A Graphics Application Extension for a Simulated Decision Support System Environment

Abstract

"A procedure is described whereby a structured set of graphics produced by the Harvard Graphics personal computer software package was interfaced with the Business Management Laboratory (BML) business game simulation. BML was modified to produce data records for a data base schema of 108 variables which was maintained in both Lotus 1-2-3 and dBASE III Plus formats. An interface was developed to import data into Harvard Graphics from the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet database to produce 28 graphs for a competitive analysis and 18 graphs for a firm analysis. The graph parameters (e.g., graph type, color/pattern selections, data ranges) were specified so that the graphs could be easily updated from the most current data changes contained in the database. Individual graphs then were displayed on a color monitor while hard copies could be produced by a variety of personal computer interfaced printers and plotters. "