The Ice Cream Store
It is helpful if the discussion of simulation is done in the context of a problem – albeit a simple problem. Using this simple problem, we will be able to describe simulation elements of modeling, execution, and analysis. Our problem is the common ice cream store since everyone loves ice cream and probably has visited an ice cream store. As seen in Figure 1.1, customers arrive to the ice cream store where they obtain an ice cream cone. It’s a simple store where there is only one attendant and people will wait in a single line to order and receive their ice cream cone. The attendant waits on each customer, one at a time in the order they arrive.