Factors

A factor is a setting you allow PM Optimizer to change while it searches. Each factor names one thing in your model and the values to try for it.

The factors table

Each row is one factor and shows what it changes, which setting, its type, and the range or list of values to try. The count in the corner, the possible combinations, multiplies the choices together so you can see how big the experiment is before you run it. Clear a checkbox to hold a factor out without deleting it.

Factors come in a few types:

• Range: a number swept between a low and a high value, in steps, such as a capacity from 2 to 6 in steps of 2.
• Options: a choice from a list, such as a queue’s priority rule (first in first out, last in first out, or by attribute).
• Structural: a change to the shape of the model, such as adding a unit of a resource or changing which activity a resource works at.

Add a factor

Add Factor opens a picker that lists everything in your model you can change, grouped by the kind of object.

• Entities: carrying capacity and costs.
• Activities: capacity, processing time, shift, and costs.
• Queues: capacity, priority rule, and costs.
• Resources: quantity, availability percent, shift, and costs.
• Routes and connections: move time, split percentages, and which resource works at which activity.

Everything you can change is listed. An item shown in grey cannot be a factor, with a short note on the row explaining why, so you are never left guessing what is missing.

Keep the list short

Every factor you add multiplies the number of runs, so start with the few settings you think matter and set tight, realistic ranges. If you are not sure which settings matter, run a screening design first: it points out the factors that move your result so you can drop the rest.