Release Highlights - Cloud
19.11.0 Cloud Release Highlights
Simulation General Access
You can now create a simulation model for a process using the web diagrammer. You can get the results of running it and/or watch the simulation running live.
To get started, you can either use an existing diagram as a starting point, or start with a blank diagram. The simulation will be stored in a Simulation Project object which will contain all things relating to the simulation.
Note: A Simulation FAQ page is available in the Product Blog.
Important! Your network must be configured to allow Websocket connections in order to run simulation.
Starting with a new diagram
Go to the location you want to store the Simulation Project in, and create a Simulation Project object.
Starting with an existing diagram
Note that the diagram should be checked in. Any changes made since the last check in won’t show up on the new diagram.
Go to the diagram.
Go to the Main Menu and click Create Simulation Project.
Getting started with simulation
Click the Simulation Properties icon. The Simulation Properties dialog will appear. To hide this dialog, click Simulation again. The dialog can be resized to the size you like as long as it isn’t expanded.
If a shape is selected, the Simulation Properties dialog will show the properties for that shape. If no shape is selected, the dialog will show properties for the whole simulation. You can also select a connector line to add a duration for it.
For help building more complex expressions, change the type of the input box using the dropdown. Selecting “Expression” will enable autocomplete with suggestions for variables present in the model and built-in functions.
Running the simulation
Clicking Run will run the simulation and then display results.
Clicking Trace opens up a more interactive view. You can:
Watch cases move through the simulation
Adjust the speed
Note that the speed slider is on an exponential scale. Every 5 units represents about a 2x increase in speed. For example, moving the slider from 40 to 60 will cause much more than a small increase: the simulation will go 16x faster.
Play/pause
Fixing problems
If the simulation model has invalid parameters, then a dialog will be displayed showing where the problems are. Problems that prevent the simulation from running are displayed with a red error icon, while problems that potentially produce unexpected results are displayed with a yellow warning icon. The dialog can be opened and closed using the Problems icon in the simulator toolbar.
Most warnings will have a navigation icon on the right and/or clickable links that take you to where the problem is. Some warnings (for example, if the model has no active generators) do not have navigation links.
Results
Once the simulation finishes, results will be displayed. You can choose to save the results to a Simulation Results object, or export them. All the results are saved, regardless of which ones are selected to be visible from the Columns option.
If you choose to save to a Simulation Results object, the object will be saved to the Simulation Project folder, and you can view them later by going to the object.
Note: If you’re wondering what each of the statistics referenced measure, we are still working on documentation. However, the reference at the Desktop Client Statistics Reference should provide helpful information, provided you change any reference of ‘Transaction’ to ‘Case,’ ‘Average' (or ‘Avg’) to ‘Mean,' and ‘Total’ (or ‘Tot’) to ‘Sum.'
Comparing results
You can compare multiple sets of results to see which one best produces your desired outcome. Click on the Simulation Project object to compare all the results saved in the project.
To see what changed in the diagram from the baseline to produce the different results, click on the “Compare with baseline run” button.
Troubleshooting
My simulation does not run and I get a dialog titled “Problems (Last Simulation)”
See the section “Fixing Problems” above.
My simulation does not make any progress
It is possible your simulation contains an infinite loop. If a case moves in an infinite loop of activities that take no time to complete, the simulation clock will not advance. This can be seen if you run the simulation in Trace mode.
Early Access
This feature is part of our Early Access program (as of 19.11.0 release), and may be disabled on your instance. Your system administrator can enable this feature for your entire organization. How to enable Early Access features
Proposing a new object
From the object nav tree, right-click on a folder to find the option for Propose New Object
Enter a Name for your new proposal and click Continue
You’ll then be in the full view of your proposal to continue adding any properties and relationships. The name, type, and location can also be changed at this point. Any changes you make will be automatically saved to the proposal.
Proposing a change to an existing object
From the object nav tree, right-click on a folder to find the option for Propose Changes
You’ll be routed to the full view of your proposal to continue suggesting changes to any properties and relationships. A list of the Changes is visible on the left. The name, type, and location cannot be changed however. Any changes you make will be automatically saved to the proposal.
Comments panel
Users can leave comments about the proposal in the panel on the right. This panel defaults to being open, and can be closed via the comment icon button above. The sorting of comments defaults to showing newest comments towards the top, but this can be reversed by clicking the list order button.
You can use the menu next to an individual comment to either edit or delete it. These options are available only on comments that you have added. Other users' comments cannot be edited or deleted.
Proposals list view
The navigation option for the Proposals List view can be found in the main user nav menu.
This view shows all available proposals, along with a variety of quick details about each. Clicking on a proposal will open it up in its full proposal details view.
If you would like to filter the list, there are options for doing so by action type, assignment, and by status.
Transitioning a proposal
When you click the transition button, you’ll be presented with options for the available statuses to transition the proposal to.
While transitioning, users can assign the proposal to someone and leave any comments.
Publishing a proposal
The final step in a proposal process is the publish transition.
Once published, the proposal is done. It is not deleted automatically, and can still be viewed.
Managing workflows
From the proposals list view, click on the gear icon.
You’ll be able to view the list of available statuses, to edit existing ones and add any new statuses. Statuses need a name and to be configured for which other statuses they are allowed to transition to.
Translations can also be defined for each status for each of the languages available.
A graph can be viewed that visualizes how all of the statuses connect to each other.
