Book excerpt: This must-read text/reference provides a practical guide to processes involved in the development and application of dynamic simulation models, covering a wide range of issues relating to testing, verification and validation. Illustrative example problems in continuous system simulation are presented throughout the book, supported by extended case studies from a number of interdisciplinary applications. Topics and features: provides an emphasis on practical issues of model quality and validation, along with questions concerning the management of simulation models, the use of model libraries, and generic models; contains numerous step-by-step examples; presents detailed case studies, often with accompanying datasets; includes discussion of hybrid models, which involve a combination of continuous system and discrete-event descriptions; examines experimental modeling approaches that involve system identification and parameter estimation; offers supplementary material at an associated website.