This attractive textbook with its easy-to-follow presentation provides a down-to-earth introduction to operations research for students in a wide range of fields such as engineering, business analytics, mathematics and statistics, computer science, and econometrics. It is the result of many years of teaching and collective feedback from students.The book covers the basic models in both deterministic and stochastic operations research and is a springboard to more specialized texts, either practical or theoretical. The emphasis is on useful models and interpreting the solutions in the context of concrete applications.The text is divided into several parts. The first three chapters deal exclusively with deterministic models, including linear programming with sensitivity analysis, integer programming and heuristics, and network analysis. The next three chapters primarily cover basic stochastic models and techniques, including decision trees, dynamic programming, optimal stopping, production planning, and inventory control. The final five chapters contain more advanced material, such as discrete-time and continuous-time Markov chains, Markov decision processes, queueing models, and discrete-event simulation.Each chapter contains numerous exercises, and a large selection of exercises includes solutions.

Richard J Boucherie is a full Professor of Stochastic Operations Research in the Department of Applied Mathematics of the University of Twente, co-founder and co-chair of the Center for Healthcare Operations Improvement and Research (CHOIR) in healthcare logistics, and co-founder of the spin-off company Rhythm, that carries out implementations of healthcare logistics solutions.Aleida Braaksma is an Assistant Professor of Stochastic Operations Research in the Department of Applied Mathematics of the University of Twente, and member of the Center for Healthcare of Operations Improvement and Research (CHOIR). She obtained her PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Twente and was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Henk Tijms is an Emeritus Professor in Applied Mathematics at the Vrije University Amsterdam. He is the author of several textbooks, including the WSPC book Basic Probability. In 2008, he received the Expository Writing Award for his publications and books. Also, he is honorary member of the Tinbergen Institute in Amsterdam.