Using CSP and system dynamics as process engineering tools

Abstract

This paper describes how two modelling techniques, Hoare’s Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) and Forrester’s System Dynamics, could be exploited by a process engineer. These techniques have very different backgrounds: CSP is a specification language for concurrent systems, while System Dynamics is a technique of control theory and management science. Consequently each gives a different view of the process being modelled. We illustrate that both views are valuable and that comparing them can aid model development. This raises the issue of having a number of models giving different views of a software process as an alternative to a specialised process modelling language.