| Product News
 Portfolio Simulator 2008 (7.0) to be Released in April
We are looking forward to this April’s release of the most powerful and easy to use Portfolio Simulator ever. In addition to great improvements in simulation speed and access times, this version will have the following major, new features:
Start and Terminate Conditions
Traditional dependencies and constraints have been replaced with much more powerful start and terminate conditions. Conditions allow you to determine when a task will either start or terminate based on the progress of other tasks in your portfolio, or based on calendar dates.
Complicated dependencies can now be entered. For example, you may have a task that cannot start until either its previous sibling has finished or its next sibling has started while the date has not reached 1/1/2010 . (Task Cannot Start Until <Previous Sibling> Has Finished OR (<Next Sibling> Has Started AND Date Has Not Reached 1/1/2010 )
Branching
Using conditions, a stage-gate approach can be applied to projects and their tasks. For example, a gate task can be setup, and then depending on whether the gate task passes or fails different sets of tasks can be started.
Work Contours
The work a resource performs on a task can now be contoured. Choose from eight predefined work contours, or define your own custom work contours. Work Contours are useful for modeling a resource assignment that is worked on during one period of time more than another. For example, a work assignment may be back loaded, where the most work is done in the second half of the task’s cycle time.
Predefined Report Filter
The predefined reports now have an easy to use filter for sorting chart series. In addition to the previous ability to filter by scenarios, series can also be filtered by groups and metric data.
Side-By-Side Support with Portfolio Simulator 2007
Portfolio Simulator 2008 can be installed on the same computer at the same time as Portfolio Simulator 2007 version 6.1.1.32. This allows you to evaluate and become comfortable with the new features of this latest Portfolio Simulator before committing to use it full time.
Portfolio Builder (available as an optional add-in)
Support for custom and generic add-ins has been included in Portfolio Simulator 2008. The new Portfolio Builder, available as a powerful add-in, allows you to quickly populate Portfolio Simulator with your project data and provides the following functionality:
Strategic Rollup – Low-level, tactical plans can now be rolled up or summarized into high-level, strategic tasks. For example, assume a project plan is detailed down to level four or five tasks. When this plan is imported, you may choose to have all the low-level tasks rolled up into higher level tasks, level 2 tasks for instance. Resources in the lower levels will be grouped and a work contour will be generated to represent the work done in the lower levels that is now done in the higher level task.
Microsoft Project 2007 Support – Project files generated in both 2003 and 2007 can now be published directly to Portfolio Simulator. If you have defined variability in your project using ProModel’s Project Simulator 2008 (coming soon), those fields can be imported and\or used during strategic rollup.
Improved Validation – If your project plan file contains features that are not compatible with Portfolio Simulator, a new validation dialog will clearly show and explain the issues and resolutions.
Model Collaborator Add-on for ProModel/MedModel/ServiceModel to be released soon!
Model Collaborator is an add-on that enables a simulation project team to build individual models, link them together, and run them in one simulation environment. Individual model integrity is preserved while the links or mapping between the models is stored. One or more models can be changed, brought back together with little or no effort, and then simulated again.
Product Updates
 Process Simulator 2007 (version 5.2) to be released in April 2008
This update is more than just a Maintenance release. It is what Six Sigma Green Belts, Black Belts, and Master Black Belts have been waiting for: Six Sigma analysis with direct integration to Minitab!
Click here to view a short webinar on the new features of Process Simulator 2007.
Click here to learn more about Minitab.
Simply specify which statistic you want to do a Six Sigma analysis on in Process Simulator, run the simulation, and Minitab automatically opens and creates Capability Analysis and Capability Sixpack charts. Because the simulation data is populated in Minitab’s spreadsheets, further Minitab tests and analysis can be done.
This version will be available through automatic updates and the ProModel Solutions Café. It will also contain the following fixes:
- Many shapes in the stencils included with Process Simulator were not entering text edit mode when double-clicking on them.
- Many shapes in the stencils included with Process Simulator were allowing individual pieces that make up the entire shape to be selected and moved.
- Uninstall more thoroughly removes remnants of the Process Simulator install on Windows Vista.
- An error occurred when attempting to license the Lite version from Help | About.
- Apostrophe and Tab characters in activity names were causing simulation compiler errors.
- In a specific case an error would occur when opening the Variables and Attributes window.
- Redundant tooltip text for the Pointer and Hyperlink icons in the Process Simulator toolbar was being added each time a document was opened and closed thus causing the tooltip textbox to extend off the screen.
- A Resource group could be selected to Move an entity but it wasn’t used during simulation.
Process Simulator 2007 (version 5.1.2.141) released February 2008
This version is available through automatic updates or the ProModel Solutions Café. It contains the following fixes:
- Output buffers were being added to all Activities when running scenarios.
- A Break Loop statement contained in an If-Then statement that is nested in a While Do loop was improperly marked as an “invalid use of the statement”.
- Using the GroupQty function in an Assignment statement was causing an error at model translation (to resolve this, you must delete and then recreate the statement in Logic).
- If an Activity name started with a number, the first character in the number would be removed when simulated.
- The number pad in the Logic Builder now has a comma “,” for the decimal separator when the computer regional settings are set to use commas.
- The position of an Outlet routing was being reset in the Simulation Object Explorer when any of its properties were modified.
