2019 VERSION: Volume III: Guidelines for Applying Traffic Microsimulation Modeling Software 2019 Update to the 2004 Version

2004 Version - 7.0 Final Report

This chapter discusses the documentation of the microsimulation analysis results in a final report and the technical report or appendix supporting the final report.

7.1 Final Report

The final report presents the assumptions, analytical steps, and results of the analysis in sufficient detail for decision-makers to understand the basis for and implications of choosing among the project alternatives. The final report, however, will not usually contain sufficiently detailed information to enable other analysts to reproduce the results. That is the purpose of the technical report/appendix.

The effort involved in summarization of the results should not be underestimated, since microsimulation models produce a wealth of numerical output that must be tabulated and summarized. The final report should include the following:

1. Study Objectives and Scope.
2. Overview of Study Approach (tools used, methodology, rationale).
3. Data Collection (sources and methods).
4. Calibration Tests and Results (which parameters were modified and why).
5. Forecast Assumptions (assumed growth inside and outside of the study area, street improvements, etc.).
6. Description of Alternatives.
7. Results.

7.2 Technical Report/Appendix

The technical report/appendix documents the microsimulation analysis in sufficient detail to enable an analyst to reproduce the results (the version or release of the software used is included). It may be an appendix to the final report or a separate document.

The technical report/appendix is a vital step in preserving the rationale for the various decisions that were made in the process of developing, calibrating, and operating a microsimulation model. The documentation should be sufficient so that given the same input files, another analyst can understand the calibration process and repeat the alternatives analysis.

The technical report/appendix should include the model input and output files (in electronic format) for the final model calibration run and alternatives analysis model runs. In addition to a diskette with the calibration and alternatives analysis files (input and output), the technical report/appendix should include a printed listing of the files on the diskette with a text description of the contents and purpose of each file.