Metis Smart Modeling - Systems

In the Metis environment, a system is a logical entity which is the building block of an offer in Metis Smart Quote. It holds most of the basic configuration information for the material and the services which will then be list in the quote. On its own the system doesn't include any type of position, but will be the container for them. They will be added through either models, or manual input from the Metis Smart Quote user. Through its role in Metis Smart Quote it one of the most important aspect of Metis Smart Modeling as settings and information will be defined there to use models. System can be of three type (System, Group of systems and Applications) all with there specificity.

With the same idea as for models, pictures can be set as conditional to value set in the offer. Defining rules for pictures is a quite straightforward process. Conditions can be defined to automatically choose which image will be displayed to represent a system in QSBW. In order to set this up, it is required to fill in a line of the table on the lower part of the pictures tab. By click the ADD button, the list of available pictures appears and one can be selected by double-clicking on it. The next step is to define the filter which will be used to determine whether this pictures will be displayed. Double-clicking in the cell will bring up the list of all variables, selecting on and validating the windows will set it as the filter variable. The last step is to select the appropriate condition and to set the value to which the variable should be weighted.

Material models can be assigned or linked to each offer type relating to a specific system. In order to do that, under the "Models" tab of the edition window of a system there is a table/list which displays all the defined offer types. In the second column, it is possible to double-click in order to bring up a windows where a model can be select for this offer type and system. Validation is required in order to store the selection. The application then displays the models set for each offer type.

The second tab, above the table, allows to set service models which will be executed when using the system in Metis Smart Quotes. When selecting this tab the list below will be refreshed an display all the defined service models which have been created in Metis Smart Modeling. In order to link a service model to the system, simple validate the checkbox in front of the appropriate model. Because service calculation can be used for many purposes, the green arrows on the left of the table allow the user to select in which order the selected service models should be executed, as one of them could require the result of another to be valid.

This section allows to determine default configurations for systems, groups of systems and applications using variables. Those value are closely linked to the use of models to work with the system, group of system or application. The concept is that they will be automatically used as input for the models without requiring input from the Metis Smart Quotes user. It particularly practical when requiring base value for a specific system. For example, in the case of a small business server, the number of users; or for an entry-level computer the set number of screens.

{{Note| Throughout the execution of models, default configuration values are never modified and cannot be used as outputs for rules.

Groups of System are intended to be used to group together Systems that can be compared. When applying a model to the group, Metis Smart Quote will access all of the information available within the group of systems to choose the “best option” depending upon the client's needs (“best option” meaning the one which fits all requirements and has the lowest price).

Systems included in this group. The model linked to the group will be applied to all of them and they will be displayed as the result of the group in Metis Smart Quote.  

| When Metis Smart Quote executes the model linked to the group, it basically executes it on all systems it contains. This will result in several configurations. The tool then allows the user to select the one required or most suitable. When displaying the resulting configuration, Metis Smart Quotes also displays for each system the defined limits. When one of those is crossed, it renders the system invalid for the offer based on the input provided through the masks of the group of systems model.

| In the execution process of models in Metis Smart Quote, applications are executed first and "main" systems afterwards. This allows to pass information from a "sub" to a "main" system.