Assignment    1    – Linear    Programming

MATH3202/7232    Operations    Research    &    Mathematical    Planning    2019
Assignment    1    – Linear    Programming
This    assignment    is    due    by    12pm    on    Friday,    March    29th and    is    worth    10%    of    your    final    grade.    
You    can    do    this assignment    in    a    group    of    up    to    three,    with    a    single    submission.
You    have    just    started    your    first    job    with    an    Operations Research    consulting    company    and    
you    are    keen    to    impress    your    boss    who    has    a    good    technical    understanding    of    OR.        The    
first    project    you    are    assigned    is    for    WonderMarket,    a    supermarket    chain    wanting    to    
improve    their    operations in    Brisbane.    Communications    to    you    from    the    company    will    be    
provided    through    Blackboard.
The    first    communication    will    appear    at    5pm    on    Monday,    March    11th with    the    final    
communication    appearing    on    or    before    Friday,    March    22nd.
You    will    need    to    prepare    a    report    which    includes    two    main    sections:
Section    A    – Report    to    your    boss
• A    general    mathematical    formulation    of    the    problem,    including    definitions    of    sets,    
data,    variables,    objective    function    and    constraints.     7 marks
• A    Python file    with    the    problem    modelled for Gurobi.    This    should    be    easy    to    relate    
back    to    the    formulation.    Your    boss will    attempt    to    execute    this    model.     5 marks
Section    B    – Report    to    the    client
• Written    responses    that    clearly    and    concisely    address    the needs    of    the    client    given    
through    the    communications. 5 marks
• Brief    insights into    the    solution,    such    as    identifying    key    constraints    or    explaining    
the    effects    on    costs    of    additional    constraints    provided    by    the    client.        3    marks
Submit    your    report    and    Python    files via    Blackboard,    using    PDF    for    the    report    (saved    from    
Word    or    created    in    LaTeX).    
Only    one    submission    per    group is    necessary    but    make    sure    all names    are    clearly    shown    on    
your    report. Each    student    will    receive    separate    data    from    the    client    but    a    group needs only    
consider    one    data    set    in    the    report.
Grading    Criteria
Section    A
Marks 0 1 2
Sets Incorrect or missing
description of sets
Correctly describes sets
Data Missing some or all
descriptions of data.
Correctly describes
most data
Correctly describes all
data
Variables Incorrect or missing
description of variables
Correctly describes
variables
Objective function Incorrect or missing
description of objective
function
Correctly describes
objective function
Constraints Missing many or all
descriptions of
constraints
Correctly describes
most constraints
Correctly describes all
constraints.
Python code There is no relationship
between Python code
and mathematical
formulation
Python code mostly
matches mathematical
formulation
Python code clearly
matches mathematical
formulation
Execution Python code fails to run Python code runs but
gives incorrect answer
Python code runs and
gives correct answer
Comments Python code has few or
no comments
Python code is clearly
commented
Section    B
Marks 0 1 2 3
Response to
communications
Fails to address any of
the client questions
Correctly
addresses one
client question
Correctly
addresses two
client questions
Correctly addresses
all client questions
Written response Poorly written response
with frequent errors in
grammar, spelling or
technical language;
and/or unnecessarily
long
Concisely
addresses needs
of client with few
errors in writing
Excellent
proficiency in
clearly and
concisely
addressing
needs of client
Insights into the
solution
Incorrect or missing
insights into solution
Identifies some
important factors
that affect the
solution.
Identifies
important
factors that
affect the
solution
Provides insight and
thoroughness in
identifying factors
that affect the
solution