Simul8 Tips

The new Experiment Builder – supercharge your what-if power!

Matthew O'Boyle  /   Apr 26, 2023

The superpower of simulation over any other analytical technique is that it lets you say “what if”. The Experiment Builder is a powerful feature for running what-if experiments, allowing you to explore potential solutions to the problems of the simulated process – without code!

Let’s walk through how you can get the most from it. 

With Experiment Builder, you can create as many experiments as you need and compare the outcomes of your KPIs against the experiments themselves, as well as your baseline simulation.   

After completing your baseline simulation, launch Experiment Builder, which can be accessed via the Home and Advanced tabs or directly from the Results Manager.

You can then select the parameter(s) you want to experiment with and the relevant properties by accessing the drop-down menus.  

The Experiment Detail will show you the parameter as-is on the Baseline section. Update the Experiment section with the value you would like to apply in that experiment. 

You can change multiple parameters per experiment and also set up as many experiments as you wish. 

After running your experiments, you will be able to see your KPIs for each experiment and compare them to the baseline. 

What parameters can you experiment with? 

Almost anything!  

  • Distributions  
  • Global Variables
  • Spreadsheets
  • Shifts  
  • Cycle Matrix  
  • Jobs Matrix  
  • Clock Properties – Start time, end time, days per week 
  • Objects’ properties (see table below) 

This is a short tip, because it really is that easy to use!  

Happy Simul8ing!

We hope you found this tip useful, and if you have any other applications/scenarios you’d like to see in our Simul8 Tips section, share them with us at support@simul8.com

About the author

Matthew O'Boyle

Matthew O'Boyle

Matthew completed a BSc Mathematics degree and has built up a wealth of experience in banking, financial services consulting and project management. He is particularly interested in process improvement and driving efficiencies in an organisation’s procedures. This led Matthew to join Simul8 in March 2022 as a Customer Support Advocate where he now assists users who are using Simul8 to make data-based decisions in their own companies.