Introduction -- Classic regression metamodels and their designs -- Classic assumptions versus simulation practice -- Screening the many inputs of realistic simulation models -- Kriging metamodels and their designs -- Simulation optimization.

In this paper we investigate global optimization for black-box simulations using metamodels to guide this optimization. As a novel metamodel we introduce intrinsic Kriging, for either deterministic or random simulation. For deterministic simulation we study the famous `efficient global...

To analyze the input/output behavior of simulation models with multiple responses, we may apply either univariate or multivariate Kriging (Gaussian process) metamodels. In multivariate Kriging we face a major problem: the covariance matrix of all responses should remain positive-definite; we...

This article uses a sequentialized experimental design to select simulation input com- binations for global optimization, based on Kriging (also called Gaussian process or spatial correlation modeling); this Kriging is used to analyze the input/output data of the simulation model (computer...

The goal of factor screening is to find the really important inputs (factors) among the many inputs that may be changed in a realistic simulation experiment. A specific method is sequential bifurcation (SB), which is a sequential method that changes groups of inputs simultaneously. SB is most...

Managers wish to verify that a particular engineering design meets their require- ments. This design's future environment will differ from the environment assumed during the design. Therefore it is crucial to determine which variations in the envi- ronment may make this design unacceptable. The...