7.2. Simulating a Process
7.2.1. Defining Simulation details on Elements
To define the input data for a Process simulation, you need to define the Simulation data on the Process and its Elements in the Properties tab.
Information on Simulation data for individual Process Elements and the Process itself are available in Section C.1, “Process” and subsequent sections.
7.2.2. Running a Simulation
To run a Process Simulation, do the following:
Open the Process in the Process Designer and make sure you have defined the simulation parameters for individual Elements.
Figure 7.2. Simulation Properties
-
Click Process Simulation (
) icon in the toolbar and then click the Run Simulation entry.
In the Run Process Simulation dialog window, define the simulation session details:
Figure 7.3. Run Process Simulation properties dialog window
- Number of instance: number of Process instances to be created and triggered
- Interval: interval between individual Process instantiations
-
Interval units: time of unit the
Intervalis defined in
- Click Run Simulation.
After you start the simulation, the Process Designer focuses the Simulation Results tab with the simulation Process results displayed in the Simulation Graph pane on the right.
If the simulation fails, the following message may be displayed:
Unable to perform simulation:undefined
If that happens, make sure your Process is not too complex—split it into multiple Processes connected by the Call Activity. Examples of complex Processes:
- A Process containing a complex series of XOR and AND gateways.
- A Process containing loops where one instance of the loop is not finished when another one is starting.
7.2.3. Examining Simulation results
After you run a Process simulation, the Process Designer focuses the Simulation Results tab. The tab show the list of available simulation result in the Simulation Graphs on the right.
The results are divided into three sections with graphs:
- The Process section with general Process simulation graphs
The Activities section with individual Activities' simulation graphs
Activities graphs for Human Tasks include Execution Time with the Max, Min, and Average execution time for the given Activity, Resource Utilization for the hours a resource has been used, and the Cost Parameters graph if applicable (if you defined the Cost parameter for the Activity). For Script Tasks only the Execution Time with the Max, Min, and Averages execution time, is available.
The Paths section with simulation graph of the Paths taken during the simulation.
The graphs contain the Process model with the respective Path highlighted and execution statistics on the Path.
Graph types
Click a graph entry to display the graph in the canvas area: the graph is visualized as a vertical bar chart; however, you can change the graph visualization type by clicking on the respective icon in the upper right corner of the canvas area.
Figure 7.4. Simulation Graph types
Filters
To filter data in a chart, click the item radiobutton in the chart legend.
Figure 7.5. Graph item radiobutton
Timeline
The Timeline feature allows you to view the graph at the particular stage during simulation execution. Every event is included in the timeline as a new status.
To activate the feature, click the Timeline 
in the upper right corner of the respective graph: The timeline depicting individual events is displayed in the lower part of the canvas. Click the arrows on the right and left from the chart to move through the timeline. The data current for the particular moment are applied to the chart depicted above instantly.
Figure 7.6. Process Simulation Timeline
Note that in line charts, you can point to a point on a line to see the value of the item at the given time.
Figure 7.7. Line Chart
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