Design and implementation of an optimization-based decision support system generator

Decision-makers today need to be able to rapidly …nd good solutions to increasingly complex problems. Optimization-based decision support systems (OBDSSs) can help decision-makers to meet this challenge. Building such systems, however, is expensive and time-consuming. In this paper we present the design of an OBDSS generator that greatly automates the development process by integrating a model specification with a database, a solver, and a graphical user interface (GUI). The generator automatically creates the database for storing the instantiating data, the GUI, and the solver interface. With this generator, an OR/MS analyst can build an OBDSS faster and more efficiently than using traditional tools. The resulting OBDSSs can be used by decision-makers with little knowledge of the underlying OR/MS technology. We also discuss our experience using the generator to develop production planning and truck dispatching OBDSSs for several firms in the context of a 3-year R&D project