HEC-HMS Technical Reference Manual Optimization Current: Applicability and Limitations of Optimization Search Methods PDF Download PDF Download page Applicability and Limitations of Optimization Search Methods. Current page All pages Applicability and Limitations of Optimization Search Methods Search MethodAdvantagesDisadvantagesSimplex (Nelder Mead)Very fast with a good initial guessHighly sensitive to initial guessSamples fewer parameter values than Differential EvolutionUnivariateSame as SimplexCan only optimize the value of a single parameterDifferential EvolutionInsensitive to initial guessCan search more parameters and a wider range of values than SimplexFavorable when little information is known (uncertain initial guess and parameter ranges)Slower than Simplex ×