Bucknell University Uses PrecisionTree
in Cable TV Rollout Decision

Bucknell University, a highly respected liberal arts college in central Pennsylvania, offers digital cable television service in all of its 1,700 residence rooms. Palisade’s PrecisionTree decision analysis tool was instrumental in Bucknell’s decision to build the network and deploy the service.

A decision analysis project, led by Dr. Keith Willoughby and Associate Dean Christopher Zappe, was initiated to identify the best cable television technology. The team used Palisade’s PrecisionTree software to model the possible options and the risks involved. Dr Willoughby adds, “PrecisionTree’s graphical representations were quite valuable in communicating our modeling efforts to others.”

» Read the full case study
» Read the full paper on the project

Introducing Palisade User Forum
for Professors

Looking for ideas on how to incorporate Palisade tools in the classroom?

We have recently launched a new Academic Group in our online User Forums where professors and instructors can share information and ask questions to fellow instructors who use Palisade products.

@RISK and the DecisionTools Suite are integrated into coursework spanning across a wide variety of academic disciplines. This new Academic group is an opportunity for instructors to gather and discuss specific applications, example models and tips related to their area of teaching.

Simply register for the group in order to participate in discussion. Interested participants can email academic@palisade.com to gain access.
Active since 2003, the Palisade User Forums host an archive of discussions from users over the past 8 years. All of the discussions are categorized by Palisade software tool and are searchable by keyword.

» Click here for the Palisade User Forums - INSTRUCTOR group

 I use @RISK software from Palisade to do LDA
      (Loss Distribution Approach) risk quantifications.
      Integrated directly into Excel, it shows
      modelling steps in a simple and transparent
      manner. For these reasons, I consider it a very
      educational tool in my teaching. 

      Professor Sophie Bederic , Université de Cergy-Pontoise (France)

Over 60,000 students use the DecisionTools Suite annually in their MBA and graduate level programs. In 2010, over 800 universities worldwide adopted the DecisionTools Suite. Professors in business, engineering, OR, and other fields keep their students on the cutting edge by teaching the latest analytical techniques from Palisade. Some major schools with programs and courses that standardized on the DecisionTools Suite last month include:  

US and Canada:

International:

Palisade is happy to showcase professors who implement our tools into their teaching. For the month of February we would like to introduce you to Dr. Phil Rogers from the University of Houston.

Dr. Phil Rogers – University of Houston

Dr. Phil Rogers, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Houston’s C. T. Bauer College of Business, exposes hundreds of students to @RISK each year—in multiple courses and across two continents.

At the graduate level, Dr. Rogers uses @RISK in two MBA electives: Business Modeling for Competitive Advantage, and Managerial Decision Making. In the fall of 2011, Business Modeling and Decision Making will blend the two courses together and will be a required course in the Executive MBA program. Dr. Rogers also teaches an undergraduate course for Supply Chain Management majors called Spreadsheet Modeling for Business Applications where he introduces Palisade tools as well.

“@RISK enables problem solvers to deal with risk and uncertainty in a more thorough way than the traditional approach of considering a few scenarios,” Dr. Rogers says. “It is seamlessly integrated into Excel and is very user friendly and accessible to business students. The graphics are very appealing and useful and many types of sensitivity analysis are included. Students get real insight into what is driving the results of their models.”

The University of Houston also runs an MBA program in Beijing for Sinopec and CNPC, the two largest petrochemical companies in China. Professors from the University of Houston travel to Beijing and conduct three-credit courses in very intense, four-day sessions. When Dr. Rogers travels to China to teach the course Scientific Methods Applied to Decision Making in the Energy Industry he arranges for a temporary license of Palisade’s DecisionTools Suite. This year he was able to take advantage of the newly released DecisionTools Suite 5.7, which was translated into Chinese for the first time. “The Chinese language format made it much easier for me to teach @RISK, and for the students to use it,” said Dr. Rogers.

Dr. Rogers was first introduced to @RISK and the DecisionTools Suite when he adopted the text “Practical Management Science” by Winston and Albright to develop his courses.

In 2009, Dr. Rogers teamed up with Palisade to host an Academic Symposium at the University of Houston, exposing new professors and academics to Palisade’s offerings. In the spring of 2011, Dr. Rogers will host a live web cast for Palisade. Dr. Rogers is also featured in one of Palisade’s academic case studies.

“Dr. Rogers has been invaluable to Palisade over the years—a true champion in the academic arena for our products,” says Jaime Weisberg, Regional Sales Manager, Palisade Corporation.

