A Case Study Exploring Suitability of Bottom Up Modelling and Actor-based Simulation for Decision Making

Traditionally, the top-down design method and analysis techniques, such as system dynamic model, have been used extensively for understanding complex systems. In top-down approach, a system is specified in terms of global state and the desired analyses are performed using aggregated macro-behaviour that represents the overall system. Essentially, the individual elements and their peculiarities are not differentiated with an assumption that the inherent dynamics of the overall system is precisely known to the system modellers. This paper, in contrast, presents a case wherein the system behaviour emerges from the individual elements and their interactions. The paper further demonstrates the usability of bottom up approach, actor based modelling abstraction, and actor based simulation technique to understand complex systems (with emergent behaviour) using a case study on decision making of a Research and Innovation (R&I) organisation.