5/1/2017 OptimizationModelingwithSolverinExcelStephenL.

NelsonCPAPLLC

Optimization Modeling
with Solver in Excel
ByStephenL.NelsonLeaveaComment
ExcelsSolvertoolletsyousolveoptimizationmodelingproblems,alsocommonlyknownas
linearprogrammingprograms.Withanoptimizationmodelingproblem,youwanttooptimize
anobjectivefunctionbutatthesametimerecognizethatthereareconstraints,orlimits.
Whilethisabstractdefinitionsoundscomplicated,atleastattheconceptuallevel,
optimizationmodelingmakescommonsenseonceyouprovideaconcreteexample.

EasyRefresher: How
Optimization Modeling Works
Suppose,forexample,thatyourearesidentialrealestatedeveloperandcontractor.You
createandselltwoproducts:buildinglotsandhouses.Supposethatyoumake$20,000on
eachhomeyoubuildand$15,000oneachbuildinglotyoudevelopandthensell.Yourprinci
palfinancialobjectiveistomaximizeyourprofits,andthisobjectivecanbeexpressedasan
objectivefunction,orequation,thatyouwanttomaximize:

$15,000*Lots+$20,000*Houses=Profits

Ofcourse,anyobjectivefunctionislimitedbycertainconstraints.Tocontinuewiththe
fictionalcaseofresidentialdevelopment,supposethatyouhavetwoprincipallimitingfac
tors:workingcapitalandbulldozercapacity.Yourworkingcapitalof$1,200,000limitsthe
numberoflotsandhousesyoucanannuallysellbecauseeverylotrequiresa$50,000cash
investmentandeveryhouserequiresa$25,000cashinvestment.Thefactthatyouhavea
singlebulldozeravailableforonly3,000hourseachyearalsolimitsthenumberoflotsand
housesyoucanannuallysellbecauseeverylotrequires80hoursofbulldozingandevery
houserequires200hoursofbulldozing.Thesetwoconstraintscanalsobeexpressedas
equations.Forexample,theworkingcapitalconstraintcanbeexpressedasfollows:

$50,000*Lots+$25,000*Houses<=$1,200,000

Thisformulasaystheresultoftheformula$50,000timesthenumberoflotsplus$25,000
timesthenumberofhousesmustbelessthanorequaltotheworkingcapitallimitof

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$1,200,000.Thelessthanorequaltosymbolisrepresentedbythe<=operator.

Thebulldozercapacityconstraintcanbeexpressedasfollows:

80*Lots+200*Houses<=3000

Thisformulasaystheresultoftheformula80timesthenumberoflotsplus200timesthe
numberofhousesmustbelessthanorequaltothebulldozerhourslimitof3,000.Again,the
lessthanorequaltosymbolisrepresentedbythe<=operator.

Typically,youalsohavepolicyconstraintswhenyouworkwithanoptimizationmodeling
problem.Supposethatasamatterofpolicyyouwanttomaintainacertainlevelofactivity
bothindevelopinglotsandbuildinghouses.Youmightsay,forexample,thatbecauseyou
mustmaintainyourteamsexpertiseinbothrawlanddevelopmentandresidential
contractingthatyouwanttodevelopatleast10lotseveryyearandbuildatleast5houses.
Thesetwoconstraintsalsoneedtobeexpressedasequations.Theminimumnumberoflots
policyconstraintcanbeexpressedasfollows:

Lots>=10

Thisformulasaysthatyouwanttodevelopatleast10buildinglots.Or,restated,thisfor
mulasaysthatthelotsvariablemustbegreaterthanorequalto10.Thegreaterthanor
equaltosymbolisrepresentedbythe>=operator.

Theminimumnumberofhousespolicyconstraintcanbeexpressedasfollows:

Houses>=5

Thisformulasaysthatyouwanttobuildatleast5houses.Or,restated,thisformulasays
thatthehousesvariablemustbegreaterthanorequalto10.Again,thegreaterthanorequal
tosymbolisrepresentedbythe>=operator.

