Overview of the Continuous Troubleshooter

The Continuous Troubleshooter environment

• Project workspace

• Working with projects

• Project bar

• Action bar

• Menus

• Toolbar

Project workspace

The project workspace provides the main work area for your projects.  All views, graphs and analysis graphs are shown in the project workspace.  Each step of Continuous Troubleshooter can have only one active project at any given time, and therefore the project workspace will only show views for the current open project.

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Working with projects

Every time the Continuous Troubleshooter starts up, a new empty project will automatically be created. Start troubleshooting your process by clicking on Step 1:Data Preparation on the Troubleshooter project bar to import data into the new project, and to apply various mathematical, statistical and data manipulation operations to the dataset.  Saving a Troubleshooter project files will save all the data configuration, data visualization and created process models for the dataset.  

NOTE:  Continuous Troubleshooter project files typically have a .csa file extension.

Importing data directly from Windows into the Continuous Troubleshooter project

Data can be imported into a project directly from data files with a .csv file extension.

1. Using the context menu within Windows

   • Browse to the DataFile.csv.

   • Right click on the file, and select [Open with...] from the context menu.

   • Select Continuous Troubleshooter from the recommended programs.

   • Click [OK] to open the Continuous Troubleshooter with the data already loaded on the project workspace.

2. Using the Command prompt

   • Type the directory where application is installed, the name of the application, and the data file name into the command line. For example: C:\Program Files\Proficy\ProficyCSense "DataFile.csv"

Saving the current project

1. Click on the File menu and select Save Project or Save Project As. The save button on the toolbar can also be used. Choosing Save Project As will save the Troubleshooter Project under a new filename.

2. Enter the file name in the file name field.

3. Click Save to save the Troubleshooter Project file.

Note:  Data imported into your project will not be saved in the project file!

Moving projects

1. Projects with text sources

For projects using text files as data sources, the original text file must be available at the target location after moving the project file.  

After moving the project file to a new location, the Troubleshooter will prompt you on loading the project in the Troubleshooter with an error message stating that it could not connect to the text file.  It is necessary to reconfigure the text source and browse for the new location of the text file.  All previously configured data types and field selections will automatically be applied to the new data source where possible and applicable.  

Should the new text source be identical to the original text source, all previously configured properties will automatically be applied to the text source after specifying the new location.  

2. Projects with other data sources

When moving projects using data sources other than text files (including database and historian sources), an error message will state that it could not connect to the source when attempting to open the project in the Continuous Troubleshooter. It is necessary to reconfigure the connections, pointing to the correct source. Ensure that all drivers, user names and passwords are still valid on the new system for accessing the database or historian.

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Project bar

A Continuous Troubleshooter troubleshooting project follows 7 easy to use steps for troubleshooting continuous type processes (typically timestamped data).  These seven steps are clearly shown on the Project Bar (displayed to the left of the Troubleshooter project view).  Steps are grayed out if not available yet.  As you progress through the individual steps, new options will become available and the icons on the Project Bar will change accordingly to indicate the availability of new options.

The seven steps of the rapid process troubleshooting project provided on the project bar:

1. Data Preparation

2. Visualization

3. Modeling

4. Knowledge Extraction

5. Benefit Estimation

6. Knowledge Fusion

7. Action Deployment

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Action bar

The Continuous Troubleshooter allows for two actions called Cause+ and SPC+. These two options are clearly shown on the Action Bar (displayed to the right of the Troubleshooter project view).  Steps are grayed out if not available yet.

The two actions of the rapid process troubleshooting project provided on the action bar:

1. Cause+

2. SPC+

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Menus

Note: Menu options are grayed out if not available.

File menu

1. • Options to load and save or start a new project.

Edit menu

1. • Copy any view to the system clipboard.  NOTE:  Some views will be copied as BITMAP images, others will be copied as text.

View menu

1. • These options allow you to change the active view displayed in the Troubleshooter project area.  Options will be grayed out if not available.

Options menu

1. • Analysis parameters
     
     Allows the user to set model properties >> more information

   • Manage trend views
     
     Opens the Trend View Manager >> more information

Windows menu

1. • Options for tiling, cascading and showing or hiding active window views in the Troubleshooter project area.

Help menu

1. • Shows options for displaying help and information about the product.

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Toolbar

• New:
  
  Starts a new troubleshooting project

• Open:
  
  Opens an existing troubleshooting project from file

• Save:
  
  Saves the current troubleshooting project

• Export:
  
  Exports the current active view.  Current views supported for exporting (export format included):

• • Trends (BMP)

  • Scatter plots (BMP)

  • Histograms (BMP)

  • Preparation view (CSV formatted text file containing all configured limits and delays)

  • Knowledge Extraction view (BMP)

• Print:
  
  Prints the currently active view.

• Cut:
  
  Current implementation the same as copy.

• Copy:
  
  Copies the currently active view to the clipboard.

• Paste:
  
  This feature has been reserved for future use

• Histogram:
  
  The histogram of a selected field shows the frequency distribution of that particular field.

• Trend:
  
  The Trend Tool allows you to view large (far in excess of 64000 data points) data sets as trends.   The typical use of the Trend Tool is to evaluate and edit your choice of upper and lower limits that have been assigned to a variable for Data Cleaning purposes.

• Frequency Analysis:

Use the frequency analysis to evaluate the frequency components of a time domain signal. This provides process information about events that occur at a particular frequency.

• Scatter plot:
  
  A scatter plot is a graphical view of the relationship between two variables.

• Statistics:
  
  The Statistics View provides you with basic descriptive statistics of all the variables (fields) that were imported into Troubleshooter with the Data Import View.

• Active rule:
  
  Displays the current active rule as provided by the rule-based process model constructed during the modeling step.  The active rule is determined by the ruler location on the knowledge extraction view.
  
  (NOTE:  This option will only be available once the modeling step has been completed).

• All Rules:
  
  The All Rules View displays all the rules that were generated from the data that was used for the rules model construction.
  
  (NOTE:  This option will only be available once the modeling step has been completed).

• Cause Analysis:
  
  Shows the causal analysis for the current ruler location on the knowledge extraction view.
  
  (NOTE:  This option will only be available once the modeling step has been completed).

• Leverage Analysis:  
  
  Shows the leverage analysis for the current ruler location on the knowledge extraction view.
  
  (NOTE:  This option will only be available once the modeling step has been completed).

• IO Analysis:  
  
  Shows the IO Analysis for the current ruler location on the knowledge extraction view.
  
  (NOTE:  This option will only be available once the modeling step has been completed).

• Save blueprint:
  
  Exports the current project as a Action Object blueprint for editing in the Architect.
  
  NOTE:  This option will NOT save the current Troubleshooter Project.

• Launch Decision Tree
  
  Launch the Decision tree application with the current data set and associated limits automatically configured.

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Data Preparation toolbar

When manipulating datasets while preparing data for loading into the Troubleshooter projects, the data preparation toolbar becomes active. Use these toolbar options to visualize your data.

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Related topics:

• Introduction to Rapid Process Troubleshooting