Michael Gorman

Know Your Place! Cultural Trips and Traps in Applied Modeling

We know that modeling brings an organization to higher valued solutions. However, if the analytical approach does not fit with the organization and environment it is delivered in, it will not be used, or long-lived. I have identified 10 key “complicating factors” in model development that directly and indirectly affect model development. Any analytical solution that is developed which is ignorant of these factors is likely to fail. I go through a high-level account of the model development process, describing the pervasiveness and impact of these factors. I give illustrated examples from scores of successful, published projects of how these factors directly affected model development and incorporating that complication made the project a success. The audience member will come away with new insights into the fit between model and environment, and armed with the tools to succeed.