WiththeinformationprovidedintheprecedingparagraphsofthisEasyRefresherTM,Ive
describedyourfictionaloptimizationmodelingproblem.Youwanttomaximizeyourprofits,
whichcanbedescribedusingthefollowingobjectivefunction:

$15,000*Lots+$20,000*Houses=Profits

butyoucantdevelopunlimitednumbersofbuildinglotsorbuildunlimitednumbersof
houses.Youaresubjecttothefollowingconstraints:

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$50,000*Lots+$25,000*Houses<=$1,200,000

80*Lots+200*Houses<=3000

Lots>=10

Houses>=5

Youcansolvethisequationinavarietyofways,includinggraphically,iteratively,orusinga
techniquelikesimplexalgebra.Or,youcanprovidetheobjectivefunctionandtheconstraint
equationstoExcelandhaveitsolvetheproblem,whichisthesolutiontechniquedescribed
intheparagraphsthatfollow.

Solving an Optimization
Problem
TouseExcelsSolver,firstbuildaworkbookthatdescribesyouroptimizationmodeling
problem,includingitsobjectivefunctionandanyconstraints,andthentellSolvertolookfor
anoptimalsolution.Aslongasyouunderstandtheconceptsofoptimizationmodeling,as
describedintheprecedingEasyRefresher,thisprocessissimple.

Setting Up Your Workbook for Solver

Youtakethreestepstosetupaworkbookforsolver:provideguessesofthevariablesthat
optimizeyourobjectivefunction,supplytheobjectivefunction,andthensupplythecon
straintfunctions.Figure617showsaworkbooksetuptosolvetheexampleproblemdis
cussedintheEasyRefresher.

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Figure617.Aworkbooksetupfor
optimizationmodeling.
IfyouwanttoexperimentwithSolverbutdontwanttoconstructtheworksheetshownin
Figure617fromscratch,rememberthatalltheworkbookexamplesinthisbookareincluded
onthecompanionCD.
Tobuildthisoranyoptimizationmodelworkbook,followthesesteps:

1.Optionally,tellExceltodisplaytheactualformulasratherthanresults.
oudonthavetotakethisstep,butbecausewithoptimizationmodelingyourereally
moreinterestedinwhattheformulaslooklikeasopposedtotheresultstheyproduce,
youprobablywanttotellExceltodisplayformulasratherthanformularesults.Todo
this,choosetheToolsmenusOptionscommand,clicktheViewtab,andselectthe
Formulascheckbox.

Figure617displaysformulasinsteadofformularesults.
2.Providestartingguessesforthevariables.
Youneedtoprovidestartingguessesforthevariablesyouretryingtooptimize.Youcan
dothissimplybyenteringvaluesincells,butIrecommendyoucreateasmallschedule
ofvariablenamesandvariableguesses,asshowninFigure617intheworksheet
rangeA1:B3.IfyousetupaworksheetrangelikethatshowninFigure617andyou
reallyshouldyoullalsowanttonamethecellsthatholdyourguesses.Inthiscase,
youcandothisbyselectingtheworksheetrangethatholdsthevariablenames(Lots,
Houses)andguessesA2:B3inFigure617andthenbychoosingtheInsertmenus
NamecommandandthenchoosingtheNamesubmenusCreatecommand.When
ExceldisplaystheCreateNamesdialogbox,selecttheLeftColumncheckboxand
clickOK.
3.Describetheobjectivefunction.
InFigure617,theworksheetdescribestheequationwiththefollowingformulalocated
incellB5:=15000*Lots+20000*HousesBecausethecellsholdingthevariableguesses

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havebeennamedLotsandHouses,theobjectivefunctionusesthesenamesinplace
ofcellreferences.NotethatthelabelincellA5identifiestheequation,butyouonly
needtoentertheactualequationshownincellB5.
4.Describeeachconstraint.
InFigure617,theconstraintsaredescribedintheworksheetrangeB8:C11.To
describeasingleconstraint,youentertheconstraintequationinonecellandthelim
itingconstantvalueinanothercell.Forexample,theworkingcapitalconstraintmen
tionedintheearlierEasyRefresherTMsaystheformula$50,000timesthenumberof
lotsplus$25,000timesthenumberofhousesmustbelessthanorequalto$1,200,000
(thelimitingconstant).Todescribethisfirstconstraint,youenterthefollowingformulain
cellB8:=Lots*50000+Houses*25000andyouentertheconstantvaluewhichlimitsthis
formulaincellC8:

1200000

Todescribethesecondconstrainttheonethatquantifiesthelimitonbulldozercapac
ityyouenterthefollowingformulaincellB9:

=Lots*80+Houses*200

andyouentertheconstantvaluewhichlimitsthisformulaincellC9:

3000

Todescribethethirdconstraintwhichcomesfromyourminimumnumberoflotspolicy
constraintyouenterthefollowingformulaincellB10:

=Lots

andyouentertheconstantvaluewhichlimitsthisformulaincellC10:

10

Finally,todescribethefourthconstraintwhichcomesfromyourminimumnumberof
housespolicyconstraintyouenterthefollowingformulaincellB11:

=Houses

andyouentertheconstantvaluewhichlimitsthisformulaincellC11:

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Onceyouvecompletedtheprecedingsteps,yourereadytouseSolvertolookforan
optimalsolutiontoyourobjectivefunction.

