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scene of the accident. Once arrived, the first unit at the scene takes
over command and is responsible for coordinating all units currently at
the scene of the accident. In order to analyze the impact of inaccurate
information (e.g., an emergency call with imprecise information about
number of cars and persons involved in the accident), a simulation
model was developed [142]. During this model development effort the
GRAMS reference model was used and thus information about the
practical applicability of the GRAMS reference model was gained.
The GRAMS reference model was a very valuable development
guideline ensuring that all critical issues are thought of. Furthermore,
the GRAMS reference model also served as a guideline in which order
certain modeling tasks should be done. Especially for less experienced
model developers (as was the case in this model development effort),
this guidance is very helpful. Even the largely increased number of
agent types and interactions which implies an increased number of
event types and information exchange relations between agents could
be handled in an ecient way.
In summary, the GRAMS reference model served well as a guideline
for developing agent-based models of complex systems. Although most
(if not all) considerations made within the process of developing agent-
basedmodelswouldhavetobedoneanywayregardlessiftheGRAMS
reference model is used or not, there are at least two benefits in using
the GRAMS reference model. First of all, following the GRAMS
reference model ensures that all important points are considered.
At least, the possibility of forgetting important issues is reduced.
Second, having a suitable reference model at hand eases transition
from individual, incomparable model development processes (and
model documentation) towards a more standardized procedure. This
may result in more comparable results and documentation.
