Simulation Execution Standard - (SES)
OOF™ Origin Open Foundation™
Independent Methodological Authority
Simulation Execution Standard (SES) defines the governance conditions under
which an approved Simulation Object, Purpose & Scope, Reality Representation,
Assumption Basis, Model & Environment, Input & Data Basis, and Scenario Set
are instantiated into an actual simulation run or campaign, operationally
controlled during execution, observed without losing material execution
context, repeated where required, and documented as a traceable Simulation
Execution Record.
SES governs the transition from:
Simulation Activity.
Its purpose is to ensure that a simulation does not become an undocumented
computational event whose relationship to its intended configuration, inputs,
scenarios, execution conditions, observations, repetitions, deviations, and
resulting outputs can no longer be reconstructed.
SES does not determine whether the simulation result is valid, correct,
reliable, or operationally applicable.
It governs:
what was actually executed, under which governed conditions, what occurred
during execution, whether repetition was controlled, and whether the execution
can later be reconstructed sufficiently for downstream governance.
which an approved Simulation Object, Purpose & Scope, Reality Representation,
Assumption Basis, Model & Environment, Input & Data Basis, and Scenario Set
are instantiated into an actual simulation run or campaign, operationally
controlled during execution, observed without losing material execution
context, repeated where required, and documented as a traceable Simulation
Execution Record.
SES governs the transition from:
Simulation Design
to:Simulation Activity.
Its purpose is to ensure that a simulation does not become an undocumented
computational event whose relationship to its intended configuration, inputs,
scenarios, execution conditions, observations, repetitions, deviations, and
resulting outputs can no longer be reconstructed.
SES does not determine whether the simulation result is valid, correct,
reliable, or operationally applicable.
It governs:
what was actually executed, under which governed conditions, what occurred
during execution, whether repetition was controlled, and whether the execution
can later be reconstructed sufficiently for downstream governance.
Architectural Position
SES is the eighth Parent Standard of SIMULOS®.It occupies the transition point between:
Simulation Scenario Governance
and:Simulation Output Governance.
The architecture progresses:
Simulation Object
↓Simulation Purpose & Scope
↓Reality Representation
↓Simulation Assumptions
↓Simulation Model & Environment
↓Simulation Inputs & Data
↓Simulation Scenarios
↓Simulation Execution
↓Simulation Output Governance
↓Downstream Simulation Lifecycle Governance
SES therefore represents the point at which the governed simulationspecification becomes an executed simulation event.
Governance Flow Position
Upstream Input:Governed Scenario Space + Governed Simulation Configuration + Governed Input
Basis
↓
Simulation Instantiation
↓Execution Control
↓Simulation Observation
↓Simulation Repetition
↓Execution Documentation
↓Governed Simulation Execution Record
↓Downstream Output Governance
Operational Space
SES governs: simulation-run instantiation, simulation-campaign instantiation,execution identity, execution configuration, object-version binding,
model-version binding, environment-version binding, scenario binding, input
binding, parameter binding, assumption binding where material, execution
authorization, execution initiation, execution state, execution sequencing,
execution controls, runtime conditions, execution interventions, execution
deviations, execution interruption, execution restart, execution termination,
execution completion, simulation observation, observation context, observation
timing, event capture, anomaly capture, state-transition capture, repeated
execution, repetition conditions, randomization control, seed governance where
applicable, repeatability conditions, reproducibility conditions, execution
comparison, execution documentation, execution provenance, execution
traceability, execution completeness, execution lineage, and formation of the
Governed Simulation Execution Record.
Operational Scope
SES applies to simulation execution across environments including: AI systems,autonomous systems, robotics, multi-agent systems, aerospace and space
systems, industrial systems, digital twins, infrastructure systems,
transportation systems, scientific and engineering simulations, financial and
economic simulations, safety simulations, mission simulations, training
simulations, synthetic environments, hardware-in-the-loop environments,
software-in-the-loop environments, and future simulation systems.
SES is technology-neutral.
It does not prescribe a particular: simulator, simulation engine, programming
language, computational infrastructure, numerical method, orchestration
platform, or execution technology.
Execution Object
Every governed simulation execution should be distinguishable as anidentifiable execution object.
