Front Matter

Front MatterSource: Operations Research, Vol. 27, No. 1 (Jan. - Feb., 1979), pp. i-xPublished by: INFORMSStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/170240 .

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OResearch Volume 27 Number 1

January- February 1979

Practice

Operational Science

Methodologies fl

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Operations Research

EDITOR William P. Pierskalla, 2 Denford Drive Newtown Square, Pa. 19073

AREA EDITORS Allocation, Distribution, Production and Scheduling: Linus E. Schrage, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago, 5836 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago, IlIl. 60637

Computational Structures and Techniques: Richard E. Nance, Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. 24061

Energy and Environment: William Hogan, John F. Kennedy School of Govern- ment, 79 Boylston St., Room 118, Cambridge, Mass. 02138

Health Care and Welfare: Richard H. Shachtman, Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27514

Marketing: Glen L. Urban, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. 02139

Operations Management and Other Private SectorApplications: Arnoldo Hax, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cam- bridge, Mass. 02139.

Optimization: George L. Nemhauser, School of Operations Research and In- dustrial Engineering, Upson Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853

Social Sciences, Defense, Criminal Justice and Other Public Sector Applica- tions: Stephen M. Pollock, Department of Industrial and Operations Engi- neering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48109

Stochastic Processes and Their Applications: Daniel P. Heyman, Bell Labora- tories, Building WP Room 1 G31 1, Holmdel, N.J. 07733

Editorial Assistant Carol S. Pierskalla, 2 Denford Drive Newtown Square, Pa. 19073

ASSOCIATE EDITORS L. Bruce Anderson Richard L. Francis H. Donald Ratliff Egon Balas Robert S. Garfinkel Richard G. Richels Lawrence Bodin Harvey Greenberg Stephen M. Robinson Stephen P. Bradley Carl Harris Robert Rosenthal W. Peter Cherry David S. P. Hopkins Michael H. Rothkopf Joseph G. Ecker Peter J. Kolesar Paul Schweitzer Mark J. Eisner Jon C. Liebman Richard F. Serfozo Hamilton Emmons Thomas L. Magnanti C. M. Shetty Gary D. Eppen Michael D. Maltz Shaler Stidham Peter Farquhar William L. Maxwell Richard Van Slyke Bennett L. Fox Frederic H. Murphy David Zalkind

Evan L. Porteus

Copyright ? 1 979 by the Operations Research Society of America. Published six times a year in February, April, June, August, October, and December by the Operations

Research Society of America at 428 East Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. Second-class postage paid at Baltimore, MD 21202, and at additional mailing offices. ISSN 0030-364X. Composed and Printed by Waverly Press Inc., Baltimore, MD 21202



Operations Research

EDITORIAL POLICY

Operations Research publishes quality operations research and management science work of interest to the OR practitioner and researcher in the three substantive categories: operations research methods, data based operational science, and the practice of OR. Included are papers reporting underlying data based principles of operational science, observations of operating systems, contributions to the methods and models of OR, case histories of applications, review articles, and discussions of aspects of such subjects as the administrative environment, the history, policy, practice, future, or arenas of application of operations research.

Papers on transportation are generally published in the ORSA publication, Transportation Science. Papers whose main contribution is to the underlying mathematics are more appropriate for the joint ORSA/TIMS publication, Math- ematics of Operations Research.

Complete studies that contain data, computer experiments, etc., and integrate the theory, methods, and applications are of particular interest. Thus, we encour- age case studies of lasting value. However, contributors should submit informal descriptions of cases to the joint ORSA/TIMS publication Interfaces.

A "Technical Notes" section contains brief articles on all of the topics men- tioned above. Commentary appears in a "Letters to the Editor" section.

All papers published in Operations Research are refereed. Initial refereeing of clear, concise, well-written papers normally takes about four months for papers of average length, but generally a shorter time for notes.

Decisions on manuscripts for publication in Operations Research will be based, in part, on the answers to such questions as: Does this paper make a new and substantial contribution to the literature of operations research? Will it be of interest to a significant group of OR workers? Does the paper give sufficient introductory and summary material to inform readers of the content, importance, and possible fields of application of the material covered? It is clearly, concisely, accurately and logically written? Could it benefit from condensation or expansion? Is its character clear from title, abstract and text? Does the paper describe its relations to previously published work, and does it give adequate credit and references to this work?

