Whither VIM?-A developer’s view

Visual interactive modelling is where it is today because of the output of the (relatively few) VIM ‘software package’ developers, driven by rapid improvements in the technology of micros and colour screens. There are now many VIM users-most Operational Research units use VIM, and they are all convinced of its appeal. There is undoubtedly a rapid widening in the range of VIM application areas. But of more importance to the package developers is the extension of the VIM user profile to include those with, perhaps, less modelling ability than the Operational Research professional. These market pressures raise some questions in the developer’s mind: what is the intrinsic nature of a problem which makes it susceptible to the VIM approach? What should be the intrinsic nature of VIM software? Does ‘ease of use’ necessarily mean ‘less powerful’? Is there a danger in putting a powerful technique into the hands of the inexperienced modeller? How can model development keep pace with the thought process of the problem owner, and help to ’uncover’ the problem?