- In a specific case, attempting to delete a variable in Activity Logic would give an “Error 5 invalid procedure call or argument” error.
ProModel/MedModel/ServiceModel version 7.0.13 to be released soon
This version is currently in testing and will contain at least the following fixes:
- DTDELAY() function used in shift or break logic was incorrectly giving an 'improper usage' error.
- Location Information for ALL locations was not showing location states as Down when Called downtimes were initiated by the DOWN statement.
- The application locked up when compiling logic in any Logic window where its text exceeded ~64 KB in size.
- The Edit menu was being enabled after simulating a model even though no tables were open. Accessing the menu caused the application to close.
- Incorrect array record was being updated when selecting an array import or export file.
- Executing a CREATE-TAKE statement in Operation Logic followed by a MOVE WITH statement using OWNEDRESOURCE() in Move Logic would cause a crash if the resource involved was a crane.
- A shift file consisting of seven 24-hr shifts (with no breaks) was causing the application to either crash or the resource assigned to the shift to take random downtimes.
- The RESOURCEUNIT() function was not properly working for the first resource listed in the Resource table.
- If a multi-capacity location downtime preempted an entity processing and switched it to execute preemption process logic, once the entity exited the location the downtime would not occur.
- The application crashed in a special circumstance when a second location downtime occurred after the first preemptive downtime was initially delayed due to an entity that had captured its capacity was traveling to the location. Once the entity arrived, it was properly switched to execute preemption logic and exit the location at which point the first downtime would occur. However, once the first downtime completed, the location would appear to come back online but as soon as the second downtime attempted to take the location down, the application would crash.
- The application crashed when an entity would exit a location it had incorrectly preempted and routed to. The entity should have routed to the first destination location it had preempted and had switched the occupying entity to execute preemption process logic. While this occurred, the entity then incorrectly preempted the entity occupying the secondary destination location (no preemption process) and promptly routed to it.
- The LAN installation has been updated to contain the latest HASP drivers and License Manager.
- In a special situation involving multi-unit locations and the LOAD statement, an entity ultimately routes to the correct location unit to be loaded but upon leaving would execute the move logic for a different unit of the location.
- % Setup statistics were being collected as %Operation statistics if a Setup downtime was interrupted and preempted by any Scheduled downtime (clock or shift). The %Setup that occurred before the preemption was being included in %Operation.
- When using a Macro to define the Empty or Full speed of a crane resource, the Hoist speed value was ignored and the Bridge speed was used for the Hoist speed instead.
- In a complex use of the USE statement where multiple resource were being requested, the incorrect resources were being captured.
- A translation error occurred when a macro was used in the Full and Empty Speed fields of a crane resource.
- In a special case where the same resource is preempted multiple times by different accumulating requests, the resource is captured by an entity that requires an additional resource but the entity incorrectly proceeds to execute its logic with only the one resource.
- If a resource was transporting an entity to a location when a preemptive downtime for the resource occurred, the resource would not be preempted and go down when it arrived at the destination location but would have to wait until the entity freed the resource.
- A compiler error now occurs if a time value is specified in a MOVE WITH <res> FOR <time> statement and the resource being used is a dynamic resource not a static one.
- External files selected by double-clicking the filename in the Open File dialog, could inadvertently save the file to the wrong External File record.
- In a special situation involving a GET and a USE statement, a “Wait completion event not found” error might appear.
- The compiler now correctly gives an error if a System functions is found on the left side of any Boolean condition in a WAIT UNTIL statement (e.g. – “<system function> = 10” or “Var1 = 1 OR <system function> = 10”). They are allowed on the right side of any Boolean condition in a WAIT UNTIL (e.g. – WAIT UNTIL var1 = <system function>).
- Resource State statistics were not adding up to %100 because the time designated as % Blocked in Travel was not properly being added to either %Travel to Use and/or %Travel to Park statistics.
- An “Internal error” would occur when a resource downtime was terminated (preempted) by another resource downtime while the original downtime was attempting to GET a resource.
- A Parameter field was showing up for the MOVE statement when the Logic Builder was opened from within Move Logic.
- Waiting statistics in the Entity Activity and State tables contained negative values if entities in the model were grouped (not renamed with AS option) and then later explicitly RENAMEd while still grouped.
- A “Stack overflow pushing integer” error would occur if a MOVE WITH OWNEDRESOURCE() statement was executed without the entity actually owning any resources.
Includes 3DR version 2.0.8.89 containing the following fixes:
- Changing the name or “alias” for a chart series in a saved View was not persisting after the View was closed, reloaded and resaved.
- The starting point for bucketing values in a Counts Time Plot chart was based on the first data point in the series rather than zero (or the warmup end time).
- The line width and style of a series in an existing chart, if changed, was being reset when adding or removing series from the chart.
- Saved views were not persisting when first created (i.e. the IVD file was not generated) in the case where 3DR was left open and a simulation was started (which triggers 3DR to be automatically closed).
- The General table in the General Report was coming up blank if a saved view contained a Failed Arrivals table but the simulation generated no failed arrivals.
- Colors were incorrectly displayed in a State Values Time Plot chart containing series from multiple scenarios if the chart was part of a saved view and the model was resimulated with one of the scenarios disabled.
- Downtime statistics were not being displayed for static resources that were listed before any dynamic resources in the Resource table in ProModel
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