On the Generate rosters menu, click Build rosters. Parity Builder will switch you to the Messages tab, where you will see a stream of messages reporting the solver's progress.
When the solver terminates, you will be switched to the Assignments tab, where you will see the best solution to date. Remember that the penalty score is a cumulative penalty for deviations from your stated goals; the smaller the penalty value, the better the solution. A penalty score of zero would be ideal (every roster exactly comparable to every other roster, no deviations from restrictions) but will typically not be possible.
On the Assignments tab, you will see a list of rosters. For each roster, you will be told which individuals are included in it, along with the size of the roster. Additionally, for each value of each categorical or affinity attribute, you will be shown the percentage of the roster having that value, and for comparison purposes the percentage of the overall population of individuals with that value. For each numerical attribute, you will be shown the average value (mean) of that attribute in the roster and in the overall population. If any individuals went unassigned, they will be listed after the last roster.
On the Generate rosters menu, note that the Build rosters option is still active. If you click it, the solver will take another shot at the problem, and will give the new solution if it is better but retain the prior solution if the solver failed to improve on it.. You are free to modify solver settings between solution runs. (If you make changes to anything other than solver settings, however, the current model and solution will be discarded.)
While the solver is running, the Abort option on the Generate rosters menu will be enabled. If you click on it, or hit the escape (Esc) key, Parity Builder will stop the solution process and report the best solution (if any) found to that point. Aborting the run will not leave you empty-handed as long as Parity Builder has found a viable solution.
Finally, note the last two options on the Generate rosters menu, Clear messages and Clear rosters. Clear messages deletes any messages from the model building process and from the solver on the Messages tab. The model remains in memory, though, and you do not lose the best solution found so far. Clear rosters deletes the current solution and clears the Assignments tab.
Play with the solution process a bit, and then proceed to the final step, where you will export the solution.
| previous: Adjust solver settings | next: Export the solution |
