Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets

An accessible introduction to optimization analysis using spreadsheets

Updated and revised, Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Third Edition emphasizes model building skills in optimization analysis. By emphasizing both spreadsheet modeling and optimization tools in the freely available Microsoft® Office Excel® Solver, the book illustrates how to find solutions to real-world optimization problems without needing additional specialized software.

The Third Edition includes many practical applications of optimization models as well as a systematic framework that illuminates the common structures found in many successful models. With focused coverage on linear programming, nonlinear programming, integer programming, and heuristic programming, Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Third Edition features:

• An emphasis on model building using Excel Solver as well as appendices with additional instructions on more advanced packages such as Analytic Solver Platform and OpenSolver
• Additional space devoted to formulation principles and model building as opposed to algorithms
• New end-of-chapter homework exercises specifically for novice model builders
• Presentation of the Sensitivity Toolkit for sensitivity analysis with Excel Solver
• Classification of problem types to help readers see the broader possibilities for application
• Specific chapters devoted to network models and data envelopment analysis
• A companion website with interactive spreadsheets and supplementary homework exercises for additional practice

Optimization Modeling with Spreadsheets, Third Edition is an excellent textbook for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level courses that include deterministic models, optimization, spreadsheet modeling, quantitative methods, engineering management, engineering modeling, operations research, and management science. The book is an ideal reference for readers wishing to advance their knowledge of Excel and modeling and is also a useful guide for MBA students and modeling practitioners in business and non-profit sectors interested in spreadsheet optimization.

Kenneth R. Baker, PhD, is Nathaniel Leverone Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business and Adjunct Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College. A Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), Dr. Baker has published extensively in his areas of research interest, which include mathematical modeling, spreadsheet engineering, and scheduling. He is also coauthor of Principles of Sequencing and Scheduling and Management Science: The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets, Fourth Edition, both published by Wiley.