The invention relates to a method for determining the ability of an analysis body to change the shape thereof using mathematical models. The mathematical models are generated for geometric parameters, which are determined based on test experiments in which a reference body is reshaped or originally shaped in a defined manner. By means of the mathematical models, the ability of a test body to change the shape thereof is then calculated, for the geometry of which a finite element structure is available. For the geometry of the test body a shape factor is known, which characterizes said geometry. The ability of the test body to change the shape thereof is likewise calculated by a method based on the finite element method (FEM).