Lecture 3 - Recap & Copilot Strategy

Management Science

Dr. Tobias Vlćek

Working with AI Assistants

Context Engineering

Write clear descriptions of what you want:

# Create subplot with 2 rows, 1 column
# Top: line plot of revenue over time
# Bottom: bar chart of profit by quarter

• Be specific in your instructions
• Review generated code
• Test the code as it might use old syntax
• Iterate for better results
• Force To-Tos so everything is completed

Watch Out For

• Deprecated methods: plt.subplot() vs plt.subplots()
• Missing imports: Always verify imports are included
• Wrong assumptions: Might guess your data structure incorrectly
• Over-complexity: Very often suggests unnecessary features

Remember: Generative AI is stochastic!

What We Learned

Foundation Complete!

Why This Matters?

You now have a good foundation for data-driven decisions!

What’s Next

Preview: 4 - Monte Carlo

Next Session: Modeling Business Uncertainty

We’ll combine everything you’ve learned:

• NumPy for random number generation
• Visualization for showing probability distributions

Real applications:

• Predict project completion times
• Estimate financial risks
• Make decisions under uncertainty

The End

That’s it for today! Make sure you:

• Have completed all the notebooks
• Check whether you could follow so far
• Set up Copilot

Every line of code you write makes you a better programmer. Every concept you understand makes you a better decision-maker. Keep practicing and keep learning!

Literature

Interesting Literature on Algorithms

• Christian, B., & Griffiths, T. (2016). Algorithms to live by: the computer science of human decisions. First international edition. New York, Henry Holt and Company.¹
• Ferguson, T.S. (1989) ‘Who solved the secretary problem?’, Statistical Science, 4(3). doi:10.1214/ss/1177012493.

1. A great inspiration to learn more about Algorithms!

Books on Programming

• Downey, A. B. (2024). Think Python: How to think like a computer scientist (Third edition). O’Reilly. Here
• Elter, S. (2021). Schrödinger programmiert Python: Das etwas andere Fachbuch (1. Auflage). Rheinwerk Verlag.

Think Python is a great book to start with. It’s available online for free. Schrödinger Programmiert Python is a great alternative for German students, as it is a very playful introduction to programming with lots of examples.

More Literature

For more interesting literature, take a look at the literature list of this course.