de cis io n a na lys i s
In all, this year’s survey features 38
software packages from a total of 21
vendors, with some vendors listing multiple tools or multiple versions of the same
tool. Eleven vendors from 2012 did not
participate this year, but seven new vendors have joined the response list. And
while some software packages are listed
for the first time, many from the 2012 survey have returned, albeit with some new
features.
2014 Results
As was the case with previous editions of the survey, this year’s results
(see sidebar) reflect a diverse group of
vendors and prices. Along with the United States, companies from the United
Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, Finland
and Canada are represented. Meanwhile, prices for the software packages
range from under $20 to several thousand dollars, depending on the type of
license and the nature of the package.
And as in previous survey editions, use
examples range throughout commercial and government industries to include energy, finance, healthcare and
defense.
Focusing on updated features from
2012, many vendors report improvements to user interfaces in addition to
new technical functions such as additional probability distributions and
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interfaces with Microsoft products (e.g.,
Excel). Regarding a topic highlighted in
the 2012 introductory article, this year’s
list features six new Web implementations: three as new features from returning packages and three from packages
submitting to the survey for the first time.
While not all software tools will (or
should) offer Web implementations, the
change is worth noting because it may
indicate the presence of a trend likely to
continue in the future.
In both 2010 and 2012, the topics of
“built-in coaching” and classroom vs. online training were discussed. This year’s
proportion of software packages offering
online training increased by 10 percent
(from 45 percent to 55 percent) with a
corresponding 13 percent decrease
in classroom training. While some of
this change is due to certain vendors
not returning from 2012, several packages now claim to offer online training
for the first time. Indeed, the decision
analysis community may soon find the
will and capability to provide what Don
Buckshaw wondered would be possible
in his analysis of the 2010 survey: builtin coaching that allows “a novice [to be]
confident that their models are producing sensible results.” [2]
Beyond such noticeable swings as
training options, the small number of entries and changing group of respondents
w w w. i n f o r m s . o r g