Filtering simulation results | Vose Software

Filtering simulation results

Simulation results can be filtered so that one can look at specific sets of generated scenarios. This is very useful if, for example, one wishes to look at the simulated scenarios that created a negative profit, or an extreme cost, or a very short lifetime for a device.

Setting up a filter

Filters can be applied on both inputs and outputs. Multiple filters can be applied. The procedure for filtering is as follows:

(1) Select the input or output of interest

(2) Click the filter icon in the Home menu. This opens a dialog box:

(3) Select how you wish to filter the simulation data. In this example, the results are filtered to show generated scenarios in which the selected output’s value is less than or equal to zero. Click OK.

(4) The results shown are now filtered as required. The figure below shows the modified histogram for the output, and also a small filter icon against the Output listing to show that a filter is active:

Hovering over the filtered output with the mouse shows the filter that has been applied as a tooltip pop-up. The statistics table shows the number of samples in the simulation, and how many of those samples have been filtered out.

Editing or removing a filter

To edit or delete the existing filter, select the filtered variable and then click the Filter button.

Special notes

Filtering within the Results Viewer tends to be an exploratory, temporary exercise. If you wish to apply a filter permanently to the model, it is better to do this within the model itself. For example, this simple model filters out results that generate a sales price that is under 15% margin over the cost of manufacture (because the company won’t manufacture). The filtering condition appears in the formula in red, using Excel’s =NA() function to force a model error:
 

 
ModelRisk will then remove any simulated values with errors from the analysis, like this:
 


 

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