AST bases its working methodology in the field of a new emerging specialization, the engineering of simulation and testing (S&T),which  tries to optimally integrate the procedures and points of view of numerical analysis and applied experimentation as a necessary condition to make virtual prototypes a reliable tool in the taking of engineering decisions.

AST develops most of its projects within the following framework:

AST is specialised in Simulation and Testing although it also takes part in the project definition stage as well as in the posterior design stage, which uses procedures already validated by S&T or other analysis techniques.

In a first stage the needs of the client are identified, the design requirements established and the project objectives defined, in a jointly work between our team and the client project team. All the necessary information required to develop the project (client documentation, benchmarking studies etc.) is collected and/or produced in this initial stage. Then it comes the stage of Conceptual Design. Here Simulation is used in a qualitative way, as a decision-making tool. In the detail development phase, Simulation and Testing is used as a tool to verify the fulfilment of requirements or technical specifications, being the optimal combination that which minimizes time and total cost. Specially designed tests are sometimes required, oriented to retrieve certain essential parameters for the simulation model. A last validation test may be finally required to asses the capability of the simulation model to achieve the design targets. As a result, a validated design procedure can be written up to help design engineers in future developments. These procedures constitute a valuable depot for the company know-how.

The use of validated simulation procedures, formally documented allows the accumulation of acquired experience and acts as part of the knowledge system of companies as a work tool adapted to the necessities of each stage of the design and development process, balancing the exactness with its required use and in condition where it can be routinely used. In this way numerical simulation can be used in design from the beginning of the project in order to synthesize optimal solutions for new products. These optimal solutions should bear in mind the initial requirements and take advantage of previous experience through valid procedures of simulation. This ensures that the design decisions are taken with a reliable database and not based on subjective appreciations and it allows us to use experimental design techniques as well as sensibility analysis and other techniques for the management of doubts from the diverse parameters that come up from very early stages of any project.
    
With this focus we are able to ensure that all the empirical experience remains incorporated in the simulation procedures and that the systematic use of these procedures in the design stage guarantees that we take full advantage of all the knowledge possible.