Depending upon implementation, this may be:
Simulation Run
Simulation Episode
Simulation Trial
Simulation Batch
Simulation Campaign
or another defined execution unit.The governing requirement is not terminology.
The governing requirement is:
the executed activity must be sufficiently identifiable to reconstruct what
actually occurred.
Simulation Execution ID
A materially relevant simulation execution should have a stable identifiercapable of connecting the execution to its governing basis.
Conceptually:
Simulation Execution ID
↓Simulation Object Version
Purpose & Scope
Reality Representation
Assumption Basis
Model Version
Environment Version
Input SetScenario ID
Parameter Configuration
Execution Conditions
Execution Record
Produced Outputs
This prevents simulation results from becoming detached from the executionthat produced them.
Instantiation Principle
A simulation specification does not become an executed simulation merelybecause its components exist.
SES distinguishes:
Defined Simulation Configuration
from:Instantiated Simulation Configuration.
Instantiation establishes which exact versions, parameters, inputs, scenarios,
environments, and relevant conditions were assembled for a specific execution.
Configuration Binding
Before execution, materially relevant components should be bound to theexecution instance.
This may include: Simulation Object version, model version, environment
version, scenario version, input dataset, parameter set, software
configuration, hardware configuration, random seed, dependency state, external
service configuration, and execution timestamp.
No Assumed Configuration Principle
SIMULOS® establishes:The configuration intended to run must not automatically be treated as the
configuration that actually ran.
Where material, execution records should establish the instantiated
configuration rather than relying solely upon pre-execution intent.
Execution Authorization
Where organizational, technical, safety, financial, or regulatory consequencerequires authorization, SES may require an identifiable authorization basis
before execution.
Authorization may govern: permitted scenario classes, resource limits,
execution environment, access permissions, external-system interaction,
sensitive data, hardware use, operational interfaces, and termination
authority.
Execution Initiation
Execution Initiation marks the transition from prepared simulationconfiguration to active simulation.
A governed initiation record may establish: execution identity, initiation
time, configuration status, scenario, inputs, environment, authorization, and
initial state.
Execution State
SES may distinguish execution states such as:Prepared
Initialized
Running
Paused
Interrupted
Restarted
Completed
Terminated
Failed
or:
Execution State Unknown.
These states allow downstream users to distinguish a successfully completed
simulation from a partial or interrupted execution.
Execution Control
Simulation Execution Control governs the mechanisms through which executionremains within the conditions established for the simulation.
Controls may concern: execution sequence, timing, resource use,
synchronization, scenario progression, parameter application, dependency
behavior, state transitions, interventions, runtime limits, termination
criteria, and recovery behavior.
Execution Control ≠ Outcome Control
A critical SIMULOS® distinction is:Execution Control governs how the simulation is performed. It must not become
manipulation designed to force a preferred simulation outcome.
Unexpected or unfavorable behavior should remain observable rather than being
silently corrected merely because it conflicts with expectations.
Runtime Intervention
A simulation may require intervention during execution.Examples include: pause, parameter adjustment, injected failure, scenario
escalation, external input, human intervention, recovery command, or
controlled termination.
Where intervention can materially affect the result, it should remain
traceable.
No Invisible Intervention Principle
SIMULOS® establishes:A material intervention during simulation execution must not disappear from
the execution history.
Execution Deviation
An Execution Deviation exists where actual execution materially differs fromthe intended execution basis.
Examples include: wrong configuration, missing dependency, delayed input,
unexpected environment state, parameter mismatch, runtime error, unscheduled
intervention, timing failure, resource exhaustion, incomplete scenario
execution, or execution-system failure.
Deviation Does Not Automatically
Invalidate Execution
SES does not predetermine the consequence of a deviation.Instead it requires the deviation to remain visible.
A deviation may be:
Immaterial
Material but Acceptable
Conditionally Acceptable
Execution-Limiting
Execution-Invalidating
or:Undetermined
depending upon downstream assessment.Execution Observation
Simulation Observation governs the structured capture of materially relevantevents and states during execution.
Observation may concern: system state, environment state, agent behavior,
transitions, failures, recoveries, interactions, timing, resource consumption,
control events, interventions, anomalies, and emergent behavior.
Observation ≠ Interpretation
SES establishes a strong boundary:Observation records what occurred during execution. Interpretation determines
what that occurrence means.
