A simple process consisting of a couple of Activity worksteps with Start and End worksteps, has an isolated path from start to completion. A complex process (for instance, a manufacturing system) can have a network of paths providing multiple routes between the same two locations. For such cases, Business Process Modeler provides path analysis functionality in order to determine the shortest path or the least expensive path.
You can define paths for individual processes in a simulation project. You can configure these added paths differently for different scenarios.
Note: A defined path must contain more than one Activity workstep.
To define a path:
1. Expand the Processes folder, and then expand the process (for instance, Process1).
2. Click Paths to display the Paths table in the Properties view.
This table displays the list of defined paths for this project. You can add new paths, and modify or delete existing paths.
3. Click Add to open the Path dialog box.
4. Enter the name and a brief description of the path in the Name and Description boxes respectively.
5. The Available Choices section displays a list of all the elements contained in the process. Select the element that denotes the starting location of your path, then click the Move Left () icon to add the element to the Current Path section. The Successors section on the right, now displays the elements following the added element in the process.
6. Continue adding elements to build the path.
To delete a path element, select the element in the Current Path section, then click
. You can only remove the last added element. To reset the path elements, click
.
7. After building the path, click OK to add the path to the Paths table in the Properties view.
8. After you define a path, expand the Paths folder for this process to view the added path. Click the path to view the path properties in the Properties view, where you can modify the path properties, as well as define objectives. To define path objective for a particular scenario:
a. Select a scenario from the Scenario drop-down list in the Simulation Control Editor.
b. Click the added path to be configured.
c. From the Objectives tab of the Properties view, add the objectives for the selected path. For details, see Defining objectives.
) icon to add the element to the Current Path section. The Successors section on the right, now displays the elements following the added element in the process.
. You can only remove the last added element. To reset the path elements, click
.