We consider single-machine stochastic scheduling models with due dates as decisions. In addition to showing how to satisfy given service-level requirements, we examine variations of a model in which the tightness of due-dates conflicts with the desire to minimize tardiness. We show that a...

How do experienced spreadsheet users compare to inexperienced ones, and what light can this comparison shed on spreadsheet best practices? This is the question we address in this paper, using the results from a survey of nearly 1600 respondents. This survey was completed by a wide range of...

Based on theoretical arguments and empirical evidence we advocate the use of the lognormal distribution as a model for activity times. However, raw data on activity times are often subject to rounding and to the Parkinson effect. We address those factors in our statistical tests by using a...

The deterministic multi-product single-machine production and inventory problem is one of the simplest models in which production and inventory factors interact. There is at present no algorithm available which solves the problem optimally, and several different types of approaches have been...

We investigate how to allocate work in stochastic assembly systems so as to maximize throughput. We use Markov models for systems with exponential processing times and simulation-based methods for other probability distributions. We find that assembly systems should be unbalanced in the...