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTORS

Authors should submit four copies of manuscripts directly to the appropriate Area Editor. Papers that are not in the fields covered by the Area Editors should be sent to the Editor, William P. Pierskalla, 2 Denford Drive, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073. Papers should not be sent to the Associate Editors.

Submission of a manuscript is a representation that the paper has been neither published nor submitted for publication elsewhere, and that, if the work is officially sponsored, it has been released for open publication. The manuscript should be accompanied by a Copyright Transfer Agreement from the authors (or their employers-whoever holds the copyright) transferring the copyright to ORSA. The form for this agreement is printed in the January-February issue of this journal and is also available from the Editor and the Business Manager. This



written transfer of copyright, which previously was assumed to be implicit in the act of submitting a manuscript, is necessary under the 1978 U.S. Copyright Law in order for ORSA to continue disseminating operations research results as widely as possible. Copies of a manuscript will not be returned to an author unless he makes a specific request, or unless reviewers have provided annotations that will be of use to him.

Observe the following points in preparing manuscripts (those not conforming closely to these instructions will be returned to their authors for appropriate revisions):

1. Readability. The abstract and the introduction of every paper must be free of unnecessary jargon and clearly readable by any ORSA member. The abstract should be self-contained, summarize the problem, principal results and conclusions; it should not contain formulas or references nor exceed 200 words. The introduction must clearly state the problem, the results to be found in the paper and their significance to the operations research community. The introduction does not have a section heading. The main sections of the paper must be readable, the level of mathematics and/or terminology appropriate to the topic, and the material logically presented.

2. Style. Your paper's message will be enhanced if it is presented in active, forceful, and concise prose. Since good writing is a craft at least as difficult as doing operations research, before beginning your paper you will be well advised to refresh your recollection of some of the most important points of good style to remember by spending some time with a source of good editorial advice, such as Donald H. Menzel, Howard Mumford Jones, and Lyle G. Boyd, Writing a Technical Paper, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1961. While the Editor and his staff will correct the minor lapses from good style in your manuscript, they cannot undertake wholesale revisions of poorly written papers. It is a good idea to run your manuscript through more than one draft, and to have an early one reviewed by someone who can give you effective advice on style. There is no a priori limit to the number of pages for a paper; however, conciseness and clarity of presentation should be stressed.

3. Spacing and format. Double-space manuscripts throughout (including the abstract, subsidiary matter and references) with the original in typewritten form. Put subsidiary matter on separate sheets (see Figures and tables). The introduction does not have a section heading; begin numbering with the main sections.

4. Footnotes. Operations Research does not use footnotes; incorporate subsidiary material that would otherwise appear in footnotes in the main text (possibly in parentheses or brackets), or place it in a section at the end of the text. In particular, place the usual acknowledgments of presentation, support, and assistance in such a final section.

5. References. List only those references that are cited in the text. References in the text should be indicated by bracketed numbers, e.g., [3]. The first citing should give the author's last name, e.g., Kolesar [3]. At the end of the paper list references alphabetically by the surname of the first author and number them consecutively. For journal references, give at least author, title, journal name, volume, pages, and year; for book references, give at least author, title, publisher, city, state, and year; for example:

1. P. KOLESAR AND W. E. WALKER, An Algorithm for the Dynamic Relo- cation of Fire Companies," Opns. Res. 22, 249-274 (1974).

2. PHILIP M. MORSE AND GEORGE E. KIMBALL, Methods of Operations Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1951.

6. Mathematical expressions. Use the solidus whenever possible in prefer- ii



a ence to built-up fractions, e.g., a/(I - b) rather than b write complicated

exponentials in the form exp ( );avoid subscripts or superscripts on subscripts or superscripts; and, in general, minimize unusual typographical requirements. Make subscripts and superscripts large and clear. On first occurrence label unusual or ambiguous symbols; for example, distinguish the letter "oh" from the numeral "zero." The difference between upper and lower case letters should be clear. Display only those mathematical expressions that must be numbered for later reference or need to be emphasized. Put numbers at the right of the mathematical expressions.

7. Figures and tables. Draw figures in black ink on white paper in a form suitable for photographic reproduction. Make lettering of uniform size and suffi- ciently large to be legible when the figure is reduced to final size. Send originals of typed tables suitable for photographic reproduction. Designate figures by arabic numbers, designate tables by roman numerals, and type the legends for the figures and tables on a single separate sheet rather than placing them on the originals. Please proofread carefully since later changes can be made only by submitting new originals.

