Schedule - Fall 2008

BA 302 Applied Quantitative Management Techniques

 

Stout home    BA 302 home    Syllabus     Lecture notes   Schedule

 

Class Date In class actions Class preparation Homework due today
1 25 Aug Course introduction

How do you make decisions? Decision-making chart

Read: "Taco Bell Finds Recipe for Success", OR/MS Today, October 1997  (found in Oct 97 "OR/MS Today" under "Practice Lesson" column)

Review syllabus  

2

27 Aug

Begin chapter 1

 

Problem solving versus decision- making

Basic modeling types

Quantitative methods in practice

 

Excel charts

Read chapter 1, section 1.1-1.2, 1.5

Consider the linked problem solving scenario.

Complete Excel 2007 chart demo

Submit an Excel spreadsheet showing your weekly schedule.  Highlight your BA302 study times.

  

3 29 Aug

Quantitative analysis - model development, data preparation, solution, and report generation

 

Develop cost estimating model

Read chapter 1, section 1.3

 

Submit Excel Chart Exercise #1

  

  1 Sep

Labor day (holiday)

   
4 3 Sep

Student in class exercise: Begin Excel tutorial

Focus on absolute/relative address, data tables, basic functions, TVM functions, and IF and LOOKUP functions
Review Excel spreadsheet modeling format suggestions - color/outlining/page setup

 

Begin Excel practical exercise – car loan practical exercise #1

Download, review, and practice  Excel tutorial contents.

 

Download and review MS Office 2007 tutorial. Up to Speed with Excel 2007.


 

Submit completed cost estimating model
5

5 Sep

Begin exercise #2 - additional functions:

•   = IF, AND, OR

•   = SUM; SUMIF

•   = VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, LOOKUP 

•   = COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTIF

•   = Time value of money functions

  Excel Car Loan Practical Exercise #1
6 8 Sep Data analysis and presentation

Begin work on Ch 1 Excel #1 (download CustomerArrivals data from web)

 

  Excel Car Loan Practical Exercise #2

 

7 10 Sep

Modeling cost, revenue, and profit

Breakeven analysis - appendix 1.2

•  Using Data Table

•  Using Goal Seek

"Nowlin Plastics"

Read chapter 1, sections 1.4 and Appendix 1.2

Ch 1 Excel #1
8 12 Sep Excel printing suggestions
Student exercise: Solve problem Ch 1-13 (a through d) with Excel (use "What If" commands, "Goal Seek" and "Data Table," to aid in finding your solution)

Data table quiz

  Complete and submit "Nowlin Plastics" breakeven problem. Solve for the breakeven volume using two methods - goal seek and data tables. Print values view and formula views. Print the goal seek dialog box. Print the table command dialog box.

Find instructions for Goal Seek in the appendix to chapter 1 of your textbook. Find instructions for Data Tables in the Excel Tutorial on page 23.

9 15 Sep

Spreadsheet engineering

 

(GreatThreads problem statement and data)

(Consider GreatThreads as spreadsheet model).
 

Read “practical management science handout” and  “modeling tips” appendix

Problem 1-13 (Answer 1-13 a, b, c, and d) Print Goal Seek or Data Table dialog box.

Find instructions for Goal Seek in the appendix to chapter 1 of your textbook. Find instructions for Data Tables in the Excel Tutorial on page 23.

10 17 Sep

Introduction to probability

1.  Experiments and the sample space
Do 2.1 a, b in class

2.  Assigning probabilities
Do problem 2.2 in class

3.  Basic probability relationships

Read chapter 2, sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.4 Submit a revised "Nowlin Plastics" spreadsheet. Use criteria from our spreadsheet engineering discussion on Monday and last week to prompt changes in your spreadsheet layout and design. Add a sensitivity analysis chart to illustrate the breakeven point using your "Data Table" results.
12 19 Sep

Bayes theorem and probability trees
•     Class exercise Bayes

Read chapter 2, section 2.5 Problem: 2-4, 2-6, 2-9, 2-15
13 22 Sep

Discrete probability distributions

In class exercises 3.1, 3.2

Uniform distribution

In class exercise

Read chapter 3, sections 3.1-3.4 Problem: 2-23, 2-25
14 24 Sep

Discrete continued -
Binomial distribution
Excel Ch 3 #1

Poisson distribution

Read chapter 3, sections 3.5-3.7

Problems: 3-4 (use Excel), 3-5, 3-7

15 26 Sep

Continuous probability distributions

Normal distribution

Exponential distribution

Review central limit theorem

Read Appendix 3.1 and Appendix 3.2

Problems: 3-9 (part "a" by formula, "b" solve by tree;  part "c" solve using  Excel; and part "d" solve by table). Do "e" with Excel. Do problem 3-11 in Excel.

