Example:

Step 1: Construct the “total opportunity cost” matrix. This step concerns the transformation of
cost matrix to a “total opportunity cost” matrix.

• First, the entry with the smallest value in each row is subtracted from all the other elements
in the same row to get the new matrix.
• Second, the lowest entry in each column of the new matrix is subtracted from all elements in
the same column to get the “total opportunity cost” matrix.
 Note: This matrix must contain at least one zero in each row and column.

New matrix:

Total opportunity cost matrix :

Step 2: Evaluate optimality. In testing for optimality, the matrix table must contain enough zeros
for each row and column. To test this is by drawing straight lines horizontally and vertically to
cover all (2 or more) zeros in the matrix.

 The optimality test requires that the number of lines drawn must be equal to n (the number
of rows and columns in the matrix)
 If the lines are not equal to n, then an improvement is possible.