3. Run the simulation for the parent and child diagrams
At this point you can, if you want, run the simulation for the child diagram only. You would just need to specify Simulation Parameters for the diagram. For this tutorial, however, we want to include both the parent and child diagrams in the simulation process.
You must specify in the parent diagram which child diagram you want to include in the simulation process. It is possible to have more than one child diagram, but you can only simulate one at a time.
Adding the child diagram for simulation
1 Open the parent diagram Orders. (You can navigate back to the parent diagram by selecting the Parent or Top icons in the Diagram toolbar while in the child diagram, or simply open it in the Explorer.)
Note The Ensure Stock process symbol has a shadow around it. This is IDEF3 notation specifying that a symbol has a child diagram attached.
2 Open the Definition dialog of the ‘parent symbol’, Ensure Stock, and select the Sim Child Diagram tab. (The Sim Child Diagram tab is at the very end, or right-hand side, of the tabs. You might need to select the right-hand arrow button by the tabs to cursor to it, for it to become visible.)
3 For the Child Diagram to be Simulated property, click the Choices button to get a list of IDEF3 Process Flow diagrams.
4 Drag-and-drop the Ensure Stock diagram into the Child Diagram to be Simulated field.
5 Toggle ‘on’ the Include child diagram in simulation check box.
6 Press OK to close all dialogs.
Run SA Simulator
1 If the SA Simulator is already open from the first part of this tutorial, close it.
2 Return focus to the child diagram, and save the diagram.
3 Return focus to the parent diagram, and run the simulation by selecting Tools > SA Simulator > Run Simulation.
4 You will be prompted to save the diagram; click Yes.
Running the simulation automatically triggers the validation of the diagram. If there are any serious errors (those reported with an asterisk next to them), they will be reported and the simulation will terminate. If no errors are found, SA Viewer will launch and an exact representation of the parent Process Flow diagram, Orders, is displayed in the SA Simulator window.
Run the simulation in SA Viewer
•When the SA Simulator opens you must select the ‘Run’ button (a small, black, forward-pointing arrowhead in the lower left corner) to start the simulation. All run controls for the simulator (run, pause, fast forward, reverse) are located in the lower left corner.
View the simulation
As before, notice how a picture of a document runs through the Process Flow diagram.
Navigate to the child diagram
1 Navigate to the child diagram by selecting it from the Select Drawing drop-down list (which also includes various output reports) in the SA Simulator toolbar.
2 Examine the diagram and the assorted reports provided by SA Simulator, using its help as a guide.
Conclusion
This concludes the simulation tutorials. Thank you for taking them. We hope that they help you to get up and running in using SA Simulator. Simulation is a very complex topic. The goal of these tutorials was to get you to be able to use the SA Simulator.
We hope you will be satisfied, and trust you will be, with the SA Simulator product. It will provide you with valuable information in helping to understand how your business works, and to foresee problems.
