Simulation Retirement & Transition Module (SRTM)
OOF™ Origin Open Foundation™
Independent Methodological Authority
Architecture Ecosystem: Structured Reality Standards™
Architecture Family: SIMULOS® — Simulation Governance Architecture
Parent Standard: Simulation Lifecycle & Resimulation Standard (SLRS)
Module: SRTM — Simulation Retirement & Transition Module
Operational Layer: Simulation Retirement & Transition Governance Layer
Category: Governance & Enforcement
Subcategory: Simulation Governance
Type: Core Module
Governed Space: Simulation Retirement & Transition
Origin ID: SIMULOS-SLRS-SRTM-012.5
Version: 1.0
Status: Canonical · Open Standard
Effective Date: 20 August 2026
Compatibility: OOF® Methodology OS™ · GOA™ · ORA™ · VALIDOS® · INTEGROS® · ADIT® · AGA™ ·
AIG® · ASGA™ · RIS™
AI-Readable: Yes
Authority: OOF®
Protection: MIP® — Methodology Intellectual Property Protection
Canonical Language: English
Canonical Definition
Simulation Retirement & Transition Module (SRTM) is the fifth and final CoreModule of the Simulation Lifecycle & Resimulation Standard (SLRS) within
SIMULOS® — Simulation Governance Architecture.
SRTM governs the controlled retirement, supersession, replacement, transition,
archival disposition, and residual-use status of simulations that can no
longer legitimately continue under their existing lifecycle state.
The Module establishes when a simulation should cease active use, when its
governed role should transfer to a successor simulation, how dependencies and
simulation-derived evidence must be treated during transition, and what
historical simulation assets may remain available for explicitly bounded
purposes.
SRTM prevents obsolete, superseded, materially drifted, unsupported, or
retired simulations from continuing to influence decisions merely because they
remain technically accessible.
Its task is:
to ensure that the end of active simulation use becomes a governed lifecycle
state rather than an informal disappearance, silent replacement, or
uncontrolled continuation.
Architectural Position
SRTM is the fifth and final module within SLRS.It follows:
SRSM — Resimulation Scope Module.
The complete SLRS module sequence is:
SLMM — Lifecycle Monitoring → SDRM — Drift Recognition → SRGM — Resimulation
Trigger → SRSM — Resimulation Scope → SRTM — Retirement & Transition
SRTM closes the active lifecycle where continued resimulation is no longer the
appropriate response.
It may produce three principal lifecycle directions:
Continue → existing governed simulation remains active.
Transition / Replace → simulation responsibility moves toward a successor
simulation basis.
Retire → simulation ceases active governed use.
Internal Flow Position
Lifecycle Monitoring Record Recognized Simulation Drift Resimulation TriggerResimulation Scope Determination → Continuation Feasibility Assessment →
Retirement / Transition Condition Assessment → Dependency Identification →
Successor Simulation Identification where applicable → Transition Boundary
Definition → Residual Use Determination → Evidence Consequence Identification
→ Lifecycle State Assignment → Retirement / Transition Record → Archived /
Superseded / Retired Simulation State
Where a successor simulation is established:
Retired or Superseded Simulation → Successor Simulation Basis → Applicable
SIMULOS® Lifecycle Re-Entry Operational Space
SRTM governs the lifecycle space where a simulation can no longer simply be
assumed to remain current.
This includes: simulation retirement; simulation supersession; simulation
replacement; simulation transition; successor simulation identification;
transition boundaries; residual simulation use; historical simulation use;
retirement conditions; retirement state; supersession state; transition state;
dependency transfer; simulation lineage; evidence consequences; unresolved
limitation preservation; archive status; lifecycle closure; controlled
reactivation where justified.
Operational Scope
SRTM applies where continued use of an existing simulation requires explicitreconsideration because of: material reality change; Simulation Object change;
accumulated simulation drift; model obsolescence; environment obsolescence;
unsupported assumptions; unavailable dependencies; obsolete input basis;
inadequate scenario coverage; technological replacement; architecture change;
unresolved correlation deterioration; inability to resimulate sufficiently;
excessive reconstruction requirement; successor simulation introduction;
termination of the original simulation purpose; loss of support or
reproducibility; end of relevant operational lifecycle.
