The theme of this year’s conference is the end-to-end process of designing, developing, and deploying optimization projects. We will discuss not only models and algorithms, but how Operations Researchers can engage with end users, stakeholders and work with other specialists to deliver impact in their work. The core focus of the conference is this intersection of research, expertise and practical applications and how it affects OR projects in all stages, from conceptualization to practical use.
The conference will explore how to make OR solutions more easily accessible to a wider, non-expert audience, and discussions and presentations will help us as practitioners better understand how we can bring our solutions into use. The goal is to increase the impact and usage of OR across industries and application domains.
Our GAMS Presentation by Justine Broihan.
“The model solved the problem to optimality, but the client never used it.”
This is the nightmare scenario for every Operations Research practitioner. In this session, I will move beyond the theoretical elegance of algorithms to discuss the gritty reality of working as an OR consultant. This is a candid, “no sugar-coating” look at the end-to-end journey of delivering projects—from the messy ambiguity of initial specifications to the human hurdles of final deployment. Drawing on experience from different projects, I will share stories of both hard-won successes and instructive failures. I will outline practical strategies for managing stakeholder expectations and ensuring model explainability. The goal is to provide awareness for common pitfalls in OR projects and how to maintain clarity and alignment throughout the project lifecycle, ensuring the final delivery is not just accurate, but adopted.
Justine Broihan
GAMS Software GmbH Augustinusstr. 11b 50226 Frechen Deutschland
jbroihan@gams.com
Biography As a Senior Projects and Consulting Specialist at GAMS Software GmbH, Justine has spent the last three years navigating the end-to-end delivery of numerous Operations Research projects. Her role focuses on guiding clients to not only enhance their GAMS skills but to design and deploy robust optimization solutions that work in the real world. This practical consulting experience is built upon a strong academic foundation, comprising six years of research and teaching and a PhD in Operations Research.
