1. MS&E 152 kickoff mentor meeting 10Apr2011

2. Agenda n Brad – What does a mentor do? – What is the term project? – What type of decision problem makes for a good project? – Timeline of mentor events – Timeline of students’ knowledge n Katerina katkar@stanford.edukatkar@stanford.edu – Managing student meetings – Questions – Payroll logistics (for paid mentors)

3. What does a mentor do? n Helps students wisely choose a term paper topic n Guides students in the framing and analysis of the decision problem n Coaxes students to communicate the insights from analysis without giving them “the answer” n Logistics: arranges meetings; gives feedback on assignments; scores the final draft of the term paper

4. What is the term project? n A writing in major requirement for some students n 25% of grade for all students n Project Proposal: – “The Decision Maker’s Dilemma” – Components of decision quality n Final Project – Project Proposal – Decision Basis Assessment – Evaluation and Appraisal – Recommendations / Insights n Any other questions from the Term Project Handout?

5. What type of decision problem makes for a good term project? n Good: business / medical / legal decision n Poor: personal decisions, e.g. Whom should I marry? What religion should I choose? What school should I choose? Where should I live? n Other rules of thumb: – 1 decision, 2-3 alternatives – 2-3 uncertainties – Beware the “Shirley” problem

6. Timeline of mentor events n Meeting 1 (choosing the topic): April 19 – 22 n Meeting 2 (project proposal revision): May 3 – 6 n Meeting 3 (review draft final project): May 17 – 20 n Grading your projects: Students submit projects on May 26 th. Target median = 85/100 n Deadline to submit scores is June 3 rd

7. Timeline of students’ knowledge n By Meeting 1 (19Apr) – Distinctions; Probabilities; Using Evidence (e.g. tree flipping); 5 rules n By Meeting 2 (3May) – Party Problem; Value of Clairvoyance; U-values; Decision diagrams n By Meeting 3 (17May) – Cycle of ownership; Risk Odds; U-curves n By Final Submission – Sensitivity Analysis; Value of Information; Probability Assessment

8. Managing student meetings, etc. n We recommend mysignup.com n Scheduling meetings – I will arrange Meeting 1 for you – After Meeting 1, I will load-balance the group – You will arrange all of your subsequent meetings n Collecting your students’ submissions – TBD – Electronic submission is acceptable if you and the student agree to this method (they need not submit a paper copy in this case) – Update google spreadsheet on student attendance of meetings.

9. Scheduling Meeting 1 n Give me your availability for Meeting 1 during the week of April 18 th -22 nd n Avoid timeslots during MS&E 152 class time – Lecture Tues/Thurs 9:30-10:45am – Review Session Friday 2:15-3:05 n Unpaid mentors: give six 15-minute timeslots n Paid mentors: give 13 15-minute timeslots n Please do so by Tuesday, April 12 th

10. Questions?

11. Payroll logistics n Fill in Stanford Student Hourly Hire form. n Submit to Ford Vazquez in Terman 353 with – Bring passport; I-20 form; I-9 form; Social Security Number – If you have questions about these forms, or about obtaining a SSN, contact Lori n Follow instructions for submitting online time sheet n Print timesheet and submit them to me