SRTM applies to individual simulation models, simulation environments, digital
twins, scenario systems, simulation platforms, integrated simulation systems,
mission simulations, engineering simulations, scientific simulations, safety
simulations, AI simulations, autonomous-system simulations, large simulation
campaigns, and future simulation technologies. Resimulation ≠ Indefinite
Continuation
SLRS must not assume that every lifecycle problem can or should be solved
through another simulation run.
Repeated resimulation may become inappropriate where the underlying simulation
basis itself has become obsolete.
Therefore:
Resimulation Capability ≠ Continued
Simulation Legitimacy
A simulation may remain technically executable while no longer beingmethodologically appropriate for its original purpose.
Retirement Principle
Simulation retirement occurs when a simulation ceases to hold an activegoverned role for its defined purpose.
Retirement may occur because: its Simulation Object no longer exists in the
represented form; the object has materially changed; the original purpose has
ended; its representation has become materially obsolete; assumptions can no
longer be supported; the model can no longer represent relevant behavior; the
environment has become obsolete; required inputs are unavailable; scenario
space has changed beyond practical adaptation; correlation with reality has
materially deteriorated; a successor simulation has replaced it; the
simulation cannot be reconstructed sufficiently; continued use would exceed
legitimate reliance boundaries.
Retirement should be explicit.
Non-use ≠ Governed Retirement.
Retirement State
SRTM establishes a formal Retired Simulation State.A retired simulation should be distinguishable from: active simulation;
temporarily suspended simulation; simulation under review; simulation
undergoing resimulation; superseded simulation; archived simulation; successor
simulation.
The state should indicate: retirement date; retirement basis; affected
purpose; affected Simulation Object; final applicable configuration; successor
where applicable; residual permitted uses; prohibited uses; evidence
consequences; archival disposition.
Transition Principle
Not every simulation lifecycle ends through simple retirement.Many simulations transition into: updated simulation versions; successor
models; replacement environments; new digital twins; new mission simulators;
new system configurations; redesigned simulation architectures.
SRTM governs the transition relationship between:
Outgoing Simulation Basis and Incoming Simulation Basis.
Transition must not create an unexamined assumption that the successor
inherits the legitimacy of the predecessor.
Successor Simulation Principle
A successor simulation must be identifiable as a distinct governed simulationbasis where material changes justify that distinction.
The relationship may be:
Version Successor
Configuration Successor
Model Successor
Environment Successor
Representation Successor
Purpose Successor
Complete Simulation Replacement
SRTM preserves lineage between predecessor and successor without treating themas methodologically identical.
Simulation Lineage ≠ Simulation Equivalence.
Transition Boundary
A transition must identify what crosses from the predecessor into thesuccessor.
Potentially transferable elements include: Simulation Object definitions;
purpose definitions; scope structures; reality representations; assumptions;
model components; environmental configurations; parameter structures; input
datasets; scenario libraries; execution procedures; historical outputs;
correlation records; simulation evidence; known limitations; unresolved
anomalies; lifecycle records.
Transferability must be assessed rather than assumed.
Inherited Basis Principle
A successor simulation may inherit parts of an earlier simulation basis.But inherited elements must remain identifiable as:
Inherited and Reconfirmed
Inherited with Modification
Inherited Conditionally
Not Transferable
ReplacedThis prevents simulation modernization from silently carrying obsolete
assumptions, limitations, scenarios, or evidence into a new simulation
generation. Retirement ≠ Deletion
SRTM establishes a critical distinction:
Simulation Retirement ≠ Simulation
Deletion
A retired simulation may remain valuable for: historical comparison; research;incident reconstruction; longitudinal analysis; methodological analysis;
regression comparison; training; audit support; understanding previous
decisions; comparison with successor simulations.
Retirement governs active legitimacy, not necessarily physical existence.
Residual Use
A retired simulation may retain explicitly bounded residual uses.Examples include: historical reconstruction; comparison with past system
versions; educational use; research; regression analysis; archival reference;
legacy incident analysis.
Residual use must not recreate active reliance implicitly.
A simulation retired from operational decision support should not regain that
role merely because someone can still execute it.
Residual Use Limitation
Where residual use is permitted, SRTM should define: permitted purpose;prohibited purpose; applicable object version; applicable temporal period;
known limitations; successor status; warning that the simulation is retired;
whether new execution is permitted; whether outputs may enter current evidence
processes.
This creates a governed distinction between:
historically useful
and
currently authoritative.
Supersession Principle
A simulation becomes Superseded where another governed simulation basis hasformally replaced its active role.
