Model sccreditation

Model accreditation is an official determination that a model is acceptable for a specific purpose (Williams and Sikora, 1991; Ritchie, 1992). Accreditation certifies that the element being accredited meets given standards. For a model, accreditation must be done with respect to the model's explicit specifications and the demonstration that the computer-based model does or does not meet the specifications. This demonstration is the responsibility of the model developers who must show that their work passes agreed to user and developer acceptance tests. If the modeling process was done properly and was accompanied by appropriate documentation, accreditation of the model for its specified uses should follow.

Accreditation of a model must rely on a review and evaluation of its available documentation. Such an evaluation, usually done by an independent third-party, is made against various criteria to determine the levels of accomplishment of the criteria, in particular those of...