8. Reporting computational experience. In reporting computational experience on the efficiency of algorithms follow the guidelines given in Operations Research volume 27, number 1, entitled "Reporting Computational Experience in Operations Research." Copies of these guidelines may be obtained from the ORSA Business Manager, 428 East Preston Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, USA, or from the Editor, William P. Pierskalla, 2 Denford Drive, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073, USA.

9. Abstract and introduction. Preface each article with a self-contained abstract that summarizes the problem and the principal results and conclusions. The abstract should not contain formulas or references and should not exceed 200 words. The abstract and introductory material should be written in an expository style that will be comprehensible to readers who are not technical experts in the subject matter. The introduction does not have a section heading.

10. Reprints. Operations Research does not have page charges, nor does it supply free reprints. Authors of accepted articles may order reprints at reasonable rates at the time they submit their corrected galley proofs. Reprints of individual articles are not available from ORSA.

Announcements should be sent to the Editor of OR/MS Today, Armand Weiss, 6516 Truman Lane, Falls Church, VA 22043.

Books for review should be sent to the Book Review Editor of Interfaces, Professor M. E. Thomas, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332.

Reproduction of Journal Articles 1. Permission is granted to quote from this Journal in scientific works with the customary

acknowledgment of the source. The reprinting of a figure, table or an excerpt requires the consent of one of the original authors and the notification of ORSA.

2. Reprinting of any article or a portion of an article beyond that permitted in Paragraph 1 requires written permission from the copyright holder (ORSA) and payment of an appropriate royalty. Reprinting requests should be directed to the ORSA Business Office and should contain the following details: author, title, volume number, year, intended purpose or use of the article (book, journal, abstract, anthology, etc.) and estimated sale price of the work. Permission must first be obtained from the author(s) and be submitted to the Business Office with the request.

iii



3. Libraries maintaining a "reserve list" are permitted to reproduce five copies of an article for this purpose. Additional copies are subject to the copying fee as covered in the 1978 U.S. copyright law as explained in the following paragraph.

4. On the first page of each article is a code line and a notation of a $1.25 fee, which indicates ORSA's consent that copies may be made for personal or internal use of specific clients. A condition of this consent is that the copier must pay the per article fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., P. 0. Box 765, Schenectady, New York 12301. This consent does not extend to copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works, or for resale, which is covered in Paragraph 2 above.

Subscription Rate: Effective 1/1/79 $50.00 per volume ($53.00 outside U.S. and Canada via Surface Mail. NOTE: Air Service available at $69.00 outside U.S. and Canada). Payable in advance in U.S.A. funds drawn on a U.S.A. Bank.

Subscriptions are payable in advance. Remittance should accompany order. Subscriptions, requests for membership information and application should be addressed to ORSA, 428 East Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.

Claims of Non-receipt: Claims should be made within six months of publication. Issues claimed after six months may be purchased as back issues.

Back Issues: Volumes 14 to date are available from ORSA at $9.00 per issue, payable in advance. Order Volumes 1-13 from Kraus Reprint Corporation, 16 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017.

Microfilm editions are available from the Microfilm Department, Waverly Press, Inc., 428 East Preston Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.

Microfiche editions are available from Johnson Associates, P.O. Box 1017, Greenwich, CT 06830.

Employment opportunities listed by United States employers or for employment in the United States guarantee equal employment opportunities regardless of race, creed, or sex. Advertisements by non-U.S. employers for work overseas do not carry such guarantees. Acceptance of such advertisements by this publication does not in any way imply agreement by ORSA with the policies or practices of employers who do not offer equal employment opportunities.

iv



1978-1979 Operions Resean Sociey of America COUNCIL OF THE SOCIETY EDITORS OFFICERS OPERATIONS RESEARCH President: SETH BONDER GEORGE L. NEMHAUSER, SORIE, Upson

Vector Research, Inc., P.O. Box 1506, Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Ann Arbor, MI 48106, (313) 973-9210 14853

Vice President: JOHN D. C. LITTLE Sloan School of Management, E53-350, TRANSPORTATION SCIENCE Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, (617) 253-3738 GORDON F. NEWELL, Institute of Trans-

