deafrontier 
  


DEAFrontier Support


The following questions/issues are addressed in this section.
  • How many DMUs can I solve using the DEAFrontier software?
  • How long does the DEAFrontier take to finish a single run?
  • When I try to run the DEAFrontier software (and call the DEA models within the DEAFrontier menu), I get an error message saying complie error in hidden module. As a result, I am not able to run the DEAFrontier software?
  • I am using a non-English version of the Microsoft Office. I  have followed the correct procedure to run the DEAFrontier software as described in the ReadMeFirst.pdf. But I still get the error message saying complie error in hidden module.
  • Can I use DEAFrontier under Excel 2007 & 2010?
  • How do I know if my Excel Solver is added as an Add-In in Excel (and is working properly)?
  • What DEA models are included in the DEAFrontier?


How many DMUs can I solve using the DEAFrontier software?

i) When you use the DEAFrontier version that uses Excel Solver as the engine for solving the DEA models, the limits are set by the related Solver product. In other words, DEAFrontier software's capacity is set by the Excel Solver. Please check www.solver.com for problem sizes that various versions of Excel Solver can handle.

Some DEA models are coded in a way that they can be solved using just the standard Excel Solver (2007 and earlier) and can have unlimited number of DMUs (as long as the data can be placed in an Excel sheet), for example, the multiplier models.

However, if the number of DMUs becomes very large, the standard Excel Solver may not be efficient in solving large DEA problems. For example, it may take significant amount of time to finish the DEA calculations with 2000 DMUs. It is recommended that the user uses Solver Platform for large-sized DEA problems.

DEAFrontier will let you know if the standard Excel Solver shipped with Microsoft Office cannot solve for a particluar data set.  If that is the case, then one needs to upgrade the standard Excel Solver, or use the DEAFrontier with OpenSolver.

ii) When you use the DEAFrontier version that uses the open source software "OpenSolver" which uses the open source COIN-OR CBC optimization engine, there are no artifical limits on the numbers of DMUs, inputs and outputs. "OpenSolver" is an Open Source linear and integer optimizer for Microsoft Excel. Please visit www.opensolver.org for more information.

The user will receive all the above versions of DEAFrontier in the software package.
How long does the DEAFrontier take to finish a single run?
This depends on the size of