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Arriving in my mail, on May 9, `996, was an upgrade announcement for @RISK. This is a popular spreadsheet add-in for doing Monte Carlo simulation.
@RISK provides three general capabilities for the spreadsheet modeler:
1. Thirty-seven distribution functions, including the new PERT and Beta Subjective, are provided for sampling random variables (i.e., probability distributions).
2. The spreadsheet is surrounded by a control shell that provides for executing the trial iterations, saving output values, and monitoring execution.
3. Data summarization and graphics routines are provided to analyze and display the run results.
@RISK 3.5 uses the 32-bit architecture of Windows 95. Palisade claims this results in improved stability and performance (I'll find out). Additionally, the new version handles larger models.
Palisade Corporation can be contacted at:
31 Decker Road
Newfield, NY 14867-9988, USA
(800) 432-7475 (in US)
(607) 277-8000 phone
(607) 277-8001 fax
http://www.palisade.com or direct to @RISK: http://www.palisade.com/html/risk.html
sales@palisade.com
@RISK and its chief competitor, Crystal Ball , are both excellent tools for Monte Carlo simulation when the underlying business model is in a spreadsheet.
-- John Schuyler May 9, 1996, rev. 28-Oct-99