Run a what-if

Where: Scenarios→+ New

A what-if is a scenario: a copy of the model with one change you describe in a sentence, such as "What if flour costs jump 30%?" RIA turns the sentence into changes to the model's numbers, and eode solves it so you can compare it with Base.

⤢ Open · replay

Write a what-if

1. On Scenarios, click + New, name it, and click Create. Or select an existing scenario.
2. In the Scenario editor, change Name if you like.
3. In What if…, describe the change in plain English. "Plain English is enough. The agent will translate it into the right model adjustments."
4. Click Run scenario.

⤢ Open

With no scenario selected, the editor says to "Click a starter what-if on the left, an external factor below, or + New to write your own."

What you type in What if… is kept in this browser, so a reload doesn't lose it. A changed Name is saved only when you run the scenario.

Run it

Run scenario solves the scenario. The button reads Solving…, the row shows a spinner, and the result lands on its own: the row gets a check, and the middle column shows the new numbers. Reading them is on Read results.

• One run at a time. While RIA is still on the last one, Run scenario is off and the editor says "Agent is finishing the previous turn — Run will unlock in a moment."
• A scenario with no what-if and no changes offers Solve as-imported instead: "No prompt or overrides — will solve the model as-imported."
• When the scenario changes any of the model's values, the editor counts them: n data override(s) attached from data edits or the agent. To change values yourself, see Edit data.
• If the scenario needs values from you first, the editor says "This scenario needs data from you before it can solve" and offers Fill in inputs; see Edit data.
• Under the button, the solved scenario describes its result in a short paragraph. If the run hit errors, they're listed there in red.

A question isn't a what-if. If you type "What's limiting Saturday?", eode sends it to the RIA console as a question instead of creating a scenario. If the scenario can't be created, you'll see "Couldn't create that what-if — try again."

Cancel a stuck run

If a run hasn't moved for a minute, the editor says Still solving after a while. with Cancel and re-run. That cancels the run. Click Run scenario to start it again.

Start from a suggestion

Starter what-ifs in the middle column lists questions RIA thinks are worth asking about this model, numbered, each with its reason. It's open on Base and folded elsewhere; eode remembers which way you left it.

⤢ Open

1. Click a suggestion. Nothing runs yet: the editor becomes New what-if with its name and text filled in. "Review or edit this what-if, then run it. Nothing is created or solved until you click Run scenario."
2. Edit it if you like.
3. Click Run scenario to create and solve it, or Discard to drop it.

Clicking another suggestion replaces the draft. Starter what-ifs belong to the model, so every scenario shows the same list.

Turn an outside factor into a what-if

Outside context lists market factors RIA is watching for this model: n market factor(s) RIA is watching. Click the line to open it.

⤢ Open

Each factor has a direction (Positive, Negative or Uncertain), a title and summary, what it Affects, a Source link, and Use as what-if. Use as what-if fills in a new what-if as in Start from a suggestion; you still click Run scenario.

• Refresh searches again. The card shows when it last updated and how many signals it found.
• If nothing was found, it says why, for example "No industry signal was picked up automatically — Refresh to search anyway."
• Outside context shows once a scenario has been solved, and not on BASE DATA.

The same factors show on the diagram; see Topology.

Ask for a what-if in chat

On the Scenarios screen, every message you send in the console becomes a new what-if and runs; see The RIA console. A what-if RIA suggests itself arrives as a card with Run it; see RIA's proposals.

Re-solve Base

Once Base is solved it's read-only: "The Base scenario is read-only — it captures the original solve." To bring it up to date with the model, click Re-solve Base against the current model. A Base that was never solved can be edited and run like any scenario.

Import a workbook's other scenarios

On a model imported from a workbook that holds several scenarios, select BASE to see Import more scenarios from this workbook. Tick the ones you want and click Import selected as what-ifs. They appear in the list as they finish.

Keep results current

When the model's structure changes (rebuilt, or edited), scenarios solved before the change are marked stale · solved rev n with an amber edge. A banner above the list counts them: n scenario(s) solved against an earlier model revision.

• Regenerate all (n) solves every stale scenario again against the current model.
• Regenerate against the updated model on a row solves just that one.
• Each keeps its earlier result, so after the re-solve the row shows ▲ amount vs rev n or ▼ …: how much it moved.
• If a change no longer fits the rebuilt model, the banner says how many may break and names them.

Until it's regenerated, a stale scenario still shows its value, but no change against Base in the index, the scoreboard or comparisons. A failed scenario and Base itself show no change either.

If the model's headline and its Base disagree, the fix is on the model home; see Fix a headline that doesn't match the Base.

Limits

• One run at a time.
• A suggested what-if's name is cut to 50 characters.
• Cancel and re-run appears after a minute without progress.

Related

• Scenarios: the list, the index and bulk actions
• Read results
• Verify a result
• Edit data: change values by hand
• RIA proposals