Call for Papers - Interfaces Special Issue: Spreadsheet Applications of Management Science and Operations Research

Spreadsheets, because of their ubiquity, power for rapid development, and transparency to nontechnical managers who might be the ultimate users, are remarkable development platforms for MS/OR applications. Spreadsheets provide millions of end users with the ability to create and apply MS/OR models. End-user efforts and successes are largely invisible to MS/OR professionals but are important to the future of MS/OR. This special issue will highlight the role of spreadsheets in MS/OR applications by traditional MS/OR practitioners and by the emerging class of MS/OR end-user modelers. We seek application papers that provide insight into important practice issues, including but not limited to the following: When should MS/OR practitioners use spreadsheets rather than traditional software? What are the benefits of spreadsheets within the life cycle of MS/OR projects? How do spreadsheets affect cost, client acceptance, and model transfer from developers to users? What size models can one analyze using spreadsheets? How do end-user modelers apply MS/OR in spreadsheets? How can analysts best incorporate MS/OR techniques into spreadsheets? What financial and nonfinancial benefits do end-user modelers obtain from spreadsheet MS/OR? How do end user modelers sell and communicate MS/OR analyses internally? How can traditional MS/OR practitioners leverage the efforts of end-user modelers to their mutual benefit? In their papers, authors must demonstrate that the use of spreadsheets benefited an organization (financially or nonfinancially) and must provide lessons for MS/OR practitioners or end-user modelers. We require verification letters attesting to the impact of projects. Spreadsheet use must be intrinsic to project success and may include add-ins and extensions, such as Visual Basic for Applications. See the Interfaces Instructions to Authors at http://interfaces.pubs.informs.org/guidelines.htm. Submissions should be forwarded electronically in either Microsoft Word or .pdf format directly to Larry LeBlanc (larry.leblanc@owen.vanderbilt.edu) or Thomas Grossman (tagrossman@usfca.edu). The deadline for submission is August 15, 2006.