COMP 567B
Case Study Information Winter 2004
Students will gain experience by working in teams on a substantial case
study of an application of integer programming. This study will involve
the solution of a realistically sized integer programming problem on a
reasonably
large set or sets of data. There are three parts to the case study:
initial
presentation of problems, proposals by consultant teams, final case
study
report. The initial presentations are by each individual student. After
this
each student joins a consultant's team of 2-3 people for one of the
problems
presented, and a management team for a different problem.
Initial Presentations(5%): Jan 27,29
Each student plays the role of a manager of a business that needs help
with some kind of optimization problem. The problem is stated in
general terms using up to 10 minutes. Indicate the data available, the
objective desired, and whatever relevant constraints are to be
considered. No mathematical formulation is allowed. The problem should
be solvable by integer programming techniques.
Proposals by Consultants (10%): March 2,4
Each consultant team gives a proposal to solve all or part of the
problem they have chosen. The proposal should describe the following:
an overview of the problem, the specifications of the input data
required, the decision variables to be considered, the objective
function and the constraints to be handled. Specific deliverables
should be described. It is best to have a small prototype that should
be easily solvable, a reasonable sized problem that might take
considerable computer time (CPLEX), and possible extensions if time
permits. Teams of two have up to 20 minutes, and teams of three have up
to 25 minutes. Each member of the team must present part of the
proposal. The management team for the project should provide
constructive criticism and comments after the proposal. They will be
required to supply the relevant input data within a week.
Final Report (25%): April 6,8
Each consultant team presents the results of their project using the
same time and ground rules as the proposal.
Ground rules: Consultants may discuss
informally with their management team at any time, but should not
collaborate with other consultant teams.