Human and Organization Challenges to the Use of Optimization

Optimization tools often have human users and are applied within sizeable organizations. Even though the benefits of optimization are well establish, practitioners find that challenges still exist in getting people to use these tools. Many of these challenges come from aspects of human and organizational behavior. This paper uses a case study to illustrate how these behavioral factors affect the acceptance of optimization tools, and shows how they can be addressed. It closes with two real world examples of large optimization-based initiatives.