Using Solver
IfyousetupyourworkbookssimilartotheoneshowninFigure617,youwillfindSolver
easytouse.Yousimplyfollowthesesteps:

1.ChoosetheToolsmenusSolvercommand.
ExceldisplaystheSolverParametersdialogbox(seeFigure618).

IfyoudontseetheSolvercommandonyourToolsmenu,itmeanstheSolveraddin
isntyetinstalled.ToinstallSolver,choosetheToolsmenusAddInscommand.When
ExceldisplaystheAddInsdialogbox,scrolldowntheAddInsAvailablelistboxuntil
youseetheSolverAddInentry.SelecttheSolverAddIncheckbox,clickOK,andthen
ifExcelrequestsit,providetheExcelorOfficeinstallationCD.

Figure618.TheSolver
Parametersdialogbox.
2.Identifytheobjectivefunction.
EntertheaddressofthecellthatholdsyourobjectiveintheSetTargetCellbox.For
example,inFigure617,cellB5holdstheobjectivefunction,soyouwouldenterB5in
theSetTargetCellbox.
3.DescribehowSolvershouldoptimizetheobjectivefunction.
UsetheEqualTooptionbuttonstospecifyhowSolveroptimizestheobjectivefunction.
Inthecaseofaprofitfunction,forexample,youwanttomaximizethefunctionsoyou
clicktheMaxbutton.ThisisthecasefortheworkbookshowninFigure617.Ifyour
objectivefunctiondescribedcosts,youwouldinsteadwanttominimizethefunctionand
sowouldclicktheMinbutton.Youmayalsohavesituationsinwhichyouwanttohave
theobjectivefunctionreturnaspecificvalue,andsointhisspecialcaseyouwouldclick
theValueOfbuttonandthenprovidethespecifiedvalue.
4.TellSolverwhichcellsholdyourvariableguesses.
UsetheByChangingCellsboxtotellExcelwhereyouvestoredthevariablesusedin
theobjectivefunctionandconstraintequations.InFigure617,forexample,thework
bookstoresthesevariablesincellsB2andB3,soyoucouldenterthesetwocell

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addressesintheByChangingCellsbox.Ifyouvenamedthevariablecells,youcan
alsotypethecellnames,asshowninFigure618.CellB2isnamedLots,andcellB3is
namedHouses.
5.TellSolveryouwanttobegindescribingconstraints.
ClicktheAddbutton.ExceldisplaystheAddConstraintdialogbox(seeFigure619).

Figure619.TheAdd
Constraintdialogbox.
6.Describethefirstconstraint.
Toaddaconstraint,usetheCellReferenceboxtoidentifythecellholdingthefirst
constraintsequation,usetheunnamedoperatorboxtoselectanappropriateconstraint
operator,andthenusetheConstraintboxtoidentifythecellholdingthefirstconstraints
constantvalue.InthecaseoftheworkbookshowninFigure617,forexample,you
mightdothisbyclickingtheCellReferenceboxandthenclickingcellB8,byselecting
<=operator,andthenbyclickingtheConstraintboxandthenclickingcellC8.Figure6
19showshowtheAddConstraintdialogboxshouldlooktospecifythisconstraint.Click
Addtoaddtheconstraint.Thenrepeatthistasktoaddmoreconstraints.

