System identification and specification is essential in every systems study. The development of structural models (which describe the geometric relationships between the elements of the system) is an important part of this procedure. However, when the system is very complex or the number of elements is large it becomes difficult to construct such models without some technical assistance. In this paper, the authors describe an interactive computer system called STRUM which facilitates the structural modeling process. The use of the system (which is implemented on the IIASA VAX 11/780 computer) is illustrated by application to a specific example.
This paper is a contribution to research currently underway in the System and Decision Sciences Program
