Simpler Spreadsheet Simulation of Multi-Server Queues

Abstract

Process-driven spreadsheet queuing simulation provides a clear and intuitive approach for students in business modeling courses to learn about queue behavior. With basic spreadsheet skill, some guidance on the generation of random variates and simple assumptions like “service in arrival order,” it is not difficult to construct a single server spreadsheet simulation model. However to extend the model to multiple servers, add-ins, macros, or multiple templates (each for a given fixed number of servers) are needed. Hora [Hora, S. C. 2003. Spreadsheet modeling of the G/G/c queuing system without macros or add-ins. INFORMS Trans. Ed. 3(3), http://ite.pubs.informs.org/Vol3No3/Hora/ ] showed that array formulas can be used instead, to create the G/G/c spreadsheet model with parametrically adjustable number of servers. This is a great improvement, but array formulations are still inherently complex and therefore not easy for students to comprehend and apply. In this paper, I show that non-array formulations can achieve the same effect, effectively simplifying the model.