Theunnameddropdownlistboxprovidesfiveconstraintoperators:<=forindicating
lessthanorequalto,=forindicatingequalto,>=forindicatinggreaterthanorequalto,
intforindicatingthatvariablemustbeinteger,andbinforindicatingthatavariablemust
bebinary(equaleitherto1or0).
7.Addanyimplicitintegerconstraints.
Inmanyoptimizationmodelingproblems,youllalsohaveimplicitintegerconstraints.
Whatthismeans,forexample,isthatyoucantusedecimalvaluesaspartofthe
optimalsolution.Forexample,youmightsaythatyoumustdevelopanintegernumber
ofbuildinglotsorbuildanintegernumberofhouses.Orrestatedslightly,youmightsay
thatyoucantgettotheendoftheyearandhaveoneofyourbuildinglotsonlyhalf
doneoroneofyourhousesonlypartiallycomplete.Tospecifyanintegerconstraint,use
theCellReferenceboxtoidentifythevariablecellthatmustbeintegerandthenselect
theintoperatorfromtheunnameddropdownlistbox.Figure620showshowtheAdd
Constraintdialogboxlookswhenyouspecifyanintegerconstraint.Notethatyoudont
enterthewordintegerintheConstraintbox.Exceldoesthat.

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Figure620.TheAdd
Constraintdialogbox,this
timeshowinghowaninteger
constraintlooks.
8.Addanybinaryconstraints.
Inahandfulofoptimizationmodelingproblems,youmayalsohavebinaryconstraints.A
binaryconstraintisoneinwhichthevariablemustequaleither0or1.Tospecifya
binaryconstraint,usetheCellReferenceboxtoidentifythevariablecellthatmustbe
binaryandthenselectthebinoperatorfromtheunnameddropdownlistbox.
9.TellExcelyouredoneaddingconstraints.
ToleavetheAddConstraintdialogboxafteryoufinishdescribingyourlastconstraint,
clickOK.ExcelclosestheAddConstraintdialogboxandreturnsyoutotheSolver
Parametersdialogbox.AnyconstraintsyouveaddedshowintheSubjectTo
Constraintslistbox.

Ifyouaddaconstraintandlaterwanttodeleteit,displaytheSolverParametersdialog
box,selecttheconstraint,andthenclicktheDeletebutton.Ifyouaddaconstraintand
laterwanttoeditit,displaytheSolverParametersdialogbox,selecttheconstraint,and
thenclicktheChangebutton.WhenExceldisplaystheEditConstraintdialogbox,useit
tomakeyourchanges.TheEditConstraintdialogboxworksliketheAddConstraint
dialogbox.
10.TellExceltolookforasolution.
ClicktheSolvebuttontodirectExceltolookforasolutiontoyouroptimizationmod
elingproblem.ExcellooksforasolutionandthendisplaystheSolverResultsdialogbox
(seeFigure621).

Figure621.TheSolver
Resultsdialogbox.
Thisdialogboxidentifiesthevariablevaluesthatoptimizeyourobjectivefunctionand
askswhatyouwanttodowiththesevalues.

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TotellExceltosaveitssolution,clicktheKeepSolverSolutionbuttonandclick
OK.
TotellExceltodiscarditssolution,clicktheRestoreOriginalValuesbuttonand
clickOK.
TotellExceltosaveitssolutionasascenario,clicktheSaveScenariobuttonand
thenprovideascenarionamewhenprompted.

Theearliersection,WhatIfAnalysiswithScenarioManager,discusseshowscenarios
work.

Reviewing Solver Reports

TheSolverResultsdialogboxgivesyoutheoptionofgeneratingseveralreportsonthe
optimizationmodelingthatSolverperforms.Togeneratethesereports,clickthereportor
reportsyouwantwhenExceldisplaystheSolverResultsdialogbox(seeFigure621).

ExceldoesnotallowIntegerconstraintsinSensitivityandLimitreports.Youwillneedto
returntotheSolverParametersdialogbox(seeFigure618)anddeletetheinteger
parametersforHousesandLotstogetthesereports.Thesereportsinvolvegraphingseveral
parametersinseveralequations.Whenyougraphacomplexequation,notalloftheresults
willhaveintegervalues.

Understanding the Answer Report

Theanswerreport,whichExcelplacesonaseparateworksheet,providesinformationabout
howclosetheoptimalsolutionistoyouroriginalguessesandaboutwhichconstraintsbind,
orlimit,optimization.Figure622showsanexampleanswerreport.Atthetopofthereport,
Excelcomparestheoriginalobjectionfunctionformularesultwiththeobjectionfunction
resultprovidedbyoriginalvariablevalues.InFigure622,forexample,Excelshowsthe
originalobjectivefunctionvalueas425000andthefinalobjectivefunctionvalueas440000.
TheSolverinthiscaseimprovestheobjectivefunctionby15000.

