An unpublished 1990 manuscript titled "Interpretive Structural Modeling PC Software User's Guide" was the first draft of this document. It is in Box 42, Folder 15 of Warfield Special Collection. A 1994 published version of the same document appeared as Appendix 2 of A Handbook of Interactive Management, under the title Guide to GMU ISM Software. The 1994 published version is not in the Warfield Special Collection; only the first rough draft manuscript is there.
In 1997 Warfield decided to place the ISM DOS software on the IASIS web page at GMU, where it could be downloaded free of charge by any person who wanted to use it. At the same time, his Guide to GMU ISM Software was also placed on the web page as a free download. For years it has been possible to download both the software and the user guide from Warfield’s faculty web page http://www.gmu.edu/departments/t-iasis/ism/ism.htm, or for an FTP transmission: ftp://mason.gmu.edu/jwarfiel/ismdos. To understand and use this software, A Handbook of Interactive Management is recommended.
Note: The original GMU ISM software runs on an obsolete version of MS-DOS and cannot be used on modern versions of Windows. We recommend the new Windows version, which is also available for free download here; this software requires an up to date Windows installation.
R.W. GUIDE TO GMU ISM SOFTWARE APPENDIX 2 OF A HANDBOOK OF INTERACTIVE MANAGEMENT is on Rose Warfield's computer in two versions. One is paged as if an excerpt from the book, beginning on page 235 and another version is paged separately from the book, beginning with Page 1, and is used to accompany downloads or CD's of the software. There is no difference in the two versions, except for the title arrangement and page numbering. The total pages varies depending on type face & font, ranging from 36 pages to about 42. When the first ISM software for PC was developed in 1988 at GMU, the programmers failed to write a user guide, in spite of frequent urging from Warfield. Finally in 1990 Warfield wrote the guide himself, in a style oriented towards a non-technical audience.
