This book discusses heuristic methods - methods lacking a solid theoretical justification - which are ubiquitous in numerous application areas, and explains techniques that can make heuristic methods more reliable. Focusing on algebraic techniques, i.e., those that use only a few specific features of a situation, it describes various state-of-the-art applications, ranging from fuzzy methods for dealing with imprecision to general optimization methods and quantum-based methods for analyzing economic phenomena. The book also includes recent results from leading researchers, which could (and hopefully will) provide the basis for future applications. As such, it is a valuable resource for mathematicians interested in potential applications of their algebraic results and ideas, as well as for application specialists wanting to discover how algebraic techniques can help in their domains.