Abstract

We will discuss the modelling process using operational research techniques and its implementation with open source technology. Particularly, we will use two problems as an example.

In the first one, we will model the problem of fibre optic deployment in a rural area. To model it, we use the OpenStreetMap project to create a network of driving/walking distances. Moreover, to solve the problem of finding the minimum length of the network, we use the cycle elimination formulation and Kruskal's algorithm. We provide not only the minimum network length but a list of priorities to link the communities.

The second problem is related to computing the relative efficiency of business units using a Data Envelopment Analysis model; we developed an R-based application to compute business units' efficiency and detect its changes over time. We use a database of Mexican public higher education institutes. The proposed model's objective is to compute the institutions' efficiency concerning the budget allocated to them by the government.