This textbook owes much of its success to its practical orientation and consistent emphasis on model formulation and model building. It moves beyond a mere study of algorithms without sacrificing the rigour that lecturers desire. As in every edition, Winston reinforces the book's successful features and coverage with the most recent developments in the field. The \'Student Suite\' CD-ROM, which now accompanies every new copy of the text, contains the latest versions of commercial software for optimization, simulation, and decision analysis.