In the identity view there are fields for entering the “Name”, “Code” and “Unit” attributes of a node.
The “Name” attribute obviously contains the name of the node. Since this is usually the attribute shown in the title field of the node, you should select a name that makes it easy for you to identify which variable the node represents. Apart from that there are no special rules.
The “Code” attribute can be used as a supplement to the “Name” attribute to further help you identify the variable. Again you are free to apply any coding system you like, or just ignore this field if you do not need it.
Note, however, that if you do not want to bother entering the code yourself, you can use the “autocode” feature. This option is controlled by using the “Nodes and events…” command in the “Preference” submenu of the “File” menu. If the “Auto code” option is checked, DynRisk will generate a code for you based on the code of the parent folder and the number of objects in this folder. In particular if you create a new node inside a folder with code “A” and this node is the sixth object in this folder, the auto code for this node would be “A.06”.
In the “Unit” field you specify the unit of the node. When you plot results from a simulation, the unit will show up on the plot axis. Thus, it is a good idea to enter the correct unit for each node. This, of course, makes your model easier to understand.
Note that if you are working on a model where all or most of the nodes have the same unit, you can save a lot of work by entering this unit as the default unit. This is done by using the “Nodes and events…” command in the “Preference” submenu of the “File” menu.
The “Kind” attribute, controlled by the corresponding popup menu is another optional identifier. DynRisk lets you choose between the following predefined kinds:
• General
• Boolean
• Category
• Constraint
• Cost
• Count
• Date
• Decision
• Duration
• Length
• Manhrs.
• Price
• Rate
• Volume
• Weight
• User 1
• User 2
• User 3
• User 4
If you do not need this attribute, just use “General” as kind. If you do not find anything appropriate, use “User 1”, “User 2”, “User 3” or “User 4”, and replace this by something more suitable in your final risk analysis report.
The “Kind” attribute can be used very effectively in conjunction with the “Find node…” command in the “Special” menu. You can e.g., very quickly make a list of all nodes of a particular kind in a model.
Another common use of the “Kind” attribute is to identify date nodes.
Note that if you are working on a model where all or most of the nodes have the same kind, you can save a lot of work by selecting this kind as the default kind. This is done by using the “Nodes and events…” command in the “Preference” submenu of the “File” menu.
The “Symbol” popup menu is used to control the appearance of the node, i.e., the node icon. Two options are available:
• Operator
• Kind
If you choose “Operator”, the node will have a circular icon with a symbol indicating its first operator or algorithm. This is useful if you want your graphs to reveal as much as possible of the mathematical structure of the model.
If you choose “Kind”, the node will have a square icon with a symbol indicating its kind. This is useful if you want to focus more on the qualitative sides of your model.
In addition to the attributes we have mentioned so far, the “Identity” view contains two more:
• Creation date
• Revision date
The creation date shows the date when the node was created, while the revision date shows the date for the last saved changes. If the model has not been saved on file since the node was created, you will only see a dash instead of a revision date.
For obvious reasons, the creation and revision dates cannot be edited.
