FINAL PROJECT:

A hard copy and electronic of your project must be submitted.

Please read and follow instructions below.

1. The electronic copy of the zip file of all relevant files must be submitted to the server no later than 5:45 PM on Thursday, March 18, 2010. Please follow the naming convention and other instructions posted below

2. The hard copy must be turned in to me. There are four options:

i) Submit a hard copy to me personally by 4 PM, Thursday, March 18, 2010 in my office 430 Harper Center.

ii) Place the hard copy in my mailbox 220B Harper Center by 4 PM on Thursday, March 18, 2010. I will make a last pass by my mailbox at 4 PM and then head to Gleacher. Do not submit to my mailbox after this time.

iii) Submit a hard copy to faculty services in room 430 Gleacher Center by 6 PM on Thursday, March 18, 2010.

iv) Submit a hard copy to me personally between 6:30 and 7:00 PM, Thursday, March 18, 2010 in room 204 of the Gleacher Center.

3. Any project not meeting the above criteria will be considered late and penalized 30% per day late. The cutoff times for the end of a day is 5:45 PM. No exceptions will be made.

4. For your project to count, the following must be on the title page AND signed.

"This project represents my own work. I have not worked with other students on this project. I understand that doing so is a violation of the honor code."

If you do not do the above you will be notified and required to resubmit both the electronic copy and hard copy. If the resubmission is late, it will result in a late penalty as defined in 3.

  1. Project Guidelines
  2. Project Grading
  3. Scenario Based Models
  4. Energy Reference Case

Please submit a project proposal (1 page max) on or before February 25, 2010.

A Few Other Project Issues:

  1. Directories: Make sure in the write-up that it is clear where I put your files. Please base things on the C: drive and make as simple as possible.
  2. If you use User Forms please put in default values.
  3. You may wish to look at the GAMS FinModels -- make sure to reference!
  4. If you use a mathematical model, clearly write this model out and define all variables, constraints, objective, etc.
  5. CLARITY IS CRUCIAL: ASSUME THAT YOU ARE WRITING FOR SOMEONE OF AVERAGE OR BELOW AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE!

Final Project Office Hours (Possibly Subject to Change, Always Check):

Friday, March 12: No Hours

Saturday, March 13: 2:00 - 5:00 PM Harper Center 430 (Martin)

Monday, March 15: 3:00 - 5:00 PM Harper Center 430 (Martin)

Monday, March 15: 5:00 - 6:00 PM Gleacher Center 303 (Baek)

Monday, March 15: 6:00 - 8:00 PM Gleacher Center 303 (Martin)

Tuesday, March 16: 12:30 - 3:00 PM Harper Center 430 (Martin)

Tuesday, March 16: 5:30 - 8:00 PM Gleacher Center 303 (Martin)

Wednesday, March 17: 3:00 - 5:00 PM Harper Center 430 (Martin)

In a modern corporation, data reside in numerous places in various formats. To build analytical models for decision support, it is necessary to integrate data from various sources. This course will focus on how to do this system integration using Excel and Matlab. The course will also cover building optimization models, constructing simulation models, and coding in the VBA and MATLAB scripting languages. Students will learn how to use Excel and Matlab as an aid in analyzing cases and completing homework and projects in other Booth courses. Students will also learn to use the GAMS modeling language developed at the World Bank. This course has the following objectives.

  • Learn to use MATLAB. This is an important program used in a number of other Booth courses. In the business world it is used extensively on Wall Street.
  • Learn VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), a key tool that adds tremendous functionality to Microsoft Excel. This tool is also widely used in business.
  • Develop skill in building analytical models to support decision making. This includes optimization and simulation models.
  • Learn how to access and integrate data that reside in different locations and use these data as input to models.
  • Learn to use the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) developed at the World Bank. This modeling system will allow students to formulate and solve realistic models using the input from Excel and MATLAB.

IMPORTANT: Please bring your laptop to class.

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