You can create charts inside of dashboards to help you visualize the statistics gathered in a simulation run in process flow. Although the method for making charts and dashboards is very similar to the method you'd use in a normal simulation model, the process flow charts have some added functionality:
- You can attach the objects that your chart will track in a more sophisticated way. You can now add multiple objects at a time based on their object type. You can also track objects in different instances of a process flow.
- You can easily change the type of chart you are using to display a particular statistic. For example, if you realize that a bar chart would be better than a pie chart for displaying a particular statistic, you can easily change the chart type without having to create a new chart outright.
- You can now chart the historical change of a specific statistic over time in a simulation run. In the past, if you wanted to see how a statistic changed over time, the only option was to watch it during a simulation run. Now you can plot its change over time directly in a chart.
This topic will explain how to make dashboards and charts in process flow. It will contain the following sections:
- Creating charts and Dashboards in Process Flow
- Adding Objects and Statistics to a Chart
- Displaying Statistics in Groups
- Changing Chart Colors
- Changing the Chart Type
- Additional Properties
Creating charts and Dashboards in Process Flow
There are two ways to make charts and dashboards in process flow:
- Using the Toolbox and Chart Library
- Pinning an object directly in a process flow
The following sections will explain each method.
Using the Toolbox and Chart Library
To make a chart using the Toolbox and Chart Library:
- Open the Toolbox by clicking the Toolbox tab in the left pane (where the Library is).
- Click the Add button
to open the tools menu. Select Dashboard to create a new dashboard. - When the dashboard is open and active, the Library will display the charts that are available. The charts that are specifically designed for process flow are in the Process Flow group. NOTE: These charts are near the bottom of the Library, so you might have to scroll to get to them.
- Click any chart and drag it into the dashboard to add that type of chart.
- When you first add a chart to your dashboard, Chart Properties window will automatically open. You can use this window to add objects and statistics to the chart and adjust its visual properties. See Adding Objects and Statistics to a Chart for more information.
Pinning an Object Directly in a Process Flow
To make a chart directly from an object in a process flow:
- With the process flow open, click the activity you want to track to select it.
- In Quick Properties, click the Statistics button
next to the Name box to open the Statistics window for that activity, such as the example shown in the following image: 
- The Statistics window displays all the statistics that are available for that particular activity. Find the statistic you are interested in and click the Pin button
to open a menu. - If you haven't already created a dashboard, select Pin to New Dashboard from the menu. Otherwise, select the name of the dashboard to which you want to add the statistic. The dashboard will automatically create a chart for the statistic you are tracking.
- Double-click the chart to open the Chart Properties window. You can use this window to add objects and statistics to the chart and adjust its visual properties. See Adding Objects and Statistics to a Chart for more information.
Adding Objects and Statistics to a Chart
At its most basic level, every chart needs two things in order to function correctly:
- Object(s) - The chart needs to know which object(s) it should collect data from (in this case, process flow activities or shared assets).
- Statistics - The chart needs to know which of the object's specific statistics it should track and display.
If you created your chart by pinning an object directly in the process flow, you've already added at least one object and statistic to the chart already. However, you might want to add additional objects and statistics to the chart. Also, if you created a chart directly from the Toolbox, you still need to add objects and statistics.
To add objects and statistics:
- Double-click the chart to open the Chart Properties window.
- In the Objects tab, click the Sampler button
to enter sampling mode. Click an activity or shared asset in the process flow to add that object to the chart. NOTE: You should only add process flow objects to a process flow chart. - Repeat this process to add additional objects to the chart.
- Now you need to add the relevant statistics to the chart. Click the Statistics tab.
- Click the Add button to open a menu of all the different kinds of process flow statistics that are available.
- Select the statistic you would like to track.
- Now you need to decide which statistical value you should display. For example, the average value, the current value, etc. In the Stat Settings, click the Value menu. The following values are available:
- Current
- Minimum
- Maximum
- Average
- Standard Deviation
- Change the other statistical properties as needed. See Chart Properties - Statistics Tab for more information.
- Repeat this process to add additional statistics to the chart.
- Make sure you check the Validation icon at the bottom of the Chart Properties window to determine if the statistic you added is valid for that type of object. You want to ideally see the OK icon
. The following table explains the meaning of the different icons:
| Icon | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Error |
None of the objects have the specified statistics. This icon also displays when there are no objects or statistics on the chart. The chart is not yet valid. |
Warning |
Some of the objects don't have the specified statistics. The chart is not yet valid. |
| OK |
All of the objects have the specified statistics. The chart is valid. |
See Process Flow Statistics for a detailed explanation of the meaning of each process flow statistic.
Which Statistics Can Be Charted?
Any statistic that can be queried using the getstat command can be charted with the Process Flow Chart. Each Entry contains all the arguments required for the getstat command, except for the statistic name. The only exception is the Standard Deviation statistic.
Displaying Statistics in Groups
If you are tracking multiple statistics for multiple activities, process flow charts can display these statistics in groups on some types of charts. For example, the following image shows the average content for three different Delay activities:
In this example, all of the Delay activities in the process flow have been grouped together. The top bar chart shows the combined average content of the three Delay activities. The three bar charts underneath the main chart show the average content of each individual Delay activity. If you press the Collapse arrow next to the top bar chart, it will hide the bar charts for the individual Delay activities, as shown in the following image:
You can group statistics by activity or by different process flow instances. See Process Flow Instances for more information about instances.
Which Chart Types Support Grouping?
Grouping can only work on bar charts and data type graphs. See Changing the Chart Type for more information.
To group multiple statistics:
- After you've added multiple objects and statistics to your chart in Chart Properties (see Adding Objects and Statistics to a Chart), click the Groups tab.
- Each object is referred to as an entry in this tab. By default, all the different objects you've added will appear in the Ungrouped Entries group, as shown in the following example:
- Click on an entry to select it.
- Click the Groups button
to open a menu. Select Add to new group to open the Group Name pop up, as shown in the following image: 
- Type an appropriate name in the Name box and click the Create button to create the new group.
- The selected entry will now appear in the newly created group. To add more entries to the group, click the entry to select it. Click the Groups button and select Move to [Group Name] from the menu to add the entry to the new group.
- To remove an entry from a group, click the entry to select it. Click the Groups button and select Remove from group from the menu. The entry will return to the Ungrouped Entries group.
Tracking Statistics in a Specific Instance
In the Process Flow Chart, you simply provide the objects and statistics you want on the chart. After that, the chart will automatically generate a list of all possible data sources for each statistic. Each data source is called an Entry.
For example, suppose you had a Fixed Resource process flow containing a Delay activity, with three objects attached. If you wanted to get the Input of the Delay, you would add the Delay to this list of objects on the chart, and you would add Input to the list of statistics. Then the chart would create three Entries, one for each instance of the Delay activity. You can then choose which Entries should be used by the chart. If you only wanted one of them, you would simply exclude the other two.
See Process Flow Instances for more information about instances.
Changing Chart Colors
Use the Colors tab in the Chart Properties window to change the chart's color scheme. See Chart Colors for more information.
Changing the Chart Type
To change the type of chart:
- Click the General tab.
- Click the Display Type menu and select the appropriate chart type from the menu.
- Use the other properties on the tab to adjust other visual settings. See Chart Properties - The General Tab for more information about these properties.
Additional Properties
See Chart Properties for more information about the other properties that are available on various tabs in the Chart Properties window.
