This greatly enhanced the ease of use of my first package and subsequent versions. In the early development of the software, I learned much about how students reacted to the user interface from looking over my students’ shoulders as they worked with the software and by listening to their feedback. While a few educational programs in OR/MS existed, I was confident that with my combined knowledge of computers and OR/MS I could develop the most user-friendly software in the field. What was your goal in writing the software? The first model I developed was linear programming. I always enjoyed programming and had a vision of what the user interface should look like and how it should behave on an Apple II based on the work I had done on the PDP 12. I began developing educational software for my students on an Apple II in the late 1970s. How did you become interested in developing educational software for OR/MS applications? I became interested in all of the topics, especially formulating linear programs, due to both the classic Hillier and Lieberman textbook and the outstanding teaching of my professor, David Steinberg. I had never heard of operations research or management science until I was a junior in college and took a required “Introduction to Operations Research” course.

What attracted you to study and work in the field of OR/MS? With the development of the software packages, I have been able to, once again, combine applied math with computer science. in management science rather than computer science. When I graduated I chose to go to Northwestern to pursue a Ph.D. This was one of the first microcomputers despite being as big as a refrigerator. In addition, as a senior I learned even more about computers and programming when I was employed to write assembly language programs on a PDP 12 machine. This was a very rare major at the time, but it is the perfect combination for writing operations software. degree in applied math and computer science from Washington University. What was your educational background that prepared you to develop your software applications? He was gracious enough to offer his thoughts about the development of educational software. Professor Weiss has developed educational software including POM for Windows, QM for Windows, Excel OM and Excel QM for textbooks over the past 25 years.

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing Howard Weiss ( professor of management science and operations management at Temple University.

Howard Weiss has developed educational software for 25 years.

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