IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jorsoc/v59y2008i3d10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602331.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Visualization and model formulation: an analysis of the sketches of expert modellers

Author

Listed:
  • L B Waisel

    (Concurrent Technologies)

  • W A Wallace

    (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

  • T R Willemain

    (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

Abstract

We report on an exploratory study of the use of sketches by experts engaged in the formulation of operational research models. We outline a methodology to identify sketches, link them to text in an associated verbal protocol, classify them, and relate their use to the modelling process. We found that use of sketches is part of the personal modelling style of experts, that sketches are used more when the focus is on model structure or realization than on model context or assessment, that sentential sketches tend to be started sooner than diagrammatic sketches, and that sketching generally begins earlier on more difficult problems. We expect that such descriptive studies of expert behaviour will be useful in developing a science of modelling and in teaching novice modellers.

Suggested Citation

  • L B Waisel & W A Wallace & T R Willemain, 2008. "Visualization and model formulation: an analysis of the sketches of expert modellers," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(3), pages 353-361, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:59:y:2008:i:3:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602331
    DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602331
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602331
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/palgrave.jors.2602331?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas R. Willemain, 1994. "Insights on Modeling from a Dozen Experts," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 42(2), pages 213-222, April.
    2. Thomas R. Willemain, 1995. "Model Formulation: What Experts Think About and When," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 43(6), pages 916-932, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Franco, L. Alberto & Hämäläinen, Raimo P. & Rouwette, Etiënne A.J.A. & Leppänen, Ilkka, 2021. "Taking stock of behavioural OR: A review of behavioural studies with an intervention focus," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 293(2), pages 401-418.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. T R Willemain & S G Powell, 2007. "How novices formulate models. Part II: a quantitative description of behaviour," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(10), pages 1271-1283, October.
    2. Frederic H. Murphy, 2005. "ASP, The Art and Science of Practice: Elements of a Theory of the Practice of Operations Research: Expertise in Practice," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 313-322, August.
    3. P Keys, 2006. "On becoming expert in the use of problem structuring methods," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(7), pages 822-829, July.
    4. Michael Pidd, 1999. "Just Modeling Through: A Rough Guide to Modeling," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 29(2), pages 118-132, April.
    5. S Robinson, 2008. "Conceptual modelling for simulation Part I: definition and requirements," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 59(3), pages 278-290, March.
    6. S G Powell & T R Willemain, 2007. "How novices formulate models. Part I: qualitative insights and implications for teaching," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 58(8), pages 983-995, August.
    7. Franco, L. Alberto & Hämäläinen, Raimo P., 2016. "Behavioural operational research: Returning to the roots of the OR profession," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 791-795.
    8. Tako, Antuela A. & Robinson, Stewart, 2010. "Model development in discrete-event simulation and system dynamics: An empirical study of expert modellers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 207(2), pages 784-794, December.
    9. Merrick, James H. & Weyant, John P., 2019. "On choosing the resolution of normative models," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(2), pages 511-523.
    10. O'Keefe, Robert M., 2016. "Experimental behavioural research in operational research: What we know and what we might come to know," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 249(3), pages 899-907.
    11. Lami, Isabella M. & Tavella, Elena, 2019. "On the usefulness of soft OR models in decision making: A comparison of Problem Structuring Methods supported and self-organized workshops," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 275(3), pages 1020-1036.
    12. Keys, Paul, 2000. "Creativity, design and style in MS/OR," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 303-312, June.
    13. Gass, Saul I., 1997. "The Washington operations research connection: the rest of the story," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 245-255, December.
    14. Brown, Joyce & Cooper, Ceri & Pidd, Michael, 2006. "A taxing problem: The complementary use of hard and soft OR in the public sector," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 172(2), pages 666-679, July.
    15. Zichong Lyu & Dirk Pons & Yilei Zhang & Zuzhen Ji, 2022. "Minimum Viable Model (MVM) Methodology for Integration of Agile Methods into Operational Simulation of Logistics," Logistics, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-28, June.
    16. Mike Chiasson & Robert Fildes & Mike Pidd, 2006. "Intelligent thinking instead of critical realism?," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(11), pages 1373-1375, November.
    17. repec:dgr:rugsom:04a03 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. John Mingers, 2006. "Response from the author: Intelligence and realism in OR," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 57(11), pages 1375-1379, November.
    19. Beroggi, Giampiero E. G., 2001. "Visual-interactive decision modeling (VIDEMO) in policy management: Bridging the gap between analytic and conceptual decision modeling," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(2), pages 338-350, January.
    20. Franco, L. Alberto & Hämäläinen, Raimo P. & Rouwette, Etiënne A.J.A. & Leppänen, Ilkka, 2021. "Taking stock of behavioural OR: A review of behavioural studies with an intervention focus," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 293(2), pages 401-418.
    21. Boonstra, Albert, 2004. "An empirical taxonomy of IS decision-making processes," Research Report 04A03, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    OR practice; OR education;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pal:jorsoc:v:59:y:2008:i:3:d:10.1057_palgrave.jors.2602331. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.