MIE 379 Deterministic Operations Research Term Project Fall Semester 2008 Due Dates Problem Formulation: September

r 18 Initial Solution: October 16 Draft Report: November 20 Final Report: December 11 Objective The objective of the term project is to provide you with an opportunity to apply the principals of deterministic operations research to a complex problem. This handout describes the expectations and guidelines for the proposal and the overall project. Guidelines You will work in your assigned groups. We will work on the case study described on the following page. You will play the role of decision consultants. You must give your draft report to someone from outside the OR field/major to read, make comments on, and initial. Your study should include the following key steps: 1) Problem definition. Clearly state the problem, including any assumptions, and all relevant constraints. Discuss the values that are implied by the problem description. 2) Problem Formulation. Formulate a mathematical model of the problem. Implement this model on Excel (or another software if you prefer). 3) Problem Solution. Arrive at a preliminary problem solution. 4) Sensitivity analysis. This is the core of the project. You must analyze how small changes in the data, assumptions, or constraints will change the optimal solution. Based on a thorough sensitivity analysis, you should come up with alternate solutions for your clients. Be sure to calculate, understand, apply, and explain the shadow prices. 5) Conclusions and recommendation. The final step is to digest your analysis results, draw conclusions and formulate a recommended course of action. Your report must be free of jargon. It must be clearly written and understandable by any intelligent adult. Deliverables The specific deliverable associated with this case study is a formal, hard copy report describing your study findings. Although the exact format of the report is up to your discretion, a comprehensive report should include the following sections: Executive summary (not to exceed 1 page) o An executive summary is intended to be a 30-second overview of the most important points in the report. It is what a very busy executive would read to

decide how much time, if any, he or she wants to spend on the report. It should not be a teaser it should contain any key findings or conclusions. Table of Contents Problem definition (Clearly state the problem you are attacking. Make all of your key assumptions clear) Study Analysis Findings, conclusions and recommendation Appendices (backup calculations and supporting documentation)

Reports should be well organized, complete and succinct (i.e., quality is not measured in reams of paper). However, there should be sufficient detail to ensure my satisfaction with the depth of the analysis performed. Your report should not be written as a narrative: First we did this, and then we discovered that, so we tried this Your report should show the results of the base case; and then should go on to show the results of the configurations that appear to be the best. Nothing crucial should go in the appendix. The appendix should contain only obscure details or very long lists of data. A person should be able to read and understand everything without referring to the appendix. Graphical representations are generally very useful. Think through alternative ways to present data and results and then present it in the most compact and intuitive way. Grading Grading is contingent on high standards of quality, professional presentation of the report, and the extent to which you have applied the procedures and methods of the course. Creativity is valuable. You must get all the numbers and details right in order to pass. You must present some creative alternatives to get an A. You must present a well-written, logical, organized report, with no typos to get an A. Case Study Assigning Students to Schools The Springfield school board has made the decision to close one of its middle schools (sixth, seventh, and eighth grades) at the end of this school year and reassign all of next years middle school students to the three remaining middle schools. The school district provides bussing for all middle school students who must travel more than a mile, so the school board wants a plan for reassigning the students that will minimize the total bussing cost. The annual cost per student of bussing from each of the six residential areas of the city to each of the schools is shown in the following table (along with other basic data for next year), where 0 indicates that bussing is not needed and a dash indicates an infeasible assignment.

Area 1 2 3 4 5 6

No. of Percentage Percentage Percentage students in 6th in 7th in 8th grade grade grade 450 32 38 30 600 37 28 35 550 30 32 38 350 28 40 32 500 39 34 27 450 34 28 38 School Capacity

Bussing Cost per student School School School 1 2 3 $300 0 $700 ---$400 $500 $600 $300 $200 $200 $500 ----0 ----$400 $500 $300 0 900 1100 1000

The school board has also imposed the restriction that each grade must constitute between 30 and 36% of each schools population. The above table shows the percentage of each areas middle school population for next year that falls into each of the three grades. The school attendance zone boundaries can be drawn so as to split any given area among more than one school, but assume that the percentages shown in the table will continue to hold for any partial assignment of an area to a school. You have been hired as an operations research consultant to assist the school board in determining how many students in each area should be assigned to each school. The school board has some concerns and some possible options. 1. They are concerned about the splitting of the residential areas among multiple schools. They would prefer to keep each neighborhood together. 2. They are considering eliminating some bussing to reduce costs. Option 1 is to eliminate bussing only for students traveling 1 to 1.5 miles (where the cost per student is $200). Option 2 is to eliminate bussing for students traveling 1.5 to 2 miles (where the cost per student is $300). However, the school board is also concerned about safety. 3. The cost numbers in the table are just estimates. The school board is concerned that if these numbers change it may change the best assignment. In particular, it is possible that the bussing cost from area 6 to each or all of the schools might be 10% higher than reported in the table. 4. The school board has the option of adding portable classrooms to increase the capacity of one or more of the middle schools for a few years. The school board would like you to provide a thorough analysis of their options so that they can make an informed decision about school assignments.