Secretary: WILLIAM P. PIERSKALLA portation Studies, University of Califor- The Leonard Davis Institute of Health nia, 416 McLaughlin Hall, Berkeley, CA Economics, University of Pennsylvania, 94720, (415) 642-3558 Colonial Penn Center, 3641 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (215) PUBLICATIONS IN OPERATIONS RE- 243-5611 SEARCH (PORS)

Treasurer: DAVID A. SCHRADY Dean of Information and Policy Sci- SAUI. GASSiCollege of Business &Man- ences, Naval Postgraduate School, agement, University of Maryland, Col- Monterey, CA 93940, (408) 646-2616 lege Park, MD 20742, (301) 454-3842

INTERFACES*

GENE D. WOOLSEY, Editor, Department PAST PRESIDENTS of Mineral Economics, Colorado School 1976-79: JACK R. BORSTING of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, (303) 279-

Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, 0300 x484 CA 93940, (408) 646-2371

1977-80: SAUL I. GASS MATHEMATICS OF OPERATIONS RE- College of Business & Management, SEARCH* University of Maryland, College Park, ARTHUR F. VEINOTT, JR., Department of MD 20742 (301) 454-3842OprtosRsacSnfdUiv- 1978-81: ALFRED BLUMSTEIN sity Stanford CA 94305, (415) 497-3576 School of Urban and Public Affairs, , , Carnegie-Mellon University, Pitts- burgh, PA 15213, (412) 578-2176 OR/MS TODAY*

ARMAND B. WEISS, 6516 Truman Lane, Falls Church, VA 22043, (703) 841-2802

MEMBERS 1976-79 * Joint Publications of the Operations Re-

JOANN H. LANGSTON, U.S. Consumer search Society of America and The Institute Product Safety Commission, 5401 of Management Sciences. Westbard Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20207, (301) 492-6529 BUSINESS MANAGER

PAUL H. RANDOLPH, Energy Economics Division, Chase Manhattan Bank, New Operations Research Society of America, York, NY 10015, (212) 552-4145 428 East Preston Street, Baltimore,

1977-80 4 28 528n4146 ALAN MANNE, Dept. of Operations Re-MD 21202, (301) 528-4146

search, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, (415) 497-3576

MICHAEL THOMAS, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia In- stitute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, (404) 894-2300 SOCIETY OFFICES

1978-81 JOHN Y. BARRY, Basic Research Group, ORSA Circulation Office: Send member-

J. P. Morgan and Co., Inc., 23 Wall ship dues ($25.00), address changes, claims Street, New York, NY 10015, (212) 483- of non-receipt and non-member subscrip- 2612 tion orders to, 345 W4hitney Avenue, New

RALPH L. DISNEY, Department of Indus- Haven CT 06511 (203) 865-3290 trial Engineering and Operations Re- ORSA Business Office: Send all other cor- search, Virginia Polytechnic Institute respondence not directly related to the mail- and State University, Blacksburg, VA ing list to, 428 East Preston Street, Balti- 24061, (703) 951-6147 more, Md 21202 (301) 528-4146



COMMITTEES 1978-79 Nominating

Affiliated Professional Activities JACK R. BORSTING, Provost and Aca- demic Dean, Naval Postgraduate

DAVID HOPKINS, Academic Planning Of- School, Monterey, CA 93940, (408) 646- fice, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 2371 94305, (415) 497-4567

Education Publications THOM J. HODGSON, Department of Indus-

trial and Systems Engineering, Univer- HUGH E. BRAlzLEY, The Upjohn Com- sity of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, pany, Kalamazoo, MI 49001, (616) 323- (904) 392-1464 6791

1978-79 Visiting Lecturer Program

AUGUSTINE 0. ESOGBUE, School of Indus- trial and Systems Engineering, Georgia DAVID A. SCHRADY, Dean of Information Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, & Policy Sciences, Naval Postgraduate 30332, (404) 894-2323 School, Monterey, CA 93940, (408) 646-

2616 Ethics & Professional Practice

JOHN D. KETTELLE, Ketron, Inc., 1400 Student Affairs Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22209, (703) 527-4200 SAMuEL H. PARRY, Dept. of Operations

Research, Naval Postgraduate School, Geographical Sections Monterey, CA 93940

BERNARD B. ROSENMAN, US Army In- ventory Research Office, Rm 800 U. S. Custom House, 2nd and Chestnut Technical Sections Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19106; (215) RICHARD D. SMALLWOOD, Analysis Re- 597-8377 search Group, Xerox Palo Alto Re-

search Center, Palo Alto, CA 94304, George E. Kimball Medal (415) 494-4090

JOSEPH ENGEL, Systems Engineering De- partment, University of Chicago at Chi- Organizational Liaison Coordinator cago, Chicago, IL 60680 John G. Honig, 7701 Glenmore Spring

