Tandem Capacity Model (TCM) Manual

4 Getting Started With TCM
This chapter provides some guidelines to help you start working with TCM. It also describes the
TCM Initial menu, explains how TCM handles security issues, how to access TCM online help, and
how to load TCM models created by other users.
Guidelines
Before you start using TCM, the following guidelines can help you use the application effectively.
TCM Users
TCM has three levels of users:
• The capacity planner has access to basic commands and Performance model screens.
• The TCM administrator defines the apportionment methods.
• The super user can modify almost any TCM screen or field and should understand Excel and
TCM internal structure.
TCM Online Help
Online help is available for all fields in TCM. To get help for a field, first position the cursor on
that field by pointing and clicking with a mouse or by using the arrow keys. Next, select Help,
TCM Help or press F1. For more information on the TCM help facility, see “Online Help” (page 70).
Selecting Ribbons, Tabs and Options
To select ribbons, tabs and options, either:
• Point and click with a mouse
• Hold down the Alt key and type the underlined letter that represents the tab option you want
TCM Status
To view the current status of any command you are executing or the complete calculation of the
calculating cell percentage, watch the TCM status bar in the lower left corner of your monitor.
Moving From Screen to Screen
To move between screens within TCM, select the name of the screen you want to view from the
Find tab. Separate worksheets are available for every screen in the Performance model.
Getting Started With Sample Data
To help you get started with TCM, use the sample performance data included with the product.
From the TCM Initial menu, you can choose to demonstrate either a Workload Apportionment
(WA) model or a Performance model.
Creating a Folder for Your Model
Before you begin working with TCM, you should have some knowledge of the TCM folder and file
structure.
Create a new folder for each application or set of applications you model using TCM. Figure 13
(page 66) shows a typical TCM folder structure. Custom folders are not required to be under the
64 Getting Started With TCM