Operations Research ILecture 1-3Chapter 1

Dr. Ayham JaaronFirst semester

2013/2014

Outline

What is OR? Mathematical modeling Linear programming (LP) Formulating linear programming

Background• To understand what operations research (OR) is today, one

must know something of its history and evolution• World War II : British military leaders asked scientists and

engineers to analyze several military problems – Management of materials, convoy, bombing, antisubmarine, and

mining operations.

• As these teams were generally assigned to the commanders in charge of military operations, they were called operations research (OR) teams.

Background .. Cont’d• At the end of the war, many of the scientists who worked in

the military operations research units returned to civilian life in universities and industries.

• They started applying the OR methodology to solve complex management problems in industries.

• Petroleum companies were the first to make use of OR models for solving large-scale production and distribution problems

• In the universities, advancements in OR techniques were made that led to the further development and applications of OR.

• Much of the postwar development of OR took place in the United States

What is OR?• “Operational research is the application of the methods of science

to complex problems arising in the direction and management of large systems of men, machines, materials and money in industry, business, government, and defense. The distinctive approach is to develop a scientific model of the system, incorporating measurement of factors such as chance and risk, with which to predict and compare the outcomes of alternative decisions, strategies or controls. The purpose is to help management determine its policy and actions scientifically”.

The Operational Research Society of Great Britain

• “Operations research is concerned with scientifically deciding how to best design and operate man–machine systems, usually under conditions requiring the allocation of scarce resources”.

The Operations Research Society of America

Branches of OR

• Deterministic – input data are known (e.g. mathematical programming models).

• Non-deterministic – input data have uncertainties (probabilistic or stochastic models)

Phases of OR (deterministic)

1. Formulation of the problem 2. Identify and construct an appropriate

mathematical model3. Finding a solution to the model4. Analyze the solution 5. Validate 6. Implement

Mathematical modeling and programming

• This is concerned with the optimum allocation of limited resources among competitive activities under a set of constraints

• To maximize/minimize an objective function• Types of mathematical programming – Linear programming– Non-linear programming – Integer programming – Dynamic programming

Modeling

Mathematical modeling and programming

Model: an abstraction (simplification) of an actual problem that captures the major characteristics of the problem .

Types of models 1. Quantitative model – mathematical, LP , etc2. Qualitative model – narrative , graphs, drawings ,

etc3. Physical model

Class Task: 5 minutes

• Given a collection of numbers, partition them into two groups such that the difference in the sums is as small as possible.

• Example: 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, 22 These numbers sum to 89

An optimization problem

• Given a collection of numbers, partition them into two groups such that the difference in the sums is as small as possible.

• Example: 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, 22 These numbers sum to 89

• I can split them into {7, 10, 13, 17} sum is 47 {20, 22} sum is 42 Difference = 5

• Can we do better?

Some Skills for Operation Researchers

Modeling Skills Take a real world situation, model it using

mathematicsMethodological Toolkit

OptimizationDecide whether the problem is

maximization or minimization.

Optimization is Everywhere It is embedded in language, and part of the way we think.

firms want to maximize value to shareholders people want to make the best choices We want the highest quality at the lowest price When playing games, we want the best strategy When we have too much to do, we want to optimize the use of our

time etc.

TASK 2: Take 3 minutes with your partner to brainstorm on where

optimization might be used. (business, or sports, or personal uses, or politics, or …)

Linear programming (LP)

Mathematical programming models whose objective functions are linear, whose constraints are linear inequalities or equalities, and whose variables take continuous values.

minimize or maximize a linear objective subject to linear equalities and inequalities

Formulating an LP model

1. Read the problem carefully 2. Define the decision variables(The decision variables are the variables whose specification describes the

solution for the problem. It typically comprises the set of decisions to be made).

3. Determine the objective function 4. Determine the constraints

Terminologies

Decision variables: In general, these are quantities you can control to improve your objective which should completely describe the set of decisions to be made.

Constraints: Limitations on the values of the decision variables. Objective Function:

• Value measure used to rank alternatives • Seek to maximize or minimize this objective • examples: maximize Productivity, minimize cost