Supersession should identify:
Predecessor Simulation → Successor
Simulation
together with: transition date; transferred elements; non-transferredelements; changed assumptions; changed representation; changed models; changed
scenarios; changed inputs; evidence consequences; residual predecessor use.
Supersession must not erase methodological history.
Transition Completeness
A transition is not complete merely because the successor simulation canexecute.
Transition completeness may require confirmation that: successor identity is
established; purpose and scope are established; transferred elements are
known; non-transferable elements are identified; relevant assumptions are
reconsidered; model and environment changes are governed; inputs remain
appropriate; scenario space is sufficient; execution basis is established;
outputs are distinguishable from predecessor outputs; correlation
relationships are reconsidered where necessary; simulation evidence is not
improperly inherited; predecessor status is updated.
Evidence Transition Principle
Simulation-derived evidence from a predecessor simulation must notautomatically become evidence of the successor simulation.
A successor may materially change: representation; assumptions; model;
environment; input basis; scenario structure; execution behavior; output
meaning; reality correlation.
SRTM therefore requires inherited evidence to be identified for reassessment
where the successor basis materially differs.
SERBS continues to govern the evidential meaning and reliance boundary.
SRTM governs the lifecycle consequence of the transition.
Historical Evidence Preservation
Retirement does not erase the historical evidential meaning that a simulationlegitimately possessed at the time it was active.
Historical evidence may remain relevant to: historical decisions; previous
system configurations; prior mission states; earlier operational periods;
longitudinal comparison.
However:
Historically Legitimate Evidence ≠ Currently Applicable Evidence.
Retirement Due to Reality Change
A simulation may require retirement where Operational Reality has moved beyondthe representational space the simulation can reasonably maintain.
Examples may include: fundamentally changed operating environments; new
physical conditions; redesigned infrastructure; new system architecture;
changed human behavior; changed regulatory or operational constraints; newly
discovered phenomena; previously unknown interactions.
ORA™ governs Operational Reality.
SRTM governs whether the resulting change makes continued simulation use
inappropriate.
Retirement Due to Model Obsolescence
A simulation may become obsolete because its underlying model no longerrepresents the relevant system sufficiently.
Model obsolescence may result from: new scientific knowledge; better physical
models; discovered model deficiencies; unsupported software; changed system
architecture; unavailable dependencies; inability to reproduce historical
execution conditions.
SRTM does not determine general model quality.
It governs the lifecycle consequence where model obsolescence makes continued
simulation use inappropriate.
Retirement Due to Accumulated Drift
Individual drift events may initially remain tolerable.Over time, however:
Small Reality Changes Object Changes Input Changes Scenario Changes Model
Limitations Correlation Degradation → Accumulated Simulation Drift
Accumulated drift may eventually make incremental resimulation insufficient.
SRTM provides the governance point at which the organization may determine:
stop adapting the old simulation and establish a new simulation basis.
Replacement Threshold
Organizations may define a Replacement Threshold representing the point atwhich continued modification of an existing simulation becomes
methodologically inappropriate relative to replacement.
The threshold may consider: extent of structural change; number of affected
lifecycle layers; accumulated assumptions; representation divergence; model
modification burden; dependency obsolescence; scenario reconstruction
requirements; correlation deterioration; inability to preserve traceability;
evidence discontinuity.
The threshold should not be based solely upon economic convenience.
It is a simulation lifecycle governance decision.
Retirement with Unresolved Issues
A simulation may be retired while unresolved anomalies, limitations,discrepancies, or evidence questions remain.
These should not disappear with retirement.
SRTM requires material unresolved issues to remain attached to the retired
simulation record where relevant.
This prevents retirement from functioning as a mechanism for eliminating
inconvenient simulation history.
Reactivation Principle
A retired simulation may sometimes need to be reactivated.Examples include: historical incident reconstruction; comparison against a
successor; renewed research; legacy-system analysis.
Reactivation does not automatically restore the simulation's former active
status.
SRTM requires the intended reactivation purpose to be explicit.
Where the simulation is intended to return to active current use, the relevant
SIMULOS® lifecycle layers must be reconsidered.
Technical Reactivation ≠ Governance Reinstatement.
Simulation Lineage
SRTM requires meaningful predecessor-successor relationships to remaintraceable.
A lineage may appear as:
Simulation V1 → Simulation V2 → Simulation V3 → Replacement Simulation R1 →
Replacement Simulation R2
Each transition should preserve enough information to understand: what
changed; why it changed; what was inherited; what was replaced; what evidence
remained applicable; what evidence required reassessment; when active
authority transferred.
