Supporting qualitative model specification

Constructing a model for qualitative simulation is a time consuming and difficult task. It can be divided into two main subtasks: i) specification of a preliminary model and ii) simulation and model debugging. This paper focuses on the task of specifying a preliminary model. It identifies the subtasks involved, and identifies whose execution can be supported. Based on this analysis a graphical user interface has been constructed. The functionality and layout of the interface are based on the task analysis and an explicit distribution of tasks between user and system