should ask in order to guide the choice of design and inform the associated project methodology. The impetus for this work was the perceived need to transfer insight from reported practice in order to formalise how the two methods can be and have been mixed.