16

29 Sep

Decision analysis – problem formulation

Influence diagrams

Payoff tables
Decision trees

Read chapter 4, section 4.1, 4.2
 

Problems: 3-24, 3-25, 3-32

 

 

17 1 Oct Decision making without probabilities   Problem: 4-1(a)
18 3 Oct

Decision making with probabilities

Risk analysis

Sensitivity analysis

Read chapter 4, section 4.3 and 4.4
 

Problem: 4-2 (Do part "a" using Excel)

19

6 Oct

Decision analysis with sample information

Decision trees - Discuss decision tree construction

Read chapter 4, section 4.5
Complete PrecisionTree tutorial
Problem 4-7, Excel Ch 4 #1

20

8 Oct

Exam 1 Review Excel tutorial and chapters 1, 2, 3, 4  

 

10 Oct

Fall Break

 

 

21

13 Oct

Review exam 1
Forecasting overview
Moving averages
Exponential smoothing

Read chapter 6, introduction and sections 6.1, 6.2, and 6.4
 
 
22

15 Oct

Using Excel for regression analysis
Causal forecasting
Read chapter 6, section 6.3, 6.5

Review Clemson tutorial
Problem: 6-5 (Excel), 6-9

 

23

17 Oct

Using Excel for regression analysis
Time series decomposition
  Problems: Compute a linear trend forecast using data from problem 6-9. Determine the MSE.
24 20 Oct      
25 22 Oct MSE and Solver   Problems: 6-22 (Excel), 6-34 (Excel)
26 24 Oct Linear programming introduction

Read: "An Integrated Labor-management System for Taco Bell",
Interfaces, Jan/Feb98, Vol. 28 Issue 1, p75, 17p

Lego production problem

Problem formulation
Linear programming – graphical solution
In class – 7.1, 7.2, 7.3
Read chapter 7, section 7.1
Read chapter 7, appendix 7.3

 

Problem: 6-25
27 27 Oct Linear programming – spreadsheet solution using Excel Solver (Lego and RMC p. 282)

Linear programming – minimization and special cases

Read chapter 7, section 7.2, 7.3, and Appendix 7.3

Read chapter 7, section 7.5, 7.6

Problem: 7-10 (graphical method) Submit today

Problem: 7-10 (Use Excel Solver) Submit before leaving class

28 29 Oct Linear programming – sensitivity analysis Read chapter 8, section 8.1 and Appendix 8.1 Problem: Minimization problem M&D Chemicals,  p.253-p.256. Solve using Excel Solver.

29

31 Oct Linear programming – applications

Make or buy:  Reiff Mfg problem

Linear programming – applications (continued)

Scan chapter 9, sections 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6

Identify objective functions, decision variables, and common constraints for the various application types.

"Lego revisited" - rerun Lego using Excel Solver; produce a "sensitivity analysis" report; interpret and describe your sensitivity analysis results in narrative.
30 3 Nov

Project scheduling – known activity times

In class exercise 12-3, 12-4

MS Project features

Read chapter 12, section 12.1 Problem: Set up and solve "Reiff Manufacturing" make or buy problem using Excel. Allocate one column per decision variable. Print values. Print formulas. Print SOLVER dialog box showing target cells, changing cells, and constraints. Print sensitivity analysis.
31 5 Nov Project scheduling – PERT

Project scheduling – time/cost tradeoffs

Read chapter 12, section 12.3 Problem 12-7
32 7 Nov Project scheduling – MS Project solutions Scan MS Project tutorial Problem 12-10
33 10 Nov Exam 2    
34 12 Nov Waiting line models Read chapter 14, section 14.1, 14.2, 14.5  
35 14 Nov Simulation Read chapter 15, section 15.1 Problems: 14-1, 14-2, 14-3, 14-4
36 17 Nov Simulation - modeling variates   Problem 15-17
37 19 Nov Simulation
Batch plant exercise handout, introduction, and team assignments
   
38 21 Nov Simulation - batch plant exercise    
39 24 Nov Simulation - batch plant exercise    
40 26 Nov Simulation - batch plant exercise    
  28 Nov Simulation - batch plant exercise presentations   Submit and present batch plant simulation results
41 1 Dec Final exam review
Complete student evaluation forms
  Submit "order form" prepared in Excel
42 3 Dec Final exam 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.   Submit homework notebooks today.