Simulate Process

After specifying the simulation scenario in a BPMN model, we can simulate the process using two ways.

Simulation from within the BPMN Editor

Apromore allows us to simulate the process from within the BPMN Editor. To simulate a process, click on the simulate process icon .

Apromore autosaves the simulation scenario in the BPMN model and runs the simulation. The simulation output is a simulated log saved in the same working directory as the BPMN model. We are prompted to specify the name of the simulated log file.

Click Save.

Note

Apromore will display the list of errors for correction in case we missed adding data to the mandatory fields.

To view the simulated log, go to Apromore Portal and find the log file in the same directory as the BPMN model.

We can also save the simulation scenario as an XLSX file. From the BPMN Editor, click the Download simulation scenario icon .

The simulation scenario will be downloaded to your local computer. The file contains all the simulation parameters in different sheets.

Simulation from Apromore Portal

We can also simulate a BPMN model from the Apromore Portal. Note that the BPMN must have a specified simulation scenario. To simulate a model, we go to Apromore Portal, and we can right-click the BPMN model we wish to simulate. Click Simulate.

We are prompted to save the simulated log. Enter a name and click Save.

Artificial Events in Simulation

If, in a BPMN model, the start and end events are unlabelled, Apromore assigns the labels “EVENT 1 START and “EVENT n END” when a simulation is performed to generate an event log. As an example, observe that the start and end events for the BPMN model below are without labels.

We can simulate the model by clicking the Simulate model icon

The simulated log is generated. If we open the simulated log in Process Discoverer, we observe an artificial start event, “EVENT 1 START” is added.

An artificial end event is “EVENT 2 END” also added.

If we toggle to the BPMN model, the generated BMPN model from the event log also contains these artificial start and end activities with the respective labels.

If we had renamed the start and end events in the BPMN model using BPMN Editor, e.g., “Purchase order received” for the start event and “Purchase order fulfilled” for the end event, then these labels would be used by the simulation engine when generating the event log, and thus appear in Process Discoverer as the first and last activity.

Note

The artificial start and end activities will always be instantaneous and are not needed when simulating a BPMN model discovered from an event log because this will always have a single start and single end event. If we simulate a (manually built or modified) BPMN model with multiple start and end events, they become useful for capturing different process triggers and outcomes.

Simulation Dashboard

We can view a range of statistics for simulated logs, including case duration, case duration within the timetable, case waiting time, cycle time, waiting time, and cost in Dashboard. From Portal, right-click on the simulated log file, and click Launch Dashboard > Create new dashboard.

In addition to this, we can simulate two what-if scenarios. We can then compare the simulated logs in the Dashboard. For example, suppose we wish to check the effect of adding one more “Senior Engineer”. We can edit the simulation parameters in the Resources tab and save it as another log file.

To compare both models, go to Portal and select the two log files. Right-click and select Launch dashboard.

The Dashboard will open, showing the simulation overview.