Business Glossary

one of the methods used to solve linear programming problems, a trial-and-error technique. Pairs of constraints are solved algebraically to find their intersection. The values of the decision variables are then substituted into the objective function and compared to find the best combination. The basic rule is that the optimal solution will be at the intersection of two or more constraint equations. Thus, all intersections can be computed and each solution evaluated in the objective function to determine which solution is optimal.