Georgia Institute of Technology

ASE 6003 Modeling & Simulation for Systems Engineers Syllabus

Spring 2025
Delivery: 100% Web-Based, Synchronous. There will be no live sessions for this course.
Dates course will run: January 6, 2025 – March 23, 2025

Instructor Information
Dr. Elena Garcia: [email protected]
Dr. Burak Bagdatli: [email protected]
Dr. Evan Harrison: [email protected]
Dr. Annie Jones-Wyatt: [email protected]

Mentor Information
Kayla Sanders: [email protected]
Additional Mentors: To be determined.

Office Hours
Office hours will be held using Zoom on Wednesdays from 5:30pm to 6:30pm EST. Office hour
recordings will be available within 24-48 hours in the Media Gallery.

Mentor Office Hours

Mondays, time to be determined.

General Course Information

Description
ASE 6003 is a survey of Modeling and Simulation (M&S) and how it’s used in systems
engineering. The course will introduce students to a range of topics, including M&S
fundamentals, theoretical foundations, methods and methodologies, experimentation and
execution, simulation in the systems engineering life cycle, and management. The course
includes labs that cover different simulation methods (discrete event, agent based, system
dynamic). The goal is for students to understand how to use M&S to solve systems engineering
problems.

Course Goals and Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, students will be able to:
 Clearly define modeling, simulation, and modeling and simulation
 Explain a Model-based Systems Engineering (MBSE) approach and its application to
complex systems
 Explain the importance, roles, benefits, and limitations of modeling and simulation when
used for systems engineering across the acquisition lifecycle

1
Georgia Institute of Technology

 Choose the most suitable modeling and simulation approach when performing systems
engineering to support system requirements, design, analysis, verification, and validation

 Propose a modeling and simulation problem formulation including identifying input

parameters, measures of performance, constraints, and objective function
 Construct system dynamics models to identify growth, cyclic behavior, and stability of a
large system
 Construct and simulate discrete event models to discover bottlenecks and measure
utilization of resources
 Construct and simulate agent-based models to detect and characterize emergent
behaviors
 Formulate graph models to detect organizational effects in the system
 Create Markov chain models to simulate probability behavior of the system
 Evaluate the integration of Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis, and Optimization (MDAO)
with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE)
 Perform Multidisciplinary Design, Analysis, and Optimization (MDAO) and supporting
analysis
 Evaluate simulation credibility using Verification, Validation, and Accreditation
techniques
 Formulate a modeling and simulation approach to support system analysis

Course Materials
Primary Textbook
Loper, M. L. (Ed.). (2015). Modeling and simulation in the systems engineering life cycle: core
concepts and accompanying lectures. (Available on Amazon and Springer websites)

Supplemental References
 AnyLogicSimulation Software
 AnyLogic 7 in Three Days

Course Website and Other Classroom Management Tools

All course content will be delivered through Canvas and Ed Discussions.

Course Requirements, Assignments & Grading

Assignments
Assignment Weight Description

Quizzes 25% Five (5) quiz assignments based on weekly lessons (individual).

Labs 60% Six (6) Lab assignments associated with learning modules (individual).

Participation 15% You must complete a minimum of 1 contribution per week during
office hours or on the discussion board. On the discussion
board, simply agreeing to someone else’s comment is not
sufficient. Your participation must move the conversation
forward: add ideas, ask a question, mention an application,
provide an interesting link, etc.

2
Georgia Institute of Technology

Assignment Weight Description

Total 100%

Grading Scale
Your final grade will be assigned as a letter grade according to the following scale. All grades
will be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g. 89.1 will be rounded up 90).
A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F 0-59%

Assignment Submissions Naming Convention

 Lab Title Page: Include Student Name, LAB Number, Date
 File Name: Use the following naming convention:
ASE6003 - LAB Number - LastName.(doc, ppt, xls, ...)
Example: ASE6003 - LAB1 - Smith.doc

Submitting Assignments
All assignments must be completed and submitted within the Canvas. Sending assignments
whether early, on time, or late to the professors is not permitted and will not be accepted.

Assignment Due Dates

 Homework Quiz assignments and weekly participation are due Monday mornings at
7:00am, EST/Atlanta time covering previous week content.
 Lab assignments are due on Friday night at 11:59PM EST/Atlanta time. Make sure to
attempt labs early in order to ask questions at mentor and instructor office hours.

Late and Make-up Work Policy

Late submissions will not be accepted for full credit unless excused due to a medical,
family, or related emergency. Late, unexcused submissions submitted up to 12 hours past
the due date will receive an automatic deduction of 15% (regardless of when they are
submitted within the 12-hour window). Unexcused submissions greater than 12 hours past
the due date will not be accepted. If you have a valid reason for the late submission, contact
the instructors as soon as possible and we will handle your situation together.

