Stochastic Modeling: Analysis and Simulation, Paperback/Barry L. Nelson

A coherent introduction to the techniques for modeling dynamic stochastic systems, this volume also offers a guide to the mathematical, numerical, and simulation tools of systems analysis. Suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate-level industrial engineers and management science majors, it proposes modeling systems in terms of their simulation, regardless of whether simulation is employed for analysis. Beginning with a view of the conditions that permit a mathematical-numerical analysis, the text explores Poisson and renewal processes, Markov chains in discrete and continuous time, semi-Markov processes, and queuing processes. Each chapter opens with an illustrative case study, and comprehensive presentations include formulation of models, determination of parameters, analysis, and interpretation of results. Programming language-independent algorithms appear for all simulation and numerical procedures. About the Author: Barry L. Nelson is Chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University.