A modelling and decision aid for supporting telecommunications investments

The authors describe a set of tools supporting the financial planning of a telecommunications service. Three of these are decision-analytic and support problem structuring and analysis in particular. The fourth one contains domain-specific knowledge about the structure of the network, which was modelled via an object-oriented approach. With this tool the user can compare the consequences of alternative investment and tariff policies. The system was implemented on an AI workstation, whereby special attention was paid to interactiveness of use and visualization of results and premises. The AI environment (Xerox 1186 AI, InterLisp-D and Loops) exhibited clear advantages over conventional environments. First, the more advanced programming tools allowed the system to be developed in a much shorter time than otherwise would have been possible. Second, the environment provided means to build a user-friendly interface with high-resolution graphics, multiple windows, and mouse-driven menus