» More about Dr. Rogers and Palisade tools in his classes

There are three easy ways to get the DecisionTools Suite for your students:

Get DecisionTools Suite 5.7 for your course by contacting:

Palisade Academic Sales    
800-432-7475 / 607-277-8000
academic@palisade.com

After a couple of years dealing with your
      company, and years of dealing with many
      other software vendors, I can say that your
      service and support are outstanding. 

      Zeljko Bratic, Desktop Management Solution Analyst,
         Kwantlen Polytechnic University

The DecisionTools Suite is a great way to present quantitative techniques in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way. Each month we feature an example or tip illustrating how students can gain “real world” benefits by implementing quantitative analysis.

Timing Market Entry
Excerpted from Decision Making Under Uncertainty with RISKOptimizer by Wayne Winston, published by Palisade Corporation

When a high-tech company is trying to determine whether to market a new product there is a great deal of uncertainty. Should we enter the market now, not knowing if growth in the market will be high or low? If we enter now, we get a larger market share than we would get by entering later. The downside is we may have a high share of a small market. If we wait a few years, we will know if market growth will be high or low, but we have missed out on several years of sales and will probably obtain a reduced market share due to our late entry. RISKOptimizer can be used to make these complex entry decisions. The following example explores some of the important issues involved in the decision to enter a market.

» Download the example spreadsheet and step-by-step instructions

The DecisionTools Suite is included in dozens of major textbooks, and is a key component of more titles every year. Authors use the DecisionTools Suite to illustrate key analytical concepts and build examples demonstrating the value of quantitative techniques in business, OR, and engineering.

Practical Management Science -
Spreadsheet Modeling and Applications
By Wayne Winston and Dr. Chris Albright

This text takes an active-learning approach, providing numerous examples and problems so students can practice extensively with a concept before moving on. Four types of problems -- skill-building, skill-extending, modeling, and cases are graded within sections and chapters to help instructors assign homework. Another important feature is the way that the text integrates modeling into all functional areas of business: finance, marketing, operations management using real examples and real data. Examples utilize @RISK, PrecisionTree, RISKOptimizer, and more. The text emphasizes modeling over algebraic formulations and memorization of particular models. Shell files are also provided so that instructors can give students as much or as little information as they need.

» Learn more from the publisher
» See a list of books bundled with Palisade software

Professors, PhD candidates, practitioners and others often use the DecisionTools Suite as part of a complex analysis to address important problems. These analyses are published in white papers. Each month we will feature a different academic white paper addressing a wide range of issues.

@RISK and BestFit Models Provide Insight on Biological Control Impact on Monarch Butterflies.
R. L. Koch et al pub: Biological Invasion, 2006

A quantitative risk assessment Study from the University of Minnesota.

 View the full paper

Professors using Palisade software share examples and teaching tips they've used in class in Palisade's Academic Webcast series. Register online at no charge.

Gambling, Money Management,
and Monte Carlo Simulation
Presented by Dr. Wayne Winston, Professor of Operations & Decision Technologies,Kelley School of Business at Indiana University
March 24, 2011, 1:00pm ET

Wayne Winston will demonstrate @RISK models that apply to various casino games such as roulette, keno, poker and craps. He will also explain the money management strategy (known as the Kelly Growth Criterion) adopted by the students profiled in the movie "21." (There is NO CHARGE for this webcast.)

» Register now

Using RISKOptimizer/Evolver in Determining
Optimal Swaps for Risk Mitigation
Presented by Dr. Roy Nersesian, Professor at the Center for Energy Marine Transportation and Public Policy, Columbia University
March 30, 2011, 11:00am ET

Determining optimal levels of financial derivatives to mitigate risk oftentimes involve normal or lognormal distribution along with a standard deviation. In this free live webcast, Roy Nersesian proposes that simulating future prices can be done by examining historical daily or weekly price changes to obtain a histogram of absolute price changes. (There is NO CHARGE for this webcast.)

» Register now
» See complete Webcast schedule

Palisade Corporation is the world’s leading provider of risk and decision analysis software and solutions. Founded in 1984, its products @RISK and the DecisionTools Suite are used by over 95% of the Fortune 100, in nearly every industry around the world. Palisade is headquartered in New York State, and has offices in London, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo.

What is The DecisionTools Suite?

