Verification through calibration: An approach and a case study of a model of conflict in Syria

In this paper we introduce a workflow for multiagent modeling that relies on piecemeal calibration to verify the model, and discuss how modelers can organize this workflow to accelerate model building, improve the quality and technical soundness of the final model and be able to attribute dynamics of model outputs to causal mechanisms represented in the model. To this end, we apply the proposed workflow step by step to the development process of a multiagent model of the civil war in Syria, and visualize model validity and dynamics across individual development sprints.