7

Step 5—Define Minimum Goals

Image

There is a surprising answer to a problem often given to students of operations research. The problem involves a city bus company that provides poor service. Passengers are required to wait a long time for a slow-moving bus to pick them up. The students are given the statistical parameters of the problem and are asked to provide the bus company with recommendations on how to improve its service. The solution is surprising because it involves removing buses rather than adding them or increasing their capacity. Apparently, fewer busses reduce traffic congestion, allowing them to move faster.

This is a variation of the ...

Get Catastrophe Disentanglement: Getting Software Projects Back on Track now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.