Grading and Feedback

Grades will typically be posted within one week.

Course Policies, Expectations & Guidelines

Communication Policy
● Questions regarding learning materials and assignments will be handled through Ed
Discussions and Canvas Inbox (see Canvas site) rather than through the instructor’s e-mail.
Class-wide announcements will be made through Canvas.
● For questions related to technology, the Digital Learning Support Team for assistance. You
can also reach the Canvas Hotline by phone at 877-259-8498 or by email.

3
Georgia Institute of Technology

Online Student Conduct and (N)etiquette

Students are asked to behave in the discussions and other class interactions professionally and
civilly. If you are in doubt, do not post it! Instructors reserve the right to remove any postings
deemed inappropriate, unprofessional, or otherwise distracting from the course.

Onboarding Quiz and Proctoring Information

All Georgia Tech online degree and certificate students are required to complete the
Onboarding Quiz with Honorlock in the first week of the course. Honorlock is utilized for student
identity verification and to ensure academic integrity. Honorlock provides student identity
verification via facial and ID photos. You may also be asked to scan the room around you. The
Onboarding Quiz is needed to help make sure that your identity is verified and that your system
is set up to work with Honorlock online proctoring tool. You are required to complete this quiz
early in the semester to avoid problems when taking proctored exams.

University Use of Electronic Email

A university-assigned student e-mail account is the official university means of communication
with all students at Georgia Institute of Technology. Students are responsible for all information
sent to them via their university-assigned e-mail account. If a student chooses to forward
information to their university e-mail account, he or she is responsible for all information,
including attachments, sent to any other e-mail account. To stay current with university
information, students are expected to check their official university e-mail account and other
electronic communications on a frequent and consistent basis. Recognizing that some
communications may be time-critical, the university recommends that electronic
communications be checked minimally twice a week.

Plagiarism & Academic Integrity

Georgia Tech aims to cultivate a community based on trust, academic integrity, and honor.
Students are expected to act according to the highest ethical standards. All students enrolled at
Georgia Tech, and all its campuses, are to perform their academic work according to standards
set by faculty members, departments, schools, and colleges of the university; and cheating and
plagiarism constitute fraudulent misrepresentation for which no credit can be given and for
which appropriate sanctions are warranted and will be applied. For information on Georgia
Tech's Academic Honor Code, please visit the GT Academic Honor Code Website.

Any student suspected of cheating or plagiarizing on a quiz, exam, or assignment will be

reported to the Office of Student Integrity, which will investigate the incident and identify the
appropriate penalty for violations.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities

If you are a student with learning needs that require special accommodation, contact the Office
of Disability Services at 404-894-2563 or the Disability Services Website, as soon as possible,
to make an appointment to discuss your special needs and to obtain an accommodations letter.
Please also e-mail me as soon as possible to set up a time to discuss your learning needs.

Copyright
Among the materials that may be protected by copyright law are the lectures, notes, and other
material presented in class or as part of the course. Always assume the materials presented by
an instructor are protected by copyright unless the instructor has stated otherwise.

4
Georgia Institute of Technology

Student-Faculty Expectations Agreement

At Georgia Tech we believe that it is important to strive for an atmosphere of mutual respect,
acknowledgment, and responsibility between faculty members and the student body. See the
Student-Faculty Expectations Website for an articulation of some basic expectations that you
can have of me and that I have of you. In the end, simple respect for knowledge, hard work, and
cordial interactions will help build the environment we seek. Therefore, I encourage you to
remain committed to the ideals of Georgia Tech while in this class.

Subject to Change Statement

The syllabus and course schedule may be subject to change. Changes will be communicated
via the Canvas announcement tool and Ed Discussions. It is the responsibility of students to
check email messages and course announcements to stay current in their online courses.

Course Schedule
Weeks & Due
Module Topic Assignments
Dates Dates

Week 1 Introduction to No assignments due N/A

January 6 Modeling &
Simulation and
(MBSE)
Week 2 System Dynamics Module 1 Quiz Jan 13
January 13 Simulation Lab 1: SE Management of Simulation Jan 17
Week 3 Discrete Event Module 2 Quiz Jan 20
January 20 Simulation Lab 2: Systems Dynamics Simulation in Jan 24
AnyLogic
Week 4 Agent Based Module 3 Quiz Jan 27
January 27 Simulation Lab 3: Discrete Event Simulation in Jan 31
AnyLogic
Week 5 MDAO Integration Module 4 Quiz Feb 3
February 3 with MBSE & Lab 4: Agent Based Simulation in AnyLogic Feb 7
Supporting
Analysis
Week 6 Enablers for Module 5 Quiz Feb 10
February 10 Modeling & Lab 5: MDAO Feb 14
Simulation
Week 7 Modeling & Lab 6: Design of Experiments Feb 21
February 17 Simulation to
Support Decision
Making