Rockwell Automation Arena Basic Edition Users Guide - Manual (Page 57)

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Using Visio and Arena
Introduction
Since the mid-1980s, Business Process Improvement (BPI) and simulation have become
leading methodologies to allow corporations to deliver high-quality products and services
through business process modeling. Businesses are seeking not simply to automate
existing operations, but to improve and redesign business processes to meet and exceed
customers’ expectations for the delivery of products and services.
Many simulation systems are standalone, running only on a desktop and having limited
capabilities to integrate with other technologies such as company databases, workflow
engines, and other desktop solutions. At the same time, leading corporations have
discovered the value of simulation technology. Many companies require simulation to be
used as standard procedure in support of process improvements.
A much greater return on investment is possible if process descriptions and simulation
results can be accessed throughout the enterprise. Microsoft
® Visio ® , the leading desktop
drawing product, supplies a common graphics platform for representing business process
models. Visio’s open architecture via ActiveX
® and Visual Basic ® for Applications
enables the overall modeling tool to be customized to fit changing needs. The models also
can be shared throughout the enterprise by publishing on an intranet directly from Visio.
The Arena Basic Edition includes a built-in interface to Visio, mapping shapes from a
Visio drawing to the appropriate simulation constructs in Arena. Process hierarchy is
captured in the Arena simulation model, including activity-based costing and process
logic, enabling an understanding of the distribution of cost and effort among process
components. As with Visio, Arena supplies robust ActiveX support, a Microsoft
® Office-
compatible interface, and VBA to fulfill enterprise needs for best-of-breed software
products.
The Visio Process Simulation add-in
If you use Visio, you can immediately put Arena’s process mapping tool to work with the
Visio Process Simulator. Created as an add-in to Visio, the Process Simulator includes a
Visio template and stencil for mapping processes with shapes designed to mirror the flow-
chart and data modules in the Basic Process panel of the Arena Basic Edition. When
you’ve completed your Visio process map using these tools, you’re ready to simulate it in
Arena!