Business Analytics

Jeffrey W. Ohlmann is Associate Professor of Business Analytics and Huneke Research Fellow in the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa. Born in Valentine, Nebraska, he earned a B.S. from the University of Nebraska and his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has been at the University of Iowa since 2003. Dr. Ohlmann’s research on the modeling and solution of decision-making problems has produced more than two dozen research papers in journals such as Operations Research, Mathematics of Operations Research, INFORMS Journal on Computing, Transportation Science, the European Journal of Operational Research and INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics (formerly Interfaces). He has collaborated with companies such as Transfreight, LeanCor, Cargill, the Hamilton County Board of Elections as well as three National Football League franchises. Because of the relevance of his work to industry, he was bestowed the George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award and was recognized as a finalist for the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice. Jeffrey D. Camm is the Inmar Presidential Chair of Analytics and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty in the School of Business at Wake Forest University. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he holds a B.S. from Xavier University (Ohio) and a Ph.D. from Clemson University. Prior to joining the faculty at Wake Forest, Dr. Camm served on the faculty of the University of Cincinnati. He has also been a visiting scholar at Stanford University and a visiting professor of business administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. Dr. Camm has published more than 45 papers in the general area of optimization applied to problems in operations management and marketing. He has published his research in Science, Management Science, Operations Research, The INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics and other professional journals. Dr. Camm was named the Dornoff Fellow of Teaching Excellence at the University of Cincinnati and he was the recipient of the 2006 INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of Operations Research Practice. A firm believer in practicing what he preaches, he has served as a consultant to numerous companies and government agencies. Dr. Camm served as editor-in-chief of INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics and is an INFORMS fellow. James J. Cochran is Professor of Applied Statistics, the Mike and Cathy Mouron Research Chair and Associate Dean for Faculty and Research at the University of Alabama. Born in Dayton, Ohio, he earned his B.S., M.S. and M.B.A. degrees from Wright State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Cochran has served at The University of Alabama since 2014 and has been a visiting scholar at Stanford University, Universidad de Talca, the University of South Africa and Pole Universitaire Leonard de Vinci. Dr. Cochran has published more than 50 papers in the development and application of operations research and statistical methods. He has published his research in Management Science, The American Statistician, Communications in Statistics-Theory and Methods, Annals of Operations Research, European Journal of Operational Research, Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics, BMJ Global Health and Statistics and Probability Letters. He was the 2008 recipient of the INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of Operations Research Practice and the 2010 recipient of the Mu Sigma Rho Statistical Education Award. He received the Founders Award in 2014 and the Karl E. Peace Award in 2015 from the American Statistical Association. In 2017 he received the American Statistical Association’s Waller Distinguished Teaching Career Award and in 2018 he received the INFORMS President’s Award. Dr. Cochran is an elected member of the International Statistics Institute, a fellow of the American Statistical Association and a fellow of INFORMS. A strong advocate for effective statistics and operations research education as a means of improving the quality of applications to real problems, Dr. Cochran has organized and chaired teaching workshops throughout the world. Michael J. Fry is Professor of Operations, Business Analytics and Information Systems, Lindner Research Fellow and Managing Director of the Center for Business Analytics in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Born in Killeen, Texas, he earned a B.S. from Texas A&M University and his M.S.E. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He has been at the University of Cincinnati since 2002, where he was previously department head. He has also been a visiting professor at Cornell University and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Fry has published more than 25 research papers in journals such as Operations Research, M&SOM, Transportation Science, Naval Research Logistics, IISE Transactions, Critical Care Medicine and INFORMS Journal on Applied Analytics. His research interests are in applying quantitative management methods to the areas of supply chain analytics, sports analytics and public-policy operations. He has worked with many organizations for his research, including Dell, Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, Great American Insurance Group, the Cincinnati Fire Department, the State of Ohio Election Commission, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. Dr. Fry was named a finalist for the Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice, and he has been recognized for both his research and teaching excellence at the University of Cincinnati.

1. Introduction.
2. Descriptive Statistics.
3. Data Visualization.
4. Probability: An Introduction to Modeling Uncertainty.
5. Descriptive Data Mining.
6. Statistical Inference.
7. Linear Regression.
8. Time Series Analysis and Forecasting.
9. Predictive Data Mining.
10. Spreadsheet Modeling.
11. Monte Carlo Simulation.
12. Linear Optimization Models.
13. Integer Linear Optimization Models.
14. Nonlinear Optimization Models.
15. Decision Analysis.
Appendix A: Basics of Excel.
Appendix B: Database Basics with Microsoft Access.
Appendix C: Solutions to Even-Numbered Questions (online).