A method is provided for simulating a complex system including a scheduler hierarchy. The complex system includes at least one processor that executes a set of functions under the control of a hierarchical group of schedulers. The method includes a step of constructing an architectural model of the complex system comprising a hierarchical group of components, each of said components comprising an instance of an object class belonging to the group containing: a first class, known as the Processor class, which represents an abstract model of any processor included in the complex system, a second class, known as the Function class, which represents an abstract model of any function executed by the complex system; and a third class, known as the Scheduler class, which represents an abstract model of any scheduler. Each instance is initialized with at least one attribute that characterizes the behavior desired therefrom.