The DecisionTools Suite is the world’s only integrated set of risk and decision analysis programs. The Suite includes @RISK for Monte Carlo simulation, PrecisionTree for decision trees, and TopRank for “what if” sensitivity analysis. In addition, DecisionTools Suite comes with StatTools for statistical analysis and forecasting, NeuralTools for predictive neural networks, and Evolver and RISKOptimizer for optimization. All programs work together seamlessly, and all integrate completely with Microsoft Excel for ease of use and maximum flexibility.

The Suite is offered in three affordable and flexible licensing options for those in academia: Student Versions, Course Licenses and Full Academic Versions.

» Schools using Palisade software
» Textbooks using Palisade software

» Bucknell University Uses
   PrecisionTree in Cable TV
   Rollout Decision

» Introducing Palisade
   User Forum for
   Professors

» Recent School Adoptions

» Licensing Options

» Spotlight
   Dr. Phil Rogers
   University of Houston

» Teaching Tips &
   Examples
   Timing Market Entry

» Textbook of the Month
   Practical Management
   Science - Spreadsheet
   Modeling and Applications

» Featured White Paper
  @RISK and BestFit Models
   Provide Insight on Biological
   Control Impact on
   Monarch Butterflies.

» Academic Live Webcast
   Using RISKOptimizer/
   Evolver in Determining
   Optimal Swaps for Risk
   Mitigation

» About Palisade and the
   DecisionTools Suite

Industry
experts
present real-
world case studies about
innovative and interesting approaches to risk and
decision analysis. Also,
ever-popular workshops and
training delivered by Palisade
consultants, and previews of
new software.
» Amsterdam:
   29-30 March
» México, D.F.:
   1-2 June
» Rio de Janeiro
   14-15 September
» Las Vegas
   10-11 November

» Trade Shows
Palisade will be attending the following trade shows in the coming months.
US/Canada
2011 ASQ Lean and
Six Sigma Conference
February 28th - March 1st
Phoenix, AZ
INFORMS Conference
on Business Analytics
and Operations Research
April 10th - 12th
Chicago, IL
PMI Global Congress 2011
North America
October 22nd – October 25th
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Middle East
MEOS 2011
March 21st -23rd
Manama, Bahrain
Europe
Gastech 2011
March 21st -24th
Amsterdam
PMI EMEA Global
Congress 2011
May 9th - 11th
Dublin
MIOGE 2011
June 21st - 23rd
Moscow
58th ISI Congress 2011
August 21st - 26th
Dublin

Brazil
São Paulo: 29-31 de março
Rio De Janeiro: 6-8 de abril
Belo Horizonte: 11-13 de maio

EMEA & India
Barcelona: 28 Feb.- 1 March
London: 12-13 April
London: 24-25 May
London: 20-21 June
Moscow: 23-24 June

Latin America
Buenos Aires: 21-23 de marzo
Lima: 11-13 de abril
Santiago, Chile: 5-7 de abril
Panamá: 11-13 de mayo

North America
Houston: 15-16 March
Washington, DC: 5-7 April
Phoenix: 19-21 April
Miami: 3-5 May
Chicago: 17-19 May
Calgary: 7-9 June
Mount Laurel, NJ: 21-22 June

» Live Web Training
Decision-Making and Quantitative Risk Analysis using @RISK
PART I
28-29 April, 11am-3pm ET

PART II
12-13 May, 11am-3pm ET

Decision-Making and Quantitative Risk Analysis using the DecisionTools Suite
PART I
17-18 March, 9am-1pm ET
1-2 June, 11am-3pm ET

PART II
18-19 April, 9am-1pm ET
30 June - 1 July, 11am-3pm ET

Project Risk Assessment Using @RISK for Project
14 April, 9am-1pm ET
11 July, 11am-3pm ET

Análisis de decisión y de riesgo cuantitativo utilizando @RISK, PART II
1 al 2 de marzo
11am-3pm CST

» Live Webcasts
These complimentary sessions are 30-60 minutes, held via web conference. See industry case studies, software demos, applications, and more.

Introduction to Risk
Analyisis using @RISK
Feb 24, 2011, 10:00am GMT
Chris Marlow,
Palisade Corporation
» Register

Gambling, Money
Management, and
Monte Carlo Simulation
March 24, 2011, 1:00pm ET
Dr. Wayne Winston
Professor, Kelley School of
Business at Indiana University
» Register

Using RISKOptimizer/Evolver
in Determining Optimal Swaps
for Risk Mitigation
March 30, 2011, 11:00am ET
Roy Nersesian, Professor, Columbia University
» Register

Palisade software is available in fully functional trial versions. Try @RISK or any of our software today!


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