Computers and operations research

Simulation: Computers have had a dramatic impact on the management of industrial

production systems and the fields of operations research and industrial engineering. The speed
and data-handling capabilities of computers allow engineers and scientists to build larger, more
realistic models of organized systems and to get meaningful solutions to those models through
the use of simulation techniques.
Simulation consists of calculating the performance of a system by evaluating a model of it for
randomly selected values of variables contained within it. Most simulation in operations
research is concerned with “stochastic” variables; that is, variables whose values change
randomly within some probability distribution over time. The random sampling employed in
simulation requires either a supply of random numbers or a procedure for generating them. It
also requires a way of converting these numbers into the distribution of the relevant variable,
a way of sampling these values, and a way of evaluating the resulting performance.
A simulation in which decision making is performed by one or more real decision makers is
called “operational gaming.” Such simulations are commonly used in the study of interactions
of decision makers as in competitive situations. Military gaming has long been used as a training
device, but only relatively recently has it been used for research purposes. There is still
considerable difficulty, however, in drawing inferences from operational games to the real
world.
Experimental optimization is a means of experimenting on a system so as to find the best
solution to a problem within it. Such experiments, conducted either simultaneously or
sequentially, may be designed in various ways, no one of which is best in all situations.

Decision analysis and support: Since their widespread introduction in business and government
organizations in the 1950s, the primary applications of computers have been in the areas of
record keeping, bookkeeping, and transaction processing. These applications, commonly called
data processing, automate the flow of paperwork, account for business transactions (such as
order processing and inventory and shipping activities), and maintain orderly and accurate
records. Although data processing is vital to most organizations, most of the work involved in
the design of such systems does not require the methods of operations research.
In the 1960s, when computers were applied to the routine decision-making problems of
managers, management information systems (MIS) emerged. These systems use the raw
(usually historical) data from data-processing systems to prepare management summaries, to
chart information on trends and cycles, and to monitor actual performance against plans or
budgets.
More recently, decision support systems (DSS) have been developed to project and predict the
results of decisions before they are made. These projections permit managers and analysts to

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evaluate the possible consequences of decisions and to try several alternatives on paper before
committing valuable resources to actual programs.
The development of management information systems and decision support systems brought
operations researchers and industrial engineers to the forefront of business planning. These
computer-based systems require knowledge of an organization and its activities in addition to
technical skills in computer programming and data handling. The key issues in MIS or DSS
include how a system will be modeled, how the model of the system will be handled by the
computer, what data will be used, how far into the future trends will be extrapolated, and so
on. In much of this work, as well as in more traditional operations research modeling, simulation
techniques have proved invaluable.

New software tools for decision making: The explosive growth of personal computers in
business organizations in the early 1980s spawned a parallel growth in software to assist in
decision making. These tools include spreadsheet programs for analyzing complex problems
with trails that have different sets of data, data base management programs that permit the
orderly maintenance and manipulation of vast amounts of information, and graphics programs
that quickly and easily prepare professional-looking displays of data. Business programs
(software) like these once cost tens of thousands of dollars; now they are widely available, may
be used on relatively inexpensive hardware, are easy to use without learning a programming
language, and are powerful enough to handle sophisticated, practical business problems.
The availability of spreadsheet, data base, and graphics programs on personal computers has
also greatly aided industrial engineers and operations researchers whose work involves the
construction, solution, and testing of models. Easy-to-use software that does not require
extensive programming knowledge permits faster, more cost-effective model building and is
also helpful in communicating the results of analysis to management. Indeed, many managers
now have a computer on their desk and work with spreadsheets and other programs as a
routine part of their managerial duties.

There are many techniques project managers use to schedule their project activities so that
everything lands where it’s supposed to and the project fits the approved timeline. The critical
path method is one of these.

What Is the Critical Path Method?: Think of critical path in project management as a project
modeling technique. It’s a sequence of stages where you figure out what the least amount of
time is necessary to complete a task with the least amount of slack. So, the critical path is really
the longest length of time it will take to complete the project tasks.

