Thomas A. Grossman

End-User Modeling Improves R&D Management at Agrevo Canada, Inc.

T here is a great need for creativity within the MS/OR environment. Managers must be capable of defining problems, developing novel solutions, and implementing them effectively. A lot of research has focused on creativity. For example , Evans [1993] and McFadzean [forthcoming] discussed methods of improving creative thinking in people; Couger [1995], McFadzean [1998a], and VanGundy [1988] presented techniques that can encourage participants to develop more novel ideas; and Evans [1997a, 1997b] and VanGundy [1992] described the creative problem-solving process. I focus on creative problem-solving (CPS) techniques and how best to choose the most appropriate for a given situation. To this end, therefore, I have categorized the techniques and placed them in a continuum ranging from paradigm-preserving techniques to paradigm-breaking techniques. The Creativity Continuum Many creative problem-solving techniques are more effectively used by groups that are supported by a facilitator. This is because the facilitator can help to guide the participants through the process and help the group members to behave in a positive and constructive manner In addition, the facilitator can also advise the participants on the most appropriate and effective methods for their particular situation. The most commonly used creative problem-solving technique is brainstorming, but there are countless other techniques that can be utilized. These include force field analysis, 5Ws ‫ם‬ H, morphological analysis, word diamond,

Teachers' Forum: Spreadsheet Modeling and Simulation Improves Understanding of Queues

Process-driven spreadsheet queuing simulation is a better vehicle for understanding queue behavior than queuing theory or dedicated simulation software. Spreadsheet queuing simulation has many pedagogical benefits in a business school end-user modeling course, including developing students intuition, giving them experience with active modeling skills, and providing access to tools. Spreadsheet queuing simulations are surprisingly easy to program, even for queues with balking and reneging. The ease of prototyping in spreadsheets invites thoughtless design, so careful spreadsheet programming practice is important. Spreadsheet queuing simulation is inferior to dedicated simulation software for analyzing queues but is more likely to be available to managers and students.

Integrating Spreadsheet Engineering in a Management Science Course: A Hierarchical Approach

Business students who rely on spreadsheets can use management science only to the extent that they can build a spreadsheet model of an unstructured business situation. Spreadsheets are the primary vehicle for analytical work in business, are advantageous for modeling and model representation, and are used by management science practitioners as well as end-user modelers. There is a common misperception that spreadsheets are somehow “easy” to use. However, the spreadsheet is a powerful rapid development computer programming language that requires software engineering for serious work. People struggle to efficiently build effective, transferable spreadsheet models. Students need certain spreadsheet engineering principles that they do not know, but value highly when they learn them. Spreadsheet engineering can be taught using a hierarchical “Skills, Capabilities and Practices Model.” Low-level “Skills” need to be evaluated and fixed early in a spreadsheetoriented management science course. High-level “Capabilities” and “Practices” should be integrated throughout the course. Embracing spreadsheet engineering provides a magnificent opportunity for management science instructors to increase relevance and student satisfaction while increasing the likelihood of management science application by our graduates.

Introduction: The Use of Spreadsheet Software in the Application of Management Science and Operations Research

Spreadsheets can play an important role in the MS/OR practitioners toolkit. This is because they are an effective software development platform, supporting powerful commercial MS/OR add-ins and providing advantages in deploying models to clients. Spreadsheets also provide access to the power of MS/OR for large numbers of unsophisticated end-user modelers. In this special issue, we highlight the benefits of spreadsheet MS/OR across 10 different high-impact applications.

Managerial Communication of Analytical Work

When business and management science students graduate and have a job, they give many managerial communications about analytical work, but typically they are not taught how to give presentations in their undergraduate courses. We describe the characteristics of the “managerial presentation” and contrast them with characteristics of the “narrative presentation” that is given to technical peers and focuses on process. We then use the business analysis lifecycle to describe and contrast the real world and the model world. Implications for instruction build upon empirical data gathered at Georgia Tech for the presentation skills identified through interviews with engineers, managers, and senior executives in the workforce. We conclude by reviewing processes already used effectively for teaching the relevant presentation skills at Georgia Tech.

OR Process Skills Transform an Out-of-Control Call Center into a Strategic Asset

A large consumer-software company was struggling to manage a seemingly unmanageable, high-cost technical-support call center. The company used “OR process skills” to transform the call center into a strategic asset. By focusing on executive priorities, personally observing business processes, engaging with frontline workers, and directly examining the sources of important data, we discovered the central problem amidst a contentious, disorganized situation. We used a pilot program to test simple analytical tools, such as Pareto charts and sampling, to bring actionable information to the right parts of the organization. Following the processes we developed, the company analyzed customer feedback to improve the product and customer self-support mechanisms, thereby reducing both current and future call volumes. By empowering client staff and leading process change across functional boundaries, the company reduced its call-center costs and achieved higher product quality. In addition, we demonstrate that OR process skills can be an essential element in sustaining long-term consultant-client relationships.

A Spreadsheet Scenario Analysis Technique That Integrates with Optimization and Simulation

Scenario analysis is a widely used technique, and business students should be proficient in running scenarios through a spreadsheet model. We propose 10 desirable properties for a scenario analysis technique, and show that the Microsoft Excel Scenario Manager tool satisfies only one of them. We provide a tutorial for a better technique that can be programmed into an existing spreadsheet in a matter of minutes. We show how to integrate the technique with the Excel Solver to allow for rapid optimization of multiple scenarios and with the Crystal Ball add-in for Monte Carlo simulation to enable simulation of multiple scenarios. Our undergraduate and MBA students are able to learn the technique with little difficulty.

ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Increasing Productivity and Minimizing Errors in Operations Research Spreadsheet Models

Operations research practitioners often write spreadsheet software that is used, modified, and transferred to other people over time. They need techniques that enable them to quickly write error-free code whose accuracy can be easily verified and tested. Practitioner spreadsheet models often must be suitable for transfer to others and be robust in the sense that inadvertently introducing errors during reuse and updating is difficult. We examine some problem areas for spreadsheet design and programming and suggest techniques intended to increase productivity and reduce the risk of errors, especially in situations in which someone other than the original author is using or maintaining the spreadsheets.

Ensuring Scalability and Re-Usability of Spreadsheet Analytical and Optimization Models

Spreadsheet optimization models are commonly understood to be difficult to scale up and down in size, reducing their utility for models that are large or will be reused. In contrast, an equivalent algebraic optimization model scales up and down very easily. In this paper, we show how to overcome this spreadsheet scalability disadvantage. We provide a technique to program an optimization model in a spreadsheet that can easily be scaled up or down in size and re-optimized using the Excel Solver. Our technique enables a spreadsheet model to be scaled and reused as easily as its equivalent algebraic implementation. We give examples involving transportation models and are working on examples involving manufacturing optimization and other extensions and generalizations, and on techniques for sharing spreadsheet optimization models with other systems.