The latter belongs primarily to downstream output and analytical governance.
Observation Context
An observation without sufficient context may become misleading.Where material, observations should preserve:
What happened
When it happened
Where in the simulation it happened
Under which configuration
Under which scenario
Under which inputs
Under which execution state
and:What preceded or followed the event.
Observation Resolution
Not every simulation requires identical observation resolution.Observation may be: continuous, periodic, event-triggered,
threshold-triggered, state-triggered, sampled, or selectively captured.
The appropriate resolution depends upon the Simulation Purpose and materially
relevant execution phenomena.
Observation Blind Spots
SES should preserve known observation limitations.Examples include: unlogged internal states, insufficient sampling frequency,
unavailable telemetry, inaccessible agent reasoning, missing environment
events, or data lost during execution.
A simulation should not later be represented as fully observed where material
execution regions were not observable.
Execution Repetition
A simulation may be repeated to examine: consistency, variability, stochasticbehavior, uncertainty, scenario sensitivity, parameter sensitivity, rare
events, or distributional behavior.
SES governs how repetitions remain distinguishable and comparable.
Repeatability
Repeatability concerns whether materially equivalent execution conditions can
produce sufficiently comparable execution behavior when repetition is intended
to preserve those conditions. Reproducibility
Where applicable, Reproducibility concerns whether another execution
environment, actor, system, or implementation can recreate the materially
relevant simulation execution basis sufficiently to examine comparable
behavior.
SIMULOS® does not assume every simulation must be perfectly reproducible.
Some simulations contain: stochastic processes, nondeterministic hardware,
external services, adaptive agents, distributed systems, real-time human
interaction, or changing environments.
The requirement is to govern the conditions affecting reproducibility rather
than falsely claim determinism.
Randomness Governance
Where randomness materially affects execution, SES may govern: randomizationmethod, seed identity, seed generation, seed reuse, stochastic
parameterization, sampling state, and relationship between randomization and
repetitions.
Seed Traceability
Where technically applicable and materially relevant, preserving a random seedmay allow an execution to be reconstructed.
However:
Seed preservation alone does not establish
reproducibility
if other execution conditions have changed.Repetition Identity
Every repeated execution should remain distinguishable.For example:
Scenario S-104
may produce:Run S-104-R001
Run S-104-R002
Run S-104-R003
and so forth.The exact naming system is implementation-specific.
Controlled Repetition
SES distinguishes:Controlled Repetition
from:Uncontrolled Re-Running.
Controlled repetition preserves sufficient information to determine: what
remained constant, what changed, why it changed, and whether resulting
executions may legitimately be compared.
Repetition Variance
Repeated simulations may intentionally vary: seed, input, parameter,environment, agent population, timing, scenario condition, or another
dimension.
Such variation should remain distinguishable from accidental execution drift.
Execution Drift
Execution Drift occurs where repeated simulations cease to representmaterially comparable execution conditions without that change being
sufficiently governed.
Possible causes include: software updates, infrastructure changes, model
changes, environment updates, dependency changes, altered defaults, parameter
changes, or orchestration changes.
Execution Comparability
Two simulation executions should not be treated as directly comparable merelybecause they share the same Scenario ID.
Comparability may also depend upon: model version, environment version, input
basis, parameterization, randomization, execution controls, and material
runtime conditions.
Simulation Campaign Governance
Large simulation programs may execute:
thousands, millions, or billions
of simulation runs.SES allows these runs to be governed as a Simulation Campaign while preserving
sufficient run-level traceability where material.
Campaign Identity
A Simulation Campaign may bind:Campaign ID
↓
Simulation Purpose
↓Scenario Set
↓Execution Configuration
↓Run Population
↓Repetition Logic
↓Execution Controls
↓Campaign Record Campaign-Level Control
Campaign-level governance may establish: permitted configurations, scenariopopulation, execution infrastructure, resource limits, repetition rules,
stopping conditions, logging requirements, exception handling, and
documentation requirements.
Run-Level Exceptions
A campaign may be generally conformant while individual runs containdeviations.
SES should therefore preserve the distinction between:
Campaign Status
and:Individual Execution Status.
Execution Completeness
Execution Completeness asks:Was the simulation activity required by the instantiated execution basis
actually completed sufficiently?
