Overview of DiscoverSim Menu and Dialogs

Optimization Inputs: Control

1. The Input Control, unlike an input distribution, has no statistical variation. Think of this as the temperature control knob of a thermostat. This is also known as a Decision Variable.


2. An Input Control can be referenced by an input distribution parameter, constraint and/or an output function.


3. It is possible to have a model that consists solely of controls with no input distributions. (In this case, the optimization is deterministic, so the number of optimization replications should be set to the minimum of 3 to save computation time.)


4. Input Control Number is provided for reference purposes only.


5. Input Control Name is the cell address by default. Enter a name to describe the input control or click the cell reference and specify the cell containing the input control name. Note that DiscoverSim copy/paste uses relative addressing (see Copy Cell, Paste Cell, Clear Cells).


6. Input Control cell color can be modified by clicking on Cell Address (default colors can be changed in Help > DiscoverSim Options).


7. Specify the Start Value, Minimum (Min) and Maximum (Max) boundaries for the Input Control. You can also click the cell reference and specify a cell containing the start, min or max value. After specifying a cell reference, the dropdown symbol changes from to .


8. An input control can be Continuous or Discrete with Step (default = 1, i.e. integer increment).