INFORMS Cincinnati 1999 Cluster:
OR/MS in the News

OR/MS in the News

SC34.1 Are Product Life Cycles Really Getting Shorter?

• Barry L. Bayus; University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business Sch., CB 3490, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3490; barry.bayus@unc.edu

The conventional wisdom that 'product life cycles are shrinking' has been used to support a general recommendation to speed new products to market. However, very little empirical evidence on this topic exists. Indeed, statistical analyses of the personal computer industry indicate that product lifetimes are not accelerating. Implications of these findings will be discussed.

SC34.2 Learning by Experimentation: Implications for R&D Performance

• Stefan Thomke; Harvard Business School, Morgan Hall T63, Soldiers Field, Boston, MA 02163; sthomke@hbs.edu

New forms of experimentation, e.g., computer simulation, combinatorial chemistry, etc., are changing the economics of iterative problem-solving in R&D and are now used in many fields ranging from automotive development to drug discovery. To fully leverage these new forms for increasing R&D performance, however, firms need to rethink their traditional processes...

SC34.3 10 Years of Needle Exchange Research: OR in the AIDS Epidemic

• Edward H. Kaplan; Yale University, Sch. of Organization & Mgmt., Box 208200, New Haven, CT 06520-8200; edward.kaplan@yale.edu

Needle exchange programs allow drug injectors to trade used needles for clean ones with the goal of slowing the spread of the AIDS virus. The OR methods developed for evaluating these programs have received prominent attention in the media. Starting with New Haven, Connecticut's legal needle exchange in 1990, OR models have been featured in major reports...

SC34.4 Do You Lose if You Cruise? How to Park at the Mall

• John E. Kobza; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Dept. of ISE (0118), 250 NEB, Blacksburg, VA 24061; jkobza@vt.edu
• C. Richard Cassady; Mississippi State University, Dept. of IE, 125 McCain Bldg., PO Box 9542, Mississippi State, MS 39762-9542;

Frustrated drivers have searched for parking spaces as long as there have been automobiles. We discuss 2 parking strategies. One uses more driving time in hopes of getting a parking space closer to the store. The other quickly chooses a parking space hoping to avoid a lengthy search. An OR model can help to determine which is best.