Quickstart tutorial 4-How to create a simulation snapshot
Introduction
A simulation snapshot shows a process model and its inputs at a particular moment in time. It includes the current simulation defaults and a simulation profile. You must create a simulation snapshot before you can run a simulation.
When you create a model of a process, you include the tasks that must be performed and show the direction that data and control will flow within that process. You can also set various dependencies for your processes, such as timetables and resource availability. A simulation snapshot captures the process as it currently stands, including all of the current default values and input data for the included tasks and other elements.
When you create a model of a process, you include the tasks that must be performed and show the direction that data and control will flow within that process. You can also set various dependencies for your processes, such as timetables and resource availability. A simulation snapshot captures the process as it currently stands, including all of the current default values and input data for the included tasks and other elements.
Simulation snapshots
When you simulate a process, the tool adds a simulation snapshot in the Project Tree view as a child element of the process. A simulation snapshot is a record of the complete process model at the moment when you simulated the process. This record contains a copy of all the elements of your project that the process uses, such as business items, resources, and global tasks. You might want to create multiple simulation snapshots for the same process after making changes to the project or to the process itself so that you can compare the effect of these changes.
When a simulation snapshot is created, the tool also creates the following elements:
- Simulation Snapshot Settings
- Simulation Profile
The defaults folder contains the simulation snapshot settings. When you create a new simulation profile for a simulation snapshot, the values specified in the simulation snapshot settings are used for the simulation attributes of the process and activities within the process. The initial values of the simulation snapshot settings are inherited from the simulation preferences (which you can access under the Windows > Preferences menu).
A simulation snapshot consists of a copy of the business process model and a set of snapshot settings, which act as defaults for the simulation attributes of the simulation profiles inside the snapshot.
After a simulation snapshot is created, the copy of the process model it contains is no longer affected by changes to the original model. If you want a simulation profile that reflects changes to the process model, you need to make a new simulation snapshot.
Each simulation snapshot contains an initial simulation profile. The simulation profile contains a copy of the process model as it existed when you created the simulation snapshot. You can make changes to the settings in this simulation profile, and you can create additional simulation profiles within the same simulation snapshot. Typically, you would create multiple simulation profiles for a simulation snapshot when you are experimenting with changes to the simulation profile settings to determine the effect on the process results.
The following image shows a process that has two simulation snapshots, where each snapshot has a single simulation profile, which in turn contains a single simulation result.
Simulation profiles
A simulation profile is a copy of a process model augmented with simulation attributes that you use to run the simulation. Each simulation profile that you create for a simulation snapshot is based on the process model as it existed when the simulation snapshot was created.
You can customize a simulation profile by setting the simulation profile settings for the process and for the activities it contains. The simulation profile includes settings, such as token creation settings, that apply only to the simulation profile behavior during simulation and not to the underlying process model. However, it also includes copies of settings, such as cost, revenue, duration, and resource requirements, that you can specify in the process model but can override in the simulation profile.
You do not need to set values for every possible simulation profile setting. At a minimum, you need to specify values the token creation settings for the inputs of one or more input criteria to the process. The decision whether or not to edit a particular setting depends on the business need to extract information that relates to that setting. For example, if your goal is to identify inefficiencies in resource deployments, you need to specify the durations of resource or role requirements for each activity in a process, and you should also define the pool of resources that is available to the process. If your goal is to better understand how the process incurs cost or generates revenue, you need to specify the costs and revenues associated with each activity in the process, and you should specify durations for resource and role requirements that incur costs. The analyses that you plan to perform will dictate which attributes you need to set in order to obtain useful information.
The initial values for the attributes of the simulation profile and its activities are copied from the process model or, if values are not specified on the process model, from the simulation snapshot settings.
You can create multiple simulation profiles for a single simulation snapshot, where each simulation profile has different customized settings. After you run simulations on these simulation profiles, you can perform comparative analyses of the simulation results. By doing this you can compare the results of your process in different business conditions, such as when the volume of inputs increases, when resource availability changes, or when costs and revenues change. It is recommended that you generate only one set of results for each simulation profile. Otherwise, if you run the simulation to generate one set of results, and then change the simulation profile and generate a second set of results, you will be unable to refer back to the simulation profile as it existed when you ran the simulation the first time.