Lanchester Prize Way, Bethesda, MD 20034

PETER KOLESAR, Chairman-1977, 417 Uris Hall, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027; (212) 280-4105

ALAN J. GOLDMAN, Chairman-1978, Ap- Representatives plied Mathematics Division, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. AAAS BtJ1rON V. DEAN 20234, (301) 921-3855 GEORGE K. CHACKO

Long Range Planning ACM J. T. CHU

RALPH L. DISNEY, Dept. of Industrial En- AICPA ROBE3RT S. KAPLAN gineering, Virginia Polytechnic Inst. AIIE JOHN A. WHITE and State Univ., Blackburg, VA 24061, ASPA WILLIAM A. WALLACE (703) 951-6147

CBMS ALAN J. GOLDMAN Meetings CORS R. GoRDON CASSIDY

MICHAEL E. THOMAS, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia In- LAPS/PEI J. FRANKLIN SHARP stitute of Technology, Atlanta, GA IEEE RIcHArD C. LARSON 30332, (404) 894-2300 IFORS JACK R. BOIRSTuING

Membership IIASA HARVEY WAGNER

MICHAEL J. MAGAZINE, Department of MORS CLAYTON J. THOMAS Managerial Sciences, University of Wa- NRC SAUL I. GASS terloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, (519) 885-1211 MPS HARVEY J. GREENBERG

vi



Reporting Computational Experience in Operations Research

Many papers appearing in Operations Research use the results of computer experiments to indicate the efficiency of an algorithm. To date there have been no standards or guidelines that indicate how to conduct such experiments or how to present the results. The uneven reporting of these results in the literature underscores this omission. To correct this situation, the guidelines below should be followed. They provide a summary of important points that should be considered when writing or evaluating a paper in which computational results are reported; they should also be consulted when reporting the computational details of an application of operations research methodology.

These guidelines were written by M. Florian, B. Fox, H. Crowder, R. Dembo, and J. Mulvey. The guidelines represent a significant step forward in the methodology for evaluating and presenting computational experience to the Operations Research community. They will be a major part of the standards by which we will judge contributions in this area along with our well-known standards of contribution to knowledge in Operations Research, creativity and readability.

As time passes these guidelines may indeed be broadened and strengthened to encompass new methodologies and evaluatory mechanisms. We invite your con- structive comments and discussion on these guidelines.

GEORGE NEMHAUSER

Area Editor, Optimization

WILLIAM PIERSKALLA

Editor

A. Description of the Algorithm

1. The description of the algorithms) may take the form of an intuitive overview followed by a statement of the algorithm that is explicit enough for the reader to grasp the essential structure without being burdened by fine detail (see part B). Knuth's texts could be used as a model for style of presentation of algorithms; see, for instance, Algorithm A, p. 273, in reference [2].

2. The class of problems for which the proposed algorithm is designed. 3. If theoretical results on computational complexity or convergence rates or

error bounds are available, they should be provided. If they are not provided, the author should state explicitly that to the best of his/her knowledge they are not available and that he could not derive them.

4. If the algorithm presented is an alternate way of solving a problem for which other algorithms are known, then the main "competitors" should be referred to and where possible included in the numerical experiments.

B. Description of Computer-Based Implementation

1. The program should be described accurately and clearly. Modules should be presented in such a way that logical relationships and paths between them are clear and simple.

vii



viii Computational Experience Reporting Guidelines 2. The computer environment should be described: manufacturer and model,

operating system and options, programming languages) and variant used, compiler name and options used.

3. Any special computer science techniques (e.g., heaps, buckets, linked lists) that were used in the implementation should be reported.

4. The control parameters and tolerances used in implementation should be described. Note: Some of this material may best be included in the backup paper referred to in Section D.2. However, if B.3 affects A.3, then B must be discussed in the main paper.

