easyABMS: A domain-expert oriented methodology for agent-based modeling and simulation

Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation (ABMS) has arisen as new approach to effectively support domain experts to cope with the growing complexity of the problems which they have to face and solve. To date, few methodologies are available which can be exploited by domain experts with limited programming expertise to model and subsequently analyze complex systems typical of their application domains. In this paper the easyABMS methodology is proposed to overcome the lack of integrated methodologies able to seamlessly guide domain experts from the analysis of the system under consideration to its modeling and analysis of simulation results. The effectiveness of easyABMS is also experimented through a case study in the logistics domain which concerns the analysis of different policies for managing vehicles used for stacking and moving containers in a transhipment terminal. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.