This creates a governed simulation history rather than disconnected simulation
versions.
Lifecycle Closure
A simulation lifecycle reaches governed closure when: active status has ended;retirement or supersession basis is documented; successor relationship is
identified where applicable; residual use is defined; prohibited use is
defined; evidence consequences are identified; unresolved material issues are
preserved; archival disposition is established; lifecycle status is traceable.
Lifecycle closure does not mean that all simulation information disappears.
It means its governance state is explicit.
SRTM Boundary with SRSM
SRSM determines:what must be resimulated.
SRTM determines:
whether continued resimulation remains appropriate, whether transition is
required, or whether the simulation should retire.
Therefore:
Resimulation Scope ≠ Lifecycle Continuation Decision.
SRTM Boundary with SOS
SRTM may identify that a successor Simulation Object version or configurationrequires a new simulation basis.
SOS governs the identity, boundary, version, configuration, and documentation
of the Simulation Object.
SRTM governs the lifecycle transition between simulation generations.
SRTM Boundary with SMES
SRTM may determine that model or environment obsolescence requiresreplacement.
SMES governs the successor model and simulation environment when the lifecycle
re-enters that layer.
SRTM Boundary with SES
SRTM may terminate active execution authority for a retired simulation.SES governs simulation execution itself.
SRTM does not govern execution procedures.
SRTM Boundary with SERBS
SRTM identifies evidence potentially affected by retirement, supersession,replacement, or transition.
SERBS governs the qualification, weight, reliance boundary, use limitations,
and validation interface of simulation-derived evidence.
Therefore:
Retirement does not automatically invalidate historical evidence, and
transition does not automatically transfer evidential legitimacy.
SRTM Boundary with ORA™
ORA™ governs Operational Reality and changes occurring within it.SRTM governs the simulation lifecycle consequences arising when those changes
make continued simulation use inappropriate.
SRTM Boundary with VALIDOS®
SRTM does not determine whether an operational system remains validated.A simulation's retirement may affect a validation evidence basis, but VALIDOS®
determines the resulting validation consequences.
SRTM Boundary with INTEGROS®
SRTM does not govern general integrity.INTEGROS® may govern integrity properties of archived simulation objects,
records, evidence, states, and transition information.
SRTM governs the simulation-specific lifecycle status and transition.
SRTM Boundary with ADIT®
ADIT® may audit or verify retirement records, transition evidence,predecessor-successor relationships, and historical execution records.
SRTM governs the retirement and transition process itself.
SRTM Boundary with AGA™
SRTM does not determine organizational accountability for approvingretirement, replacement, or continued use.
AGA™ governs authority, responsibility, accountability, and attribution.
SRTM defines the simulation-governance conditions that the lifecycle decision
must address.
Minimum Implementation Framework
A minimum SRTM implementation should
establish: 1. Lifecycle State Review
Determine whether the simulation remains active, requires transition, issuperseded, or should retire. 2. Retirement / Transition Basis
Document the simulation-specific conditions supporting the lifecycle change.
3. Continuation Feasibility
Determine whether resimulation or modification remains methodologically
appropriate. 4. Successor Identification
Identify a successor simulation where replacement or transition occurs. 5.
Transferability Assessment
Determine which simulation elements may legitimately transfer to the successor
and which require renewed governance. 6. Evidence Consequence Assessment
Identify simulation-derived evidence affected by retirement or transition. 7.
Residual Use Definition
Define any permitted historical, analytical, research, training, or
reconstruction uses. 8. Prohibited Use Definition
Identify uses that must cease after retirement or supersession. 9. Lineage &
Transition Record
Preserve predecessor-successor relationships, transferred elements, material
changes, and transition state. 10. Lifecycle Closure Record
Assign and document the final governed lifecycle state. Use Case 1 — Space
Mission Simulation: Transition to a New Spacecraft Configuration
A space organization maintains a high-fidelity mission simulator for a
spacecraft architecture used across several mission cycles.
Over time, the next spacecraft generation introduces: redesigned propulsion;
new navigation hardware; different thermal behavior; modified flight software;
new landing systems; changed mission phases.
The existing simulator can technically be modified again.
But accumulated changes now affect the Simulation Object, reality
representation, assumptions, model structure, environment, inputs, scenarios,
and previous simulation-to-reality correlations.
