Research

In one or more of the previous sections, you will have built your coffee shop model. This simple model can be executed to generate a set of results for users based on the scenario inputs. However, two of Akumen’s key-capabilities are its scenario generation and scenario management functionalities.

Scenarios allow users to determine the applications response to different inputs.

For example, we can ask: “If the price of my product is X and the number of sales Y is a function of the price, how much Revenue will I earn?” Here, X is an input, Y is a calculation and Revenue is a calculated output.

Now, we can ask “What-If?” questions by changing our inputs and seeing what the output will be. This is called a Scenario.

“Scenario 1: What if I priced my product at $2?”

“Scenario 2: What if I priced my product at $4?”

“Scenario 3: What if I priced my product at $5?”

Akumen allows you to create hundreds of scenarios to determine configurations that deliver the best outcome. In this research process, you may want to change parts of your model as you get more insights into your model’s behavior. Akumen manages those changes for you to ensure your model stays consistent across scenarios in areas where it should and differs where it matters. This is achieved through the Scope property of a parameter.

Users can group scenarios into a study. A study is a collection of scenarios that aim to answer a particular question. In our case we will be studying price sensitivity.

1. At the top of the screen you will see a dropdown box called New Study.
2. Hover over the arrow beside the Study box.
3. Select the cog button at the end of the popup menu, this will take you to the settings of the study.
4. In the popup, change the study Name to Price Sensitivity Study.
5. Click OK.
6. Akumen will change the name of your Study.

Now that we have renamed our study to describe what we are going to do we can start creating scenarios to find the best price for a cup of coffee for John and Jack.