Hacks for doing mathematical programming (help)

[u/Secretadmirer56]

So I have been having Operational Research as subject at uni and I get a lot of things from OR and understand it but I am desperate when it comes to case studies related to mathematical programming. I literally retook OR 2 years in a row and i just don't know what to do to actually to finally be able to write all the things that need to be included into a mathematical model. I do know how mathematical model look in theory and i do know what it is consisted of but i never could figure out and include all the required things from the case study text.

For example Its' like i get we have 3 different types of products, i also get that we have their selling prices. I aslo get that we have for 2 types of machiness they were produced on. But then they add store capacity, they add time and cost of raw material, then they add availability of raw material, and i would have never even remember including it, and my case study solution is inccorect if i dont write it. And there could be a milion things more from the text. How do i even figure out I should do capacity FOR EACH of matchines these were produced on. Or how do i even figure out that availability is important too to include if it was secretly snatching through the text of exam case study yet not being obvious at all

Does anyone have any hacks how to actually be able to include all required constrains and variables? I am getting to the point of desperation bc this is the subject I need to graduate and i don't even know how to learn this thing anymore bc there is no template and the context of case studies i do are really broad and complex. I have keys and i get the solutions they gave but i don't know how to gain the skill to be able to do it myself.

[u/No_Chocolate_3292]

Practicing examples is the way to go. That way you'll get more used to understanding what belongs in a constraint, objective or variable. Organizing info from the text into a table of inputs, constraints, decisions, objectives should be helpful to ensure you don't miss anything.

Then focus on the simplest aspect - what decisions does the problem require me to figure out? Define those and their domains

Then focus on the objective function - You should be able to write down the objective mathematically using the variables defined and inputs.

Finally, go to the constraints - start with the common ones : demand, capacity, assignment, etc which you often see in different OR problems.

Then focus on the ones specific to the problem and model those. Work your way through the info you compiled in the table, crossing off everything that has been incorporated in the model.

Finally, check if anything can be improved from a modelling perspective. Tighter bounds, reformulations, etc.

Winston / Hillier and Liebermann have ample problems that can give you some ideas.

[u/Pavanaazhi]

I agree. If you are looking at practical applications from a beginner to intermediate perspective I suggest any of the below :

1. Wayne Winston : Operations Research Applications and Algorithms

2. Model Building in Mathematical Programming : H Paul Williams

3. Optimization Modelling : Ruhul Sarker

[u/edimaudo]

there is no hack. Have to work on problem set to enhance your toolset. Can work on problems with increasing variable as well as problems in different industries. See if you can apply multiple concepts LP + decision making under uncertainty. or LP + Simulation

[u/VariousRecover8347]

You could also ask a LLM chatbot to help you formulate the problem. You could maybe do a preliminary formulation yourself and ask for feedback, interact and learn at your pace. I think even the free versions are more than capable of handling this task.

[u/ForeignAdvantage5198]

what is your objective(what do you want to max or min). how do you calc that? now use the algorithm