OR/MS Today - February 2001

February 2001

INFORMS Online

New Editor's Plan

By Matthew Saltzman

I'd like to begin this column, my first as editor of IOL, by expressing my appreciation for outgoing IOL Editor Mike Trick. Mike served for six years and brought IOL from its earliest incarnation to its current position as a premier information resource for operations research and management science.

I'd also like to thank the IOL editorial staff, particularly those who will continue to support IOL: Deputy Editor Brian Borchers (New Mexico Tech); Associate Editors Jeffrey Herrmann (University of Maryland), Gary Koehler (University of Florida), Jay Rajgopal (University of Pittsburgh) and Vicki Sauter (University of Missouri-St. Louis); incoming Associate Editor Robin Lougee-Heimer (IBM Research); and Randy Kiefer, Mike Harris, Barry List, Lisa Klose, Ginni McGee, Tanya Skorohod, and others on the INFORMS office staff.

A few words about myself and my background: I am an associate professor of Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University. My research interests are in computational optimization, particularly integer programming. I also have a long-held side interest in computing and information technology. I have been affiliated with IOL since 1995 as associate editor for Conferences, and I have been closely involved with the technical aspects of running IOL.

I have been vice president of Information Technology for INFORMS for two years and will be serving my second term in that position for the next two years.

Whither Iol?

The INFORMS Board envisions INFORMS' future as a "Web-based" organization. That is, the primary vehicle for delivery of information and services to members will be INFORMS Online (www.informs.org). The major thrust of my efforts will be to deliver these services as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.

There are numerous such services that IOL already delivers. Users are certainly familiar with the online conference abstract forms, bulletins and registration services; the Job Placement Service and other employment services; Pubs Online; the membership directory; and others. There are also some obvious omissions. A high priority is to provide members with the ability to update online their entries in the membership database and to renew and update memberships and subscriptions with online payments. We also will accept new member sign-ups online. These features are expected before the end of the first quarter of 2001.

As IOL grows larger and the number of services that it provides increases, the burden on volunteers grows heavier. With 25,000-plus pages and a number of recurring activities, the complexity of IOL has reached the limit of the ability of our small band of brave volunteers to keep up. To help regain control, we will be enlisting the assistance of paid staff at INFORMS to help with regular maintenance. Critical subsystems (such as the member profile and renewal system) are being outsourced. This plan will allow the volunteers to concentrate on developing content and enhanced technology for other new services that are not mission-critical or security-sensitive.

We will also be looking at content-management systems to help manage the complex web of pages at IOL and keep the update process smooth.

Members Only

Membership renewal forms mailed out this fall included a reference to a new "Members-Only" area of IOL. Mike Trick also discussed this idea in his column in the December issue of OR/MS Today. Certainly the member profile and renewal services will be members-only. Exactly which other services will be offered on this basis will be determined principally by the Membership Committee. Mike alluded to the tension between the two roles of IOL as a member service and a public information resource (and marketing tool). This is a balance that must be carefully struck, trading off the goal of adding value to INFORMS membership with and the goal of publicizing the society's activities.

An additional issue to be resolved is the user interface to member-only services. Currently, Pubs Online subscribers must authenticate with member number and password to the Pubs Online server at http://pubsonline.informs.org in order to access articles. When profile and renewal services are available, they will require authentication to a separate e-commerce server that will handle database updates and credit card payments. It is not desirable to proliferate authentications beyond the minimum necessary, so we will need to settle how access to member-only areas will be controlled with minimum inconvenience.

At the San Antonio meeting, the INFORMS Board and the Roundtable discussed new services for IOL that would address the needs of OR/MS practitioners. Robin Lougee-Heimer of IBM Research has volunteered to be the associate editor for Practice at IOL and is working on the design and creation of a practice portal.

Your Input

INFORMS is your society and INFORMS Online is your Web resource. If you have ideas for improvements or new services that would be of value, please let me know. Even better, if you'd like to volunteer to help make IOL a better resource by contributing content or technology, I'd like to hear from you. Contact me at iol_editor@mail.informs.org.

Matthew Salztman is an associate professor of Mathematical Sciences at Clemson University, the editor of INFORMS Online and vice president-Information Technology of INFORMS.

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