Prescriptive Analytics

3 Units

Prescriptive Analytics is the process that uses analytical techniques drawn from various disciplines to analyze raw historical data and recommend actionable optimal decisions. It suggests strategy over possible scenarios and help answer what-if answers. This course will focus on two key areas: (1) Deterministic Operations Analytics, where the use of optimization modeling techniques to make business decisions is introduced. The emphasis is on core optimization methodologies such as linear programming, integer programming, non-linear programming, and need for heuristic models. (2) Stochastic Operations Analytics, where the main focus is to introduce the idea of Computer Simulation to study and analyze systems and processes where needed information is uncertain. It is a process of designing and creating a computerized model (video game!) -- with the help of commonly used software -- that mimics an existing or proposed system so as to better understand the behavior of the system and allows analysts to perform what-if-analysis for future. Examples and Case studies are drawn from various business functions. Prereq: BUAI 433 or SCMG 433 .