De Novo Programming – A Bluff or not a Bluff

De Novo presents a special approach to optimization. Instead of "optimizing a given system" it suggests a way of "designing an optimal system". The basis of the standard approach is a production model with resources defined in advance, so that the constraints and the feasible set are fixed. However, de Novo approach does not limit the resources as most of the necessary resource quantities can be obtained at certain prices. Resources are actually limited because their maximum quantity is governed by the budget which is an important element of de Novo. Using de Novo approach most various cases can be handled more effectively than by the standard programming models. Changes in prices, technological coefficients, increasing costs of raw materials, quantity discounts and other similar and real production situations can be easily incorporated in de Novo model and provide very satisfactory solutions. In the area of multi-criteria programming de Novo also offers a variety of new ideas and approaches. Nevertheless, in spite of numerous possibilities offered by de Novo programming, in the last two decades only a small number of authors have used it in their work. This paper will attempt to present the advantages of de Novo approach.