Developing Spreadsheet-Based Decision Support Systems

Developing Spreadsheet-Based Decision Support Systems (DSS): Michelle Şeref, Ravindra Ahuja, and Wayne Winston, Duxbury Press, 2006

Ø Co-authoring textbook for DSS course in IE/OR and business curriculums

Ø Part I (Ch 2-10): Excel Basics and Advanced Functionality

Ø Part II (Ch 11-21): VBA for Excel

Ø Part III (Ch 22-24, CS 1-25): DSS Development Process, GUI Design, Programming Principles, and Case studies

Ø Appendices A-C: Add-Ins, Error-Checking, and Advanced Programming Topics

Since August 2002, I have been working with Dr. Ravindra Ahuja (ISE, University of Florida) and Dr. Wayne Winston (Kelly School of Business, Indiana University) in co-authoring a new textbook on developing spreadsheet-based decision support systems (DSS). Decision support systems are intelligent information systems; this intelligence is added by including a model base with some algorithms, optimization, or simulation. We use Microsoft Excel and Visual Basic Applications (VBA) for Excel as our software. The textbook has three parts: Excel Basics, VBA for Excel, DSS Applications in IE/OR and Business. The most innovative part of the book is the applications, or case studies we have developed. For more details on this book-writing project, please visit www.ise.ufl.edu/IT.

Through this work we have written over 1000 pages of material and developed 25 unique DSS applications. We have also developed extensive course material to accompany the DSS textbook (PPT lectures, homework exercises and solutions, student team projects). I have also had the opportunity to co-instruct a corresponding course in DSS development in the ISE Department at UF. For more information on this course, please visit www.ise.ufl.edu/esi4356.

We have given several tutorials on this work and the importance of DSS instruction in IE/OR and business curriculums. These tutorials have been given at CORS/IFORS 2003 (Banff), INFORMS 2003 (Atlanta), and several other IE/OR/business conferences.

We have hosted an instructor-training workshop in August, 2004 in Jacksonville, FL on this topic. Please visit www.ise.ufl.edu/DSS for more details on the workshop.

We have hosted another workshop at INFORMS 2004 (Denver, CO).