Chapter 1
   
    With today's technology, complicated data processing methods are made possible. These methods allow the modelling of complex systems. These methods save money for their users.

    Microsoft Excel is a good tool in processing data, and it wll be used extensively by the students, and refered to by the book.

    The goal of this book: to teach the practice of data analysis. The three major themes of the book are data analysis, decision making and uncertainty.
   
    The book comes with several powerfull add-ins to Excel. These add-ins extend the capabilities of Excel, and allow us to perform several differetne funcitons. These funcitons are illustrated by examples from the book.

    Models are a big help in soving problems. A model is an abstraction of a real problem. Three types are discussed in the book: graphical, algebraic and spreadsheet models.

    The seven-step modeling process: (1) define the problem, (2) collect and summarice data, (3) formulate a model, (4) verify the model, (5) select one or more suitable decisions, (6) present the results to the organization, (7) implement the model and update it through time.