Create a Build Scenario

You need to create a build scenario. First, define the basic build information, such as the number of terms, days, and periods in your master schedule. Then, define load optimization parameters to determine the minimum and maximum number of possibilities the system evaluates while loading student schedules with courses.

1. On the start page, choose PowerScheduler under Applications in the main menu. The Scheduling page appears.
2. Under Scheduling Setup, choose Scenarios from the PowerScheduler menu. The Scenarios page appears.
3. Click New. The Edit Build Scenario page appears.

4. Use the following table to enter information in the Build Information fields:

   Field	Description
   [Scenario type]	Select the Load Only option if you already have a schedule, such as through the process of either importing or copying, and only want to load students. Note: If creating a Build and Load scenario, see Build Scenarios.
   Build Name	Enter a name for this build scenario. If you are creating several scenarios, use descriptive names so that you can easily distinguish among them.
   Active Build	If you are creating only one build scenario, select the checkbox. If you are creating more than one build scenario, select the checkbox for the one you want the system to use to build your master schedule. Note: You will only be able to edit the course catalog that is associated with the build marked as active.
   Build Description	Enter a description of this scenario.
   Terms	Click Associate to select the number of schedule terms you want this scenario to include. The Schedule Term Setup page appears. Select the checkboxes in the rows that represent the number of schedule terms you want this scenario to include. For example, if you plan to build a two-semester master schedule, select the checkbox next to the row that includes Semester 1 and Semester 2. Click Submit.
   Periods	From the pop-up menu, choose the number of periods per day for this build scenario. For example, if you are building a block schedule, you might choose 4. If you are building a regular schedule, you might choose 7.
   Days	Choose from the pop-up menu the number of days for this build scenario.
   Course Catalog	Use the pop-up menu to choose the course catalog you want the system to use to build this schedule. If this is your first time creating a master schedule, do not select a catalog. The system will automatically generate a course catalog, which you can modify. For more information, see Course Catalogs.

5. Use the following table to enter information in the Build Optimizations and Load Optimizations fields:

   Field	Description
   Percent of schedule combinations to evaluate for each course	Change this value only if you encounter problems with the amount of time the system is using to build the master schedule. The default value of this field is 10. For example, if you enter 25, the system evaluates one-quarter of the possible schedule combinations for each course. If you enter 75, the system evaluates three-quarters of the possible schedule combinations for each course.
   Minimum number of schedule combinations to evaluate for each course	Change this value only if you encounter problems with the amount of time the system is using to build the master schedule. The default value of this field is 10,000. For courses with few possible combinations to begin with, use a higher number to prevent the system from attempting too few schedule combinations and not being able to fit the course into the schedule.
   Percent of schedule combinations to evaluate for each student	Change this value only if you encounter problems with the amount of time the system is using to load the master schedule. The default value of this field is 10. For example, if you enter 25, the system evaluates one-quarter of the possible schedule combinations for each student. If you enter 75, the system evaluates three-quarters of the possible schedule combinations for each student.
   Minimum number of schedule combinations to evaluate before skipping	Change this value only if you encounter problems with the amount of time the system is using to load the master schedule. The default value of this field is 10,000. Enter a high number to force the system to sample a minimum number of student schedule course possibilities.

   Note: You can also set build optimizations for a particular course by adding a Course Optimize constraint. This type of constraint takes precedence over the build optimizations you set here. For more information, see Build Constraints.

6. Use the following table to enter information in the Best Schedule Weights fields:

   Field	Description
   Student conflicts	To have the system give more weight to student conflicts than section balance when confronted with a conflict while building the master schedule, enter a larger number in this field than in the Section balance field. The default value of this field is 50. Note: The numbers in both of these fields must add up to 100.
   Section balance	To have the system give more weight to section balance than student conflicts when confronted with a conflict while building the master schedule, enter a larger number in this field than in the Student conflicts field. The default value of this field is 50. Note: The numbers in both of these fields must add up to 100.
   Total	The total of the weighting values appears. This number must be 100.

7. Click Submit. The Scenarios page appears.