Spreadsheets and OR/MS Models: An End-User Perspective

In 1986, Bodily stated that practitioners could use spreadsheets to model management science/operations research (OR/MS) problems. We surveyed OR practitioners to determine the extent of implementation of these OR/MS problems in a spreadsheet environment and found that end users are solving OR/MS problems using spreadsheets across many functional areas of business, though in varying degrees. Some areas show higher use than others and spreadsheet models are being used to implement various OR tools in a pattern very similar to their use in the nonspreadsheet environment.