When it’s the tool: interacting queues, oversaturation, roundabout corridors, TSM&O — where HCM/Synchro assumptions break.
Core objects: links & connectors (connector placement = model quality) · vehicle inputs & compositions · static/dynamic routes · desired speed decisions · conflict areas vs priority rules · signal controllers (RBC).
The credibility line = calibration: match field throughput/queues/travel time within agency-accepted thresholds (FDOT/FHWA microsim guidance #status/verify), multiple seeds, documented parameters — a calibration memo pattern is a career asset; start collecting one.
Outputs: node results, travel times, queue counters; animation is persuasion, numbers are evidence.
Beginner mistakes: default driving behavior everywhere · single seed run · connectors starving flow · “calibrated” = “looks right.”
Free companions: FHWA Traffic Analysis Toolbox — Volume III (2019 update) is the standard reference for the calibration/validation criteria flagged above; reviewers cite its acceptance thresholds when checking simulation work, and it ships with five short instructional videos.
See also: MOC - Software · Synchro QAQC Checklist · Cube and Travel Demand Models