You can add breakpoints and interrupts to a simulation profile to cause a process to pause in the middle of a simulation run. A breakpoint associated with an activity pauses the simulation run when that activity is activated by an incoming token. An interrupt pauses the simulation run when a specified condition occurs. You can set interrupts for individual activities in the process, or for the process as a whole.
If you change the original process model, these changes are not reflected in any existing simulation profiles, or in any new simulation profiles that you create in existing simulation snapshots. If you want your simulation profile to reflect changes to the process model, you need to make a new simulation snapshot.
You can customize a simulation profile by setting the simulation profile settings for the process and for the activities it contains. The simulation profile includes settings, such as token creation settings, that apply only to the simulation profile behavior during simulation and not to the underlying process model. However, it also includes copies of settings, such as cost, revenue, duration, and resource requirements, that you can specify in the process model but can override in the simulation profile.
You do not need to set values for every possible simulation profile setting. At a minimum, you need to specify values the token creation settings for the inputs of one or more input criteria to the process. The decision whether or not to edit a particular setting depends on the business need to extract information that relates to that setting. For example, if your goal is to identify inefficiencies in resource deployments, you need to specify the durations of resource or role requirements for each activity in a process, and you should also define the pool of resources that is available to the process. If your goal is to better understand how the process incurs cost or generates revenue, you need to specify the costs and revenues associated with each activity in the process, and you should specify durations for resource and role requirements that incur costs. The analyses that you plan to perform will dictate which attributes you need to set in order to obtain useful information.
The initial values for the attributes of the simulation profile and its activities are copied from the process model or, if values are not specified on the process model, from the simulation snapshot settings.
You can create multiple simulation profiles for a single simulation snapshot, where each simulation profile has different customized settings. After you run simulations on these simulation profiles, you can perform comparative analyses of the simulation results. By doing this you can compare the results of your process in different business conditions, such as when the volume of inputs increases, when resource availability changes, or when costs and revenues change. It is recommended that you generate only one set of results for each simulation profile. Otherwise, if you run the simulation to generate one set of results, and then change the simulation profile and generate a second set of results, you will be unable to refer back to the simulation profile as it existed when you ran the simulation the first time.
You can add breakpoints and interrupts to a simulation profile to cause a process to pause in the middle of a simulation run. A breakpoint associated with an activity pauses the simulation run when that activity is activated by an incoming token. An interrupt pauses the simulation run when a specified condition occurs. You can set interrupts for individual activities in the process, or for the process as a whole.
If you change the original process model, these changes are not reflected in any existing simulation profiles, or in any new simulation profiles that you create in existing simulation snapshots. If you want your simulation profile to reflect changes to the process model, you need to make a new simulation snapshot.
How to create a simulation snapshot
To create a simulation snapshot for the Loan Application (To Be) process, complete the following steps:
- In the Project Tree, locate the Loan Application (To Be) process.
- Right-click the Loan Application (To Be) process and select Simulate.
- In the Add Elements to the Simulation Snapshot window, select any optional elements that you would like to include in the snapshot. All of the elements that are required for the snapshot are included by default. You might want to include optional elements in the snapshot if, for example, you want to run a simulation using a different resource than what is currently referenced in the process.
- Click OK.
- If the Show check paths confirmation dialog preference is set to Yes, then the Check Path for Stop Nodes window opens and asks if you want to check the model for paths without stop nodes.
- Click No. (If you followed the instructions in the tutorial, all paths in the process are correctly terminated with stop nodes.)
A new simulation snapshot appears in the Project Tree and a Loan Application (To Be) simulation profile opens in the Simulation editor (in the top right pane in the 4-pane layout).
The simulation snapshot is displayed in the Project Tree with a timestamp indicating the time that it was created, similar to the following image (right column).
The simulation snapshot contains the following:
The simulation snapshot is displayed in the Project Tree with a timestamp indicating the time that it was created, similar to the following image (right column).
The simulation snapshot contains the following:
- Loan Application (To Be) Defaults folder, which holds the simulation's default settings, and a
- Simulation profile. The simulation profile folder name includes the name of the process that you are simulating, in this case Loan Application (To Be), and a timestamp.
Now that you have created a simulation snapshot, you can run a simulation.
Related links
Parent topic: Module 4: Running simulations
Previous topic: Setting simulation preferences
Next topic: Running a simulation
Related concepts
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