Customer Reviews

Decision Making Under Uncertainty With RISKOptimizer : A Step-To-Step Guide Using Palisade's RISKOptimizer for Excel

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The first impression from the book was great. There are really good examples of different optimization problems - product mix, manpower allocation etc. However, missing example files from the chapters on option pricing have ruined this good impression. Without the example files (that are supposed to be on the accompanying CD) the chapters loose a good portion of their value, as the historical data are missing, which is hard to recreate and check if you understand the material right. Another bad experience with the book is the fact that CD that came with the first book that I received was damaged and completely unusable. Thanks to the Amazon.com, they sent me the second copy of the book with a new CD free of charge. But the facts are that if you buy the book, you cannot be sure that the CD is usable, and if it is, then some of the example files will be missing. In my opinion, for the price they charge for the book, you could expect a little bit more quality.

Anyone in operations will find something of value in this book. There is a good variety of problems, and good explanations of how to solve them. The book is accompanied with Palisade.com's Risk Optimizer software. Be sure to check their web site; they post updates to software, and they seem like a pretty good company to deal with, as well.

With his various books and software, Dr Winston really helps the business manager leverage his productivity.

I was disappointed to discover that RISKOptimizer software included with this book was just a 10-day trial version. After that, you have to buy the $700 license for the software. For books like this, obviously aimed to a large extent at business students, it seems much more logical to include a reduced capacity version with a perpetual license, as other similar books do.

I bought this book so that I could learn more about using the @Risk tool with excel. The CD was not delivered with the book, which was not a big deal for me as I already have a licensed copy. However, beware of which version of @Risk you are using prior to buying this book. I am using the Industrial version 5.7.1 with a copyright of 2010. This book does not match the software I am using. The software and book are not even close to being the same as I learned quickly on page 4 of the book. The examples included in the book seem reasonable for someone trying to learn how to use @Risk, however the menus shown in the book do not match the newer versions of SW. Be aware of which version software you have before spending money on this book. Thankfully I bought it used and am only out ~$13 as the book is totally useless. I thought I would continue reading the book with hopes of obtaining some useful information, which did not happen. Big disappointment, I should have thought about checking the release date on the book prior to buying.