Unit testing platform to verify devs models

The natural progression from classic Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodologies to Modeling and Simulation-Based Systems Engineering (M&SBSE) brings the need for more flexible and powerful validation tools. Completing the structure and descriptions of static models with self-diagnosis greatly facilitates the development, implementation, and validation of complex models. However, current simulation development environments and libraries often lack providing complete tools to validate these complex models straightforwardly and with the proper level of detail. In this article, we tackle this issue transferring one of the traditional software testing methods, unit testing, to the modeling and simulation field. To this end, we integrate a unit-testing method to the DEVS methodology, allowing the specification of expected states, outcomes, and behaviors of the simulation modules in an XML-based syntax, in all the levels of the hierarchical design. As a result, this methodology enables the generation of powerful and easy-readable verification files.