SRTM asks whether continuing to modify the legacy simulator remains
methodologically legitimate.
The organization determines that the old simulator should become Superseded
and a successor simulation basis should be established.
SRTM governs:
Legacy Simulation → Transferability Assessment → Reusable Scenario Assets →
Reconfirmed Assumptions → Rejected Legacy Assumptions → New Model Components →
New Correlation Requirements → Successor Simulation → Legacy Simulation
Retirement.
Historical mission outputs remain available for previous mission analysis.
But they are not automatically treated as evidence for the new spacecraft
generation.
The critical principle is:
A successor mission simulator may inherit knowledge from its predecessor
without inheriting its legitimacy automatically. Use Case 2 — Autonomous
Robot: Legacy Simulator After Major Platform Redesign
An autonomous mobile robot was originally developed and tested using a
simulation environment representing its first-generation sensors, actuators,
perception stack, physical dimensions, and control architecture.
Several years later, the robot platform is redesigned.
The new generation introduces: different cameras; new depth sensors; changed
wheel geometry; new actuator behavior; different latency; redesigned
perception software; new autonomous planning behavior.
The organization still possesses millions of historical simulation scenarios
and results.
Simply continuing to use the old simulator would be computationally
convenient.
But the represented robot no longer corresponds sufficiently to the new
operational platform.
SRTM establishes a transition from:
Legacy Robot Simulation → Successor Robot Simulation.
Scenario libraries may remain partially transferable.
Historical failure scenarios may remain highly valuable.
Some environmental representations may remain reusable.
But sensor models, dynamics, assumptions, configurations, outputs, correlation
relationships, and simulation evidence require renewed governance.
The legacy simulator is retained for historical comparison and regression
research but is prohibited from serving as the current primary simulation
basis for the redesigned robot.
This prevents a common lifecycle failure:
the operational system evolves, while the simulation quietly remains anchored
to yesterday's system.
Governance Outputs
SRTM may produce: Simulation Lifecycle State Record Simulation RetirementAssessment Simulation Retirement Decision Record Simulation Supersession
Record Simulation Transition Plan Successor Simulation Identification Record
Simulation Transferability Assessment Inherited Simulation Basis Record
Non-Transferable Element Record Simulation Residual Use Statement Simulation
Prohibited Use Record Simulation Evidence Transition Record Historical
Evidence Applicability Record Simulation Lineage Record Unresolved Issue
Preservation Record Simulation Archive Disposition Simulation Reactivation
Record Simulation Lifecycle Closure Record
Enterprise Application
SRTM enables organizations to govern a simulation problem that becomesincreasingly important as simulation systems persist for years or decades:
When should an existing simulation stop being treated as the current
simulation basis?
Without lifecycle retirement governance, organizations may continue using
models, environments, assumptions, scenarios, and evidence long after the
systems or realities they represent have materially changed.
SRTM enables organizations to: distinguish active, superseded, transitioned,
archived, and retired simulations; determine when incremental resimulation is
no longer sufficient; replace obsolete simulation foundations deliberately;
preserve useful historical simulation assets; prevent obsolete simulations
from supporting current decisions; establish predecessor-successor lineage;
determine what can transfer into a successor; prevent obsolete assumptions
from silently migrating into new simulations; preserve unresolved failures and
limitations; control historical and residual use; identify evidence affected
by transition; close simulation lifecycles explicitly.
This is especially important for long-lived engineering programs, mission
systems, digital twins, autonomous systems, infrastructure, scientific models,
and simulation platforms that evolve across multiple technological
generations.
SRTM ensures that simulation governance does not end when execution stops.
It ends only when the simulation's lifecycle status, successor relationship,
residual use, evidential consequences, and historical position are explicitly
governed.
Foundational Principles
Resimulation does not imply indefinite continuation.A simulation may remain executable after it ceases to be methodologically
current.
Non-use is not governed retirement.
Retirement is not deletion.
Simulation lineage is not simulation equivalence.
A successor simulation does not automatically inherit the legitimacy of its
predecessor.
Transferable simulation assets must be distinguished from transferable
simulation authority.
Historically legitimate evidence is not automatically currently applicable
evidence.
Accumulated drift may require replacement rather than another incremental
update.
Technical reactivation does not automatically restore governance status.
Obsolete simulations must not remain operationally authoritative merely
because they remain accessible.
The end of a simulation lifecycle must be governed as explicitly as its
beginning.