[1] It combines hierarchical influence diagrams for visual creation and view of models, intelligent arrays for working with multidimensional data, Monte Carlo simulation for analyzing risk and uncertainty, and optimization, including linear and nonlinear programming.
Variables (and other objects) appear as nodes of various shapes on a diagram, connected by arrows that provide a visual representation of dependencies.
When all interested parties are able to understand a common model structure, debates and discussions will often focus more directly on specific assumptions, can cut down on "cross-talk", and therefore lead to more productive interactions within the organization.
The influence diagram serves as a graphical representation that can help to make models accessible to people at different levels.
Such adjustments are common after models have been fully constructed as a way of exploring what-if scenarios and overall relationships between variables.
The sampled result distribution and summary statistics can then be viewed directly (mean, Fractile bands, probability density function (PDF), cumulative distribution function (CDF)), Analytica supports collaborative decision analysis and probability management through the use of the SIP Math(tm) standard.
Analytica includes a general language of operators and functions for expressing mathematical relationships among variables.
[4] Areas in which Analytica has been applied include energy,[5][6][7] health and pharmaceuticals,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] environmental risk and emissions policy analysis,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] wildlife management,[31][32][33][34] ecology,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41] climate change,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] technology and defense,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] strategic financial planning,[70][71] R&D planning and portfolio management,[72][73][74] financial services, aerospace,[75] manufacturing,[76] and environmental health impact assessment.
The Analytica Cloud Platform lets users share models via a server and run them via a web browser.
Analytica's predecessor, called Demos,[79] grew from the research on tools for policy analysis by Max Henrion as a PhD student and later professor at Carnegie Mellon University between 1979 and 1990.