What we understand as critical path was first developed in the late 1950s by Morgan R. Walker
of DuPont and James E. Kelley of Remington Rand. They came upon the tool around the same
time as Booz Allen Hamilton and the U.S. Navy were working in a similar vein. The roots of

Investigación de Operaciones Fuente: https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research

critical path can be found in some practices by DuPont in the early 1940s, and even contributing
to the Manhattan Project.

Since that time, the critical path method has been used in a variety of projects, from
construction, aerospace and defense to software and product development, engineering, plant
maintenance and more. Projects with interdependent activities can benefit from this. While the
original critical path program isn’t used anymore, the approach remains the same.

Except today’s critical path is calculated automatically by project scheduling software. That
makes the whole method, a whole lot easier.

Critical Path – Definition of Terms: To understand the concept of critical path, you need to
understand the various terms used in this method. The critical path is the longest distance
between the start and the finish of your project, including all the tasks and their duration, which
gives you a clear picture of the project’s actual schedule.

Related: How to Create a PERT Chart: Another term in the critical path method is earliest start
date. This is simply the earliest date that a task can be started in your project. You cannot
determine this without first knowing if any tasks are dependent on this one task, or figuring out
other constraint that might impact the start of this task. Next is the earliest finish date. This
being the earliest date your task can be completed.

Along those lines, you need to figure out what the latest start date is. This is the very last minute
in which you can start a task before it threatens to upset your project schedule. And you need
to calculate what the latest finish date is for the same reason. By having a clear picture of this
timeframe, you can better schedule the project to meet its deadline.

Float, also known as slack, is a term that describes how long you can delay a task before it
impacts the planned schedule and threatens the project’s deadline. When you are collecting
tasks for the critical path, they must have zero float. But if the tasks do have some float, then
they go on the non-critical path, which means if this task is delayed the project can still finish
on time.

Crash duration is a term that describes the shortest amount of time that a task can be
scheduled. You can get there by moving around resources, adding more towards the end of the
task, to decrease the time needed to complete the task. This often means a reduction in quality,
but is based on a relationship between cost and time.

Critical Path: Basic Steps: The technique for figuring out the critical path in your project can be
boiled down to four essential steps.

Investigación de Operaciones Fuente: https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research

 1. List all the tasks needed to complete the project. You can use a work breakdown
structure, which is a hierarchical decomposition of the project, noting every deliverable.
2. Note the duration of each of those tasks, such as how long each one is going to take to
complete it and move onto the next one.
3. If there are any task dependencies, you want to collect them, too. A task dependency is
when one task cannot start until another one has been finished. It’s a key element of
good task management.
4. What are the milestones in the project? That being the major phases. Also, what are the
deliverables? Create a list of these.

When you have this data collected, you’re able to calculate the longest path your planned tasks
will take to reach the end of the project, as well as the earliest and latest that each task can
start and finish without impacting the project schedule.

Therefore, you’re determining what tasks are critical and which can float, meaning they can be
delayed without negatively impacting the project by making it longer. Now you have the
information you need to plan the schedule more accurately and have more of a guarantee you’ll
meet your project deadline.

You also need to consider other constraints that might change the project schedule. The more
you can account for these issues, the more accurate your critical path method will be. If time is
added to the project because of these constraints, that is called a critical path drag, which is
how much longer a project with take because of the task and constraint.

Related: Free Issue Tracking Template

There can be more than one critical path. Also, the critical path can change dependent on your
resource scheduling. It can also change over the course of your project.

Monitoring the Critical Path with ProjectManager.com: Monitoring the critical path is a way to
make sure your project stays on schedule. You can do this the easy way or the hard way.

The hard way is to create a network diagram that illustrates the activities that are networked
together and what their dependencies are. They are pinned to an early or late start date, which
allows you to understand the flow of the project. This is a complicated process, but it’s how it
has been done since the advent of project management.

In ProjectManager.com, thanks to our advanced Gantt chart, you can automate the calculation
of the critical path. Simply go to the Gantt chart view in our online project management
software, select the Gantt settings, and then filter to only show the Critical Path Tasks. It’s never
been so easy to calculate the critical path.
Investigación de Operaciones Fuente: https://www.britannica.com/topic/operations-research