A Facilitated Discrete Event Simulation Framework To Support Online Studies: An Intervention In A Small Enterprise

Considering some challenges that prevent the expansion of discrete event simulation studies, such as financial constraints to invest in the data collection of large samples and to hire qualified people for data analysis and for developing complex models, this paper aims to propose a framework to support simulation studies where it is not widely used, adopting facilitated modeling. Since the facilitated DES frameworks in the literature focus on healthcare and face-to-face meetings, the present work offers a framework for simulation projects in production systems, which also supports online interventions. After its development, the FaMoSim (Facilitated Modeling Simulation) framework was applied in a real case to evaluate its applicability. In the application, it was possible to carry out a faster and more flexible online modeling process, create a simple computer model that does not require a complex data collection structure nor a specialist team, and assist the stakeholders in identifying improvements.