M2W— Model-to-World LabBlanchet Research Group · Stanford MS&E
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Examples

M2W Decision Labs

From a model to a decision—and then toward the world. Each example starts with a concrete decision, exposes the mechanics, compares policies on common inputs, and names the evidence still required for real-world use.

Applications

Explore by domain.

Applications give each decision its context. Methods show how M2W moves it from a modeled world toward reliable use.

013 interactive stages

Commerce & Marketplaces

Assortments, substitution, learning from customer choices, and decisions under preference shift.

View the live case
02Prototype-demo coming soon

Finance & Risk

Portfolios, valuation, insurance, rare events, and performance under changing markets.

03Prototype-demo coming soon

Operations & Health

Capacity, scheduling, patient flow, and service-system decisions under uncertainty.

04Prototype-demo coming soon

Autonomy & Engineering

Control, routing, reliability, and fast decisions under operating-regime shift.

Methods across M2W

Different lenses on the same transfer problem.

  • SimulationExplore plausible, rare, and consequential worlds.
  • LearningEstimate mechanisms and decisions from partial observations.
  • UQ & Model RiskMeasure uncertainty and model-to-world discrepancy.
  • RobustnessProtect performance when the modeled world changes.
  • Causal & CounterfactualReason about outcomes that cannot be jointly observed.
  • OptimizationSearch for strong actions under constraints.

Live case study · Commerce & Marketplaces

Assortment decisions

One retail decision, followed through three increasingly realistic worlds: start with a known choice model, learn from logged behavior, then protect the policy against preference shift.

3 interactive stagesSynthetic evidenceReproducible

One decision, three stages.

  1. Decision Lab 01Known model

    Choose the shelf

    When less shelf space makes more revenue.

    Compare every feasible assortment when customer substitution is known.

    • Choice modeling
    • Exact evaluation
    • Optimization
    Explore the known-model decision
  2. Decision Lab 02Logged data

    Learn the shelf

    More data cannot reveal what you never offered.

    Compare incumbent logs with designed exploration, then test the learned decision on a fresh holdout.

    • Offline learning
    • Pessimism
    • Validation
    Explore offline learning
  3. Decision Lab 03Preference shift

    Protect the shelf

    Pay a little now. Protect the decision later.

    Trade a small amount of nominal value for a stronger protected floor under coherent preference shift.

    • Robustness
    • Model risk
    • Stress testing
    Explore robust planning

Prototype-demos coming soon

Where M2W goes next.

Each prototype-demo will use synthetic or approved materials and state the evidence required for transfer.

Operations & HealthPrototype-demo coming soon

Hospital Operations

How should capacity and patient-flow decisions respond to uncertain demand and operational constraints?

Commerce & MarketplacesPrototype-demo coming soon

Marketplace Dynamics

Which policies improve service and participation without destabilizing a two-sided system?

Reading the examples

Build maturity and evidence answer different questions.

Build maturity
Concept → Demonstration build → Interactive prototype → Evaluated demonstration → Transferred
Evidence basis
Synthetic → Public data → Partner or shadow evidence → Real-world evidence