PM Optimizer
PM Optimizer turns the simulator from a tool that tests one idea into a tool that finds the answer. You set up an experiment that varies chosen settings in your model, measures the effect on the results you care about, and searches for the configuration that works best.
Open PM Optimizer
Section titled “Open PM Optimizer”Open it from the Simulate menu, alongside Run Simulation and Options. It opens in its own window over your model. Close it with the X in the corner, and your model is left exactly as it was.
Define, run, results
Section titled “Define, run, results”The window works from left to right in three steps, shown as numbered tabs across the top.
- Define: name the experiment, pick the settings to vary (factors), pick what to measure (responses), and choose how to explore the combinations (the design).
- Run: watch progress live, see which settings are moving the needle, and pause or stop whenever you like.
- Results: read the ranked configurations, see which factor mattered most, and confirm the winner.
What an experiment is
Section titled “What an experiment is”A scenario is one hand-built what-if: what if I add a second nurse? An experiment is a whole family of runs that varies your chosen settings in a systematic way, so you can see not just whether a change helps, but which changes matter, how they interact, and what combination is best.
Every experiment is built from three things:
- Factors: the settings you allow to change, each with a range or a set of values to try.
- Responses: the outputs you want to measure, such as throughput, time in system, or cost.
- A design: how the combinations are chosen and explored, from every combination to a guided search.
You can save more than one experiment with a model, each with its own factors and responses. They are stored with the model and are there again the next time you open it.
Experiment results stay separate
Section titled “Experiment results stay separate”An experiment can run hundreds of times, so its results are kept apart from your normal run history. They live only while the experiment window is open and are cleared when you are done. Nothing an experiment does changes your model or your saved output.
When you find a configuration worth keeping, save it as a scenario from the Results step. It arrives as an ordinary scenario, turned off, ready for you to enable and run whenever you want.