Lonnie focuses on how computers can help you improve decision making and strategic planning in novel situations. For example, you might evaluate a new initiative or proposed policy that has never been tried before. Or the future world may change as a result of emerging technologies, a pandemic, climate change, or new regulations. Without historic precedent, you cannot simply extrapolate from the past, thus limiting the effectiveness of BI, data analysis and machine learning tools. Decision makers often find it challenging to develop a core understanding of key issues, core objectives and options, complex tradeoffs, and incomplete information and uncertainty. Different stakeholders are prone to adopt advocacy positions, which then hampers communication and rationality. Lonnie leads the design and development of Analytica, a software tool designed to address these types of challenges and proven successful, through the promotion of transparent model-based decision making. He will discuss how its unique design promotes clarity and insight.