C. Experimental Design

1. A clear statement of the objectives) of the computational experiments should be made. All relevant parameters are to be listed, identifying those which are fixed and those which are to be varied (and over what ranges); the design of the experiment should be described in statistical terms stating variance reduc- tion techniques used (e.g., common random numbers, antithetic variates). The following are to be considered, where applicable:

(i) determining relative importance of parameters. (ii) determining growth rate in computing time as a function of parameters;

extrapolation beyond range (see iii). (iii) use of regression; material from A.3 may suggest appropriate forms of

(stepwise) regression. The results should always include the standard deviation of residuals.

2. The author should present the origin of test problems and the rationale for why the problems were used. If a standard set of "hard" test problems is available, it should be used. If randomly generated problems are used, some remarks should be made as to whether the difficulty is affected by correlation or lack of it, and to what extent the population sampled is representative of real problems. If previously unpublished problems are used, they should be well documented in the paper.

In the case of proprietary problems this requirement may be waived; however, the use of such problems should be avoided whenever possible.

3. The algorithm performance indicators used should be justified. The following performance indicators have been traditionally employed.

CPU Time. The total central processing time needed for executing the algorithm should include as separate items input/output, preprocessing and starting techniques. (This indicator is not definitive due to the introduction of multiprogramming. However, by replicating problems if necessary, some estimate of the clock time error distribution can be obtained.)

-Numerical Accuracy. A measurement of the algorithm's ability to compute a "correct" answer in the face of numerical instability.

-Storage Requirements and/or Data Structures. As the size of solvable problems increases and the usage of minicomputers accelerates, the data base requirements for executing the algorithm become crucial.

* Number of Iterations. A simple counting of the number of steps required by the algorithm. This indicator is relatively independent of the computer used. (Sometimes it is a constant, known a priori.)



Computational Experience Reporting Guidelines ix -Number of Function Evaluations (Where Pertinent). The number of times

that the objective function subroutine or the constraint function is called during program execution.

. User Friendliness (Ease of Use, Protability). A subjective measurement of a computer program's versatility. Although this indicator is obviously difficult to measure, its importance is becoming recognized. This indicator is especially important if the code is the major contribution. (This is not intended to rule out reporting results with assembly language codes.)

* Basic Operation Count (e.g., Additions, Multiplications, Comparisons, Memory Accesses). The number of times that a basic operation, such as an addition, is required during the execution of the algorithm.

4. Wherever possible, performance should be ranked using more than one of the above indicators. The author(s) should justify the use of the particular indicators chosen.

D. Reporting Results

1. Conclusions should be based on the data and results presented. Conjectures or extrapolations made based on the results should clearly be labeled as such by the author(s). (Any extrapolation beyond the parameter range tested, or beyond the (sub) class of problems tested, is clearly speculation.)

2. Since one of the key elements of the scientific method is reproducibility, the authors should provide enough details for other researchers to duplicate (or test) the empirical evidence, if suitable resources are available. A summary of the details may form the journal article; a "backup" working paper at or near publication level should be made available for a nominal fee to researchers who request it. See [1] for further details.

3. An estimate of storage requirements as a function of problem size, should be given.

4. The final values for the objective function, the variables and the constraints should be listed. The variable and constraint values may be omitted for very large problems; however, the constraint tolerance(s) should always be included.

5. Known problems or problem classes which the method/code failed to solve, if any, should be given.

6. The effect of tolerances on performance of the program, i.e. on run times accuracy, number of iterations, etc., should be discussed.

7. If possible, the author(s) should discuss the variation in performance due to different internal tactics, such as different starting techniques, and the meas- ures of such variations.

E. Requirements for the Refereeing Process

1. The computer code should be made available on request to referees, except for special cases. A typical exception would be a proprietary code; for such cases the primary contribution of the paper should be in the model solved and its application.

2. A user's manual should be furnished if the backup material referred to in D.2 does not suffice or if the code is intended for wide distribution.

3. The referees should be convinced that the results could be reproduced by them



x Computational Experience Reporting Guidelines on a similar computer. This limits the range of special tricks that can be used in compiler or assembly language that depend upon the particular installation.

4. The author(s) must state whether the code(s) used is (are) available for public release, and, if so, the price and whether they have a financial interest in it (them).

REFERENCES

1. H. P. CROWDER, R. S. DEMBO, AND J. MULVEY, "Guidelines for Reporting Computational Experiments in Mathematical Programming," submitted to Mathematical Programming.

2. D. E. KNUTH, "The Art of Computer Programming," in Fundamental Algo- rithms, Vol. 1, Addison-Wesley, Reading, Mass., 1973.



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