Possible states may include:
Complete
Conditionally Complete
Partially Complete
IncompleteFailed
or:
Undetermined. Completion ≠ Successful
Outcome
A simulation may execute completely and reveal catastrophic system failure.That may still represent a fully completed simulation execution.
Likewise, a simulation producing an apparently desirable output may have been
incompletely executed.
SIMULOS® therefore establishes:
Execution Completeness and Simulation Outcome are separate governable
questions.
Execution Documentation
Simulation Execution Documentation preserves the execution historysufficiently for later reconstruction.
Documentation may include: Execution ID, Campaign ID, object version, model
version, environment version, scenario, inputs, parameters, assumptions where
material, authorization, start time, completion time, execution state,
interventions, deviations, observations, repetition relationship,
randomization basis, infrastructure state, completion status, and output
references.
Execution Provenance
Execution Provenance establishes where a Simulation Execution Record came fromand which technical and governance basis produced it.
Execution Lineage
Execution Lineage connects related runs.For example:
Baseline Run
↓Repeated Run
↓Modified Parameter Run
↓Stress Escalation Run
↓Recovery Run
This allows simulation evolution to be reconstructed rather than viewed asdisconnected output files.
Point-in-Time Reconstruction
SES should enable questions such as:Which exact model version ran?
Which scenario version was instantiated?
Which inputs were used?
Which parameters were active?
Which environment version existed?
Was the execution interrupted?
Was there a runtime intervention?
Was the run repeated?
Which seed was used where applicable?
Were material anomalies observed?
Was the execution complete?
Which outputs originated from this execution?
No Orphan Output Principle
SIMULOS® establishes:A material Simulation Output should remain traceable to the Simulation
Execution that produced it.
An output detached from its execution basis loses critical interpretive
context.
No Successful-Run Selection Bias
Where a Simulation Campaign produces both expected and unexpected executions,SES should preserve material failed, interrupted, anomalous, and unfavorable
runs.
SIMULOS® establishes:
Simulation Execution governance must not preserve only the runs that support
the preferred conclusion.
Failed Executions as Information
Failed executions may reveal: infrastructure weaknesses, scenarioincompatibility, model instability, resource constraints, timing problems, or
previously unknown simulation limitations.
SES therefore treats execution failure as governable information rather than
disposable noise.
Autonomous Simulation Execution
AI and autonomous systems may increasingly: generate simulations, selectscenarios, instantiate environments, modify parameters, execute campaigns,
identify anomalies, and launch follow-up simulations automatically.
SES remains applicable.
The execution record should preserve where material:
Human-Initiated Execution
AI-Initiated Execution
Autonomously Triggered Execution
or another relevant execution authority state.Adaptive Simulation
An adaptive simulation may alter future execution based upon earlier results.For example:
Run
↓
Observation
↓
Adaptive Scenario Selection
↓New Run
↓
New Observation
SES should preserve this causal execution chain.No Hidden Adaptive Path Principle
Where prior simulation results materially determine subsequent executionselection, the adaptive path should remain reconstructable.
Otherwise the resulting campaign may appear predetermined when it was actually
dynamically generated.
Human-in-the-Loop Simulation
Where humans participate during simulation, SES may preserve: participantrole, intervention authority, intervention timing, decisions, response delay,
override, and materially relevant human actions.
Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation
For hardware-in-the-loop environments, execution records may additionallypreserve: hardware identity, hardware configuration, firmware version,
calibration state, communication state, timing characteristics, and physical
interface conditions.
Software-in-the-Loop Simulation
Software-in-the-loop execution may preserve: software build, dependencies,runtime environment, API versions, model versions, configuration, and
orchestration state.
Space and Mission Simulation
Space and aerospace simulation programs may execute enormous campaigns across:trajectories, navigation uncertainty, environmental conditions, communication
states, propulsion states, sensor states, subsystem failures, autonomy states,
and recovery conditions.
SES governs not merely whether these simulations were launched but whether the
execution history can establish:
which mission configuration actually ran under which conditions and what
occurred during that run.
This becomes especially important when simulation campaigns are used to
support decisions that cannot later be easily tested in operational reality.
Autonomous Systems
For autonomous systems, execution governance becomes particularly importantwhere behavior can depend upon: internal state, prior actions, memory,
stochasticity, environment changes, external agents, timing, permissions, and
adaptive decision paths.
Two runs using nominally identical scenarios may diverge materially.
SES preserves the conditions necessary to understand that divergence.
Execution Bottleneck
In mature simulation programs, the bottleneck may not be computationalcapacity.
Organizations may already possess enormous simulation infrastructure.
The bottleneck may instead be:
execution traceability across millions of runs.
Typical questions become:
Which configuration produced this result?
Can we reproduce it?
Was this run interrupted?
Was there an intervention?
Which environment version was active?
Which outputs belong to which execution?
Did failed runs disappear from analysis?
Did execution conditions drift across the campaign?
SES turns these questions into an explicit governance space.
Relationship to Simulation Scenario
Standard
SSS determines:what should be simulated and whether materially relevant Scenario Space is
sufficiently covered.
SES determines:
how those scenarios are actually instantiated and executed.
Therefore:
Scenario Coverage ≠ Execution Completion.
A scenario may exist in the governed Scenario Set without ever being
successfully executed.
Relationship to Simulation Model &
Environment Standard
SMES governs construction, configuration, boundaries, parameterization, andversioning of the simulation model and environment.
SES binds a specific governed model and environment configuration to an actual
execution.
Relationship to Simulation Input & Data
Standard
SIDS governs which data and inputs may enter the simulation and under whichconditions.
SES records which governed inputs actually entered a specific execution.
Relationship to Simulation Assumption
Standard
SAS governs the role of assumptions inside the simulation.SES preserves the applicable assumption basis where it materially affects
execution reconstruction.
Relationship to Simulation Output
Governance Standard
SES ends by producing the governed execution basis from which simulationoutputs emerge.
SOGS begins by asking:
What exactly did the simulation produce, how should those outputs be
classified and bounded, and what may legitimately be inferred from them?
The handoff is therefore:
Governed Simulation Execution Record
↓Simulation Output
↓Simulation Output Governance Relationship
to VALIDOS®
VALIDOS® may later determine whether simulation execution records and outputsare sufficient for a particular Validation Purpose.
SES does not make that Validation Determination.
This preserves the boundary:
Simulation Execution Governance ≠ Validation Governance.
Relationship to INTEGROS®
INTEGROS® may govern integrity properties of execution records, artifacts, orrelated information.
SES does not duplicate general integrity governance.
SES governs the simulation-specific execution lifecycle.
Relationship to ADIT®
ADIT® may audit evidence and records produced by simulation execution.SIMULOS® owns:
simulation execution itself.
ADIT® may subsequently ask whether the execution record is sufficiently
auditable, evidenced, or reconstructable for an audit purpose.
Relationship to ORA™
ORA™ governs actual Operational Reality.SES governs activity occurring inside the simulation environment.
An execution that perfectly conforms to its simulation environment does not
establish that the environment accurately represents operational reality.
Relationship to ASGA™
ASGA™ may define governance requirements concerning autonomous authority,permissions, override, escalation, coordination, and continuity.
SES may instantiate and observe scenarios exercising those conditions without
taking ownership of autonomous-system governance itself.
Execution Governance Boundary
SES begins when the upstream simulation basis is sufficiently established fora scenario or simulation campaign to be instantiated.
SES ends when the required simulation activity has been: instantiated,
executed, controlled, observed, repeated where required, documented, linked to
material deviations, assigned an execution-completeness status, and preserved
as a Governed Simulation Execution Record capable of supporting downstream
Simulation Output Governance.
SES does not determine: whether the simulation model is universally valid,
whether Reality Representation is sufficient, whether the resulting output is
correct, whether an inference from the output is legitimate, whether
operational deployment should occur, whether a Validation Object is valid, or
whether a system is safe.
Parent Standard Modules 1. SIM —
Simulation Instantiation Module
Governs how a defined simulation basis becomes a specific executablesimulation instance.
It establishes the binding between:
Execution ID → Simulation Object → Model → Environment → Scenario → Inputs →
Parameters → Applicable Conditions
Its primary question is:
What exactly is being instantiated for execution? 2. SECM — Simulation
Execution Control Module
Governs how active simulation execution is initiated, controlled, progressed,
interrupted, modified where permitted, terminated, and completed.
Its primary question is:
How must the simulation remain controlled while it is actually running? 3. SOM
— Simulation Observation Module
Governs how materially relevant execution states, events, behaviors,
transitions, anomalies, interventions, and runtime conditions are observed and
preserved.
Its primary question is:
What materially relevant events occurred during execution, and under which
execution context? 4. SRPM — Simulation Repetition Module
Governs repeated execution, randomization, repeatability, reproducibility
conditions, comparison, execution variance, and controlled repetition.
Its primary question is:
When a simulation is repeated, what must remain constant, what may change, and
how can repeated executions remain meaningfully comparable? 5. SEDM —
Simulation Execution Documentation Module
Governs the documentation, provenance, lineage, completeness, traceability,
and reconstructability of simulation execution.
Its primary question is:
Can the executed simulation later be reconstructed sufficiently to determine
what actually ran and what occurred?
Parent Standard Internal Flow
SIM — Simulation Instantiation
↓SECM — Simulation Execution Control
↓SOM — Simulation Observation
↓SRPM — Simulation Repetition
↓SEDM — Simulation Execution Documentation
↓Governed Simulation Execution Record
This sequence transforms:simulation intent
into:
traceable simulation execution. Minimum Implementation Framework 1. Identify
the Execution
Assign a Simulation Execution ID or equivalent stable execution identity. 2.
Bind the Execution Configuration
Record the materially relevant: Simulation Object, model, environment,
scenario, inputs, parameters, versions, and conditions.
3. Establish Execution Authorization
Where required, establish who or what may initiate and control execution. 4.
Instantiate the Simulation
Create the actual executable simulation instance. 5. Execute Under Defined
Controls
Apply relevant runtime, sequencing, intervention, resource, and termination
controls. 6. Observe Material Execution Events
Capture materially relevant states, transitions, anomalies, interventions,
failures, and other execution events. 7. Govern Deviations
Identify differences between intended and actual execution. 8. Govern
Repetition
Where execution is repeated, preserve what remained constant and what
materially changed. 9. Assess Execution Completeness
Determine whether execution was: Complete, Conditionally Complete, Partially
Complete, Incomplete, Failed, or Undetermined.
10. Preserve Execution Documentation
Create sufficient documentation to reconstruct the execution basis and
history. 11. Link Execution to Outputs
Ensure resulting Simulation Outputs remain connected to the executions that
produced them. 12. Establish the Governed Simulation Execution Record
Produce the controlled execution basis for downstream Simulation Output
Governance.
Governance Outputs
SES may produce: Simulation Execution ID, Simulation Campaign ID, SimulationInstantiation Record, Execution Configuration Record, Object-Version Binding,
Model-Version Binding, Environment-Version Binding, Scenario Binding Record,
Input Binding Record, Parameter Binding Record, Execution Authorization
Record, Execution Initiation Record, Execution State Record, Execution Control
Record, Runtime Condition Record, Execution Intervention Record, Execution
Deviation Record, Execution Interruption Record, Execution Restart Record,
Execution Termination Record, Execution Completion Record, Simulation
Observation Record, Event Observation Record, Anomaly Observation Record,
State Transition Record, Observation Limitation Record, Simulation Repetition
Record, Randomization Record, Seed Record, Repeatability Record,
Reproducibility Condition Record, Repetition Variance Record, Execution Drift
Record, Execution Comparability Record, Simulation Campaign Record, Campaign
Exception Record, Execution Completeness Assessment, Execution Provenance
Record, Execution Lineage Record, Execution Documentation Record,
Execution-to-Output Traceability Record, and Governed Simulation Execution
Record.
Enterprise Application
SES can be applied over an organization's existing simulation infrastructurewithout replacing the underlying simulator.
The organization may retain its: simulation engine, digital twin, HPC
infrastructure, Monte Carlo platform, robotics simulator, mission simulator,
AI evaluation environment, or proprietary simulation stack.
SES adds the governance layer that asks:
What actually ran?
Under which configuration?
Who or what initiated it?
What changed during execution?
What was observed?
Was it completed?
Was it repeated under comparable conditions?
Can the execution be reconstructed?
Can every material output be traced back to the execution that produced it?
This makes SES applicable as a simulation-execution governance and diagnostic
framework without requiring organizations to abandon existing technical
infrastructure.