TABLE OF CONTENTS Build it, and they will come!
James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams
One of the reasons for this chapter is that too many people have tried to "build it" and then waited in vain for customers to come out of the woodwork (or cornfield). Here, we focus on developing practical simulation software based on real customer requirements, but we don't cover the more general issues of gathering and analyzing data. Writing software in general, and simulation software in particular, is still an inexact science. Perhaps that is why people use the verb "write" most often when they refer to software development. Writers must be intuitive and creative to produce a great work of fiction (or even a technical document like this one).
Likewise, successful simulator developers are artists, or at least master craftsmen who have learned their craft by doing. Analysts typically can't create simulators by following a precise recipe that guarantees success. Each application is different and usually produces more than its share of unexpected obstacles to overcome. Similarly, analysts can only marginally predict the time required to complete a simulator project.
You will see only occasional mention of space-related issues in this chapter because the processes described are generic to any type of simulator development.