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Figure622.Theanswerreport.
Beneaththecomparisonoftheoriginalandfinalvaluesoftheobjectivefunctionsformula
results,Excelcomparestheoriginalvaluesandfinalvaluesofthevariables(seeFigure6
22).ThisinformationletsyouseeexactlybyhowmuchExceladjuststhevariablesinorder
tooptimizeyourobjectivefunction.

Atthebottomoftheanswerreport,Excelanalyzestheconstraintsbycalculatingthefor
mularesultsfortheconstraintsandthencomparingtheseformularesultstotheconstraint
constants.Thissoundslikebusyworkatfirstblush,butthisinformationisoftenveryuseful
intwoimportantways:First,youcanusetheStatusinformationtoseewhichconstraintsare
binding,orlimiting.InFigure622,thebindingconstraintisthebulldozerhours.Second,you
canusetheSlackinformationtoseehowcloseagivenconstraintcomestobecoming
binding.InFigure622,theworkingcapitalconstraintshowsonly25000ofslackinother
words,youhaveonlya2%marginoferrorwithyourworkingcapital($25,000/$1,200,000).

Understanding the Sensitivity Report

Thesensitivityreport,whichExcelalsoplacesonaseparateworksheet,showsreduced
gradientsforthevariablesandtheLagrangemultipliersfortheconstraints(seeFigure623).
Areducedgradientvalueshowshowtheobjectivefunctionwouldchangeifthevariable
valueincreasedby1.TheLagrangemultipliershowshowtheobjectivefunctionwould
changeiftheconstraintconstantincreasedby1.

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Figure623.Thesensitivityreport.
SomereducedgradientvaluesandsomeLagrangemultiplierswillalwaysshowas0.The
reducedgradientequals0ifthevariablevaluecantbeincreased,andtheLagrange
multipliershowsas0ifaconstraintconstantisntbinding.
AcloserinspectionofthesensitivityreportshowninFigure623,forexample,showsthatthe
reducedgradientvaluesforboththeLotsandHousesvariablesequal0.Thisindicatesthat
neithervaluecanbeincreased.ThesensitivityreportdoesshowLagrangemultipliersforthe
workingcapitalconstraintandforthebulldozerhoursconstraint.TheLagrangemultiplierfor
thebulldozerhourslimit,78.125,indicatesthata1hourincreaseinthenumberofbull
dozinghoursavailableincreasestheobjectivefunction(yourprofits)by78.125.

IfyouvecreatedalinearoptimizationmodelandIlldiscusslinearmodelsbrieflyinthenext
section,CustomizingSolversOperationyoursensitivityreportsincludeseveralad
ditionalpiecesofinformation,includingreducedcosts,shadowprices,objectivecoefficients,
andconstraintrighthandsideranges.

Understanding the Limits Report

Thelimitsreport,whichExcelplacesonstillanotherworksheet,showsyouhowmuchyour
variablevaluescanchangebutstillstaywithinyourconstraints(seeFigure624).Foreach
variable,thelimitsreportshowsthecalculatedoptimalvalue,thelowestpossiblevaluethat
isallowable,andthehighestpossiblevaluethatisallowable.InFigure624andthiswould
oftenbethecasethelowerlimitandupperlimitvaluesequaltheoptimalvalues.This
showsthatthesevariablevaluescanbechangedwithoutaffectingtheoptimalsolutionor
violatingconstraints.Note,however,thatsomeoptimizationproblemsdoallowyouto
changevariablevalueswhilecontinuingtooptimizethefunctionandcontinuingtostaywithin
thestatedconstraints.Thishappenswhentherearemultiplesetsofvariablevaluesthatopti
mizetheequation.

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Figure624.Thelimitsreport.

Customizing Solvers Operation

TheSolverParametersdialogboxprovidesanOptionsbuttonthatyoucanclicktodisplay
theSolverOptionsdialogbox(seeFigure625).TheSolverOptionsdialogboxletsyou
customizethewayinwhichSolverworksoutyourproblem.Theparagraphsthatfollow
brieflydescribeeachoftheSolveroptionsalongwithhowandwhyyoumightchangetheir
settings.

Figure625.TheSolverOptions
dialogbox.

Max Time and Iterations

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Ahandfuloftheseoptionsareessentiallyselfdescriptive.TheMaxTimebox,forexample,
letsyouspecifyhowlongSolvershouldworkonaproblem,andcanitbesetashighas
32,767seconds(whichisoverninehours).TheIterationsboxletsyouspecifyhowmany
iterationsSolvershouldworkonaproblem,anditcanbesetashighas32,767.

Precision
ThePrecisionboxletsyouspecifyhowpreciseSolvershouldbeincheckingapossible
optimalsolutionagainstyourconstraints.Aprecisionsettingof0.000001,thedefaultset
ting,tellsExcelthatifaconstraintformulavalueiswithin0.000001oftheconstraintcon
stant,itmeetstheconstraint.YoucansetthePrecisionboxtoanyvaluefrom0to1.To
loosenyourprecision,usealargerPrecisionvalue.Totightenyourprecision,useasmaller
Precisionvalue.Asyouboostyourprecision,predictably,Exceltakeslongertoreacha
solution.

Tolerance
TheToleranceboxletsyouspecifyhowpreciseSolvershouldbeinmakingsurethatany
integerconstraintsaremet.ThedefaultTolerancesettingof5,or5%,meansthatifan
objectivefunctionvariableiswithin5%ofanintegervaluefrom95%to105%,inother
wordsExcelcanconsiderittobeaninteger.TheTolerancesetting,bytheway,applies
onlytooptimizationproblemsthatuseintegerconstraints.Asyouincreaseyourprecision,
predictably,Exceltakeslongertoreachasolution.

Convergence
TheConvergenceboxletsyouindicatewhenExcelshouldstoplookingforabettersolu
tion.YoucansettheConvergencevaluetoanyfractionalvaluebetween0and1.Whenthe
changeintheobjectivefunctionislessthanthevalueshownintheConvergencebox,Ex
celstopslookingforabettersolution.TheConvergencesetting,bytheway,appliesonlyto
nonlinearoptimizationmodelingproblems.Asyoureducetheconvergencesetting(i.e.,
increasetheprecision),predictably,Exceltakeslongertoreachasolution.

Assume Linear Model

Iftherelationshipsinyouroptimizationarelinear,youcanselecttheAssumeLinearModel
checkbox.Bydoingthis,yousimplifythecalculationsthatExcelhastomakeand,thereby,
speedthingsup.

Assume NonNegative

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IfyouwanttotellExcelthatyourvariablesmustbeequaltoorgreaterthan0whenyou
haventsetalowerlimitconstraint,youcanselecttheAssumeNonNegativecheckbox.In
effect,whenyoucheckthisbox,youtellExceltocreateanother,implicitsetofconstraints.

Use Automatic Scaling

YoushouldselecttheAutomaticScalingcheckboxwhenyoureworkingwithvariablesand
formularesultsthatdifferinmagnitude.Anexampleofthissituationiswhenyouresolving
forarateofreturn(apercentage)usingasetoflargedollarvariables.

Show Iteration Results

YoucanselecttheShowIterationResultscheckboxtodirectExceltopauseaftereach
calculationiteration.Aftereachcalculationiteration,ExceldisplaysaShowTrialSolution
dialogbox.YoucansavethetrialsolutionbyclickingtheSaveScenariobutton.Oryoucan
continuetoworktowardthesolutionbyclickingtheContinuebutton.Toterminatethe
iterations,clicktheStopbutton.

Estimates
YouusetheEstimatesoptionbuttonsTangentandQuadratictochoosetheapproachthat
youwantExceltousetocomeupwiththefirsttrialsolution.SelectTangentifyouwantExcel
toextrapolatelinearlyfromatangentvector.SelectQuadraticifyouwantExcelto
extrapolatequadraticlyatechniquewhichmayyieldbetterresultsfornonlinear
optimizationmodelingproblems.

Derivatives
YouusetheDerivativesoptionbuttonsForwardandCentraltospecifythedifferencing
usedtoestimatepartialderivativesoftheobjectivefunctionandconstraintfunctionfor
mulas.Typically,youcanclicktheForwardbutton.However,ifanoptimizationproblemcant
besolvedwithForwardderivatives,youcanclicktheCentralbutton.Usingdifferentials
nearthecenterofatargetoftentakesmorecalculationstosolve,butcanbebetterwith
highlyconstrainedproblemssuchasairlineticketprices.

Search
TheSearchoptionbuttonsNewtonandConjugateletyouchoosethealgorithmExcel
usestofindanoptimalsolution.Ifyourpersonalcomputerhaslotsoffreememory,clickthe
Newtonbuttontoreducethenumberofcalculationiterations(albeitattheexpenseofusing

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