When you click the "OK" button, the optimization begins. TView shows a progress bar as the optimization is performed. An optimization of two or three dayparts is fairly speedy, but the time increases as more components are added. Please be patient!

 

You can follow the progress of the optimization with this very lively dialog. At the very top, a progress bar gives a rough idea of how far along the system is. The next pair of bars graphically shows the reach result of the original plan and the most recently evaluated modified plan. Finally, an animated bar chart shows the relative distribution of weight to the component options, as plan alternatives are constructed and evaluated. As the system hones in on a solution, you will see this reflected with a settling down of movement in these bars.

 

When the optimization is completed, a new plan is shown in the Table view.

 

The more line items that are included, the less sensitive the "best" solution is to small changes in any one or a few of those items. You may find that values can be adjusted quite a bit from the "best" solution with negligible impact on your goal. (See: The Media Mesa.)

 

 

Step-by-Step Results

 

In many cases, finding the one "best" plan is more than sufficient. In other situations, you may wish to examine results from the many permutations of schedules and levels that TView conducts in the optimization process. So, TView will log all of the gory details of the optimization on the "Reports" tab. The contents of the Reports tab can also be exported as a text file for use in other programs.

 

To see this completed detailed report, go to the "Reports" tab. This report shows all of the schedules that were constructed and evaluated.