Running a Monte Carlo Simulation

RiskAMP Concepts

To run a simulation, click the “Play” button on the Monte Carlo toolbar. That will open the simulation dialog.

Click Start in the dialog to run the simulation.

Number of trials

There’s no direct answer on how many trials you should run. The right number of trials will depend on the complexity of your model. Generally speaking we are trying to reach convergence — the point at which running more trials does not substantially change the results.

Screen updates

You can watch the model change when running a simulation. That’s what we mean by “screen updates”. You will see values in each cell change and if you have any charts or graphs, you’ll see them change over time.

Showing screen updates slows down the simulation, so once you are comfortable with the way it’s working it’s usually a good idea to turn off screen updates. But screen updates can help identify propblems with your model very quickly, and watching the model change can be a big help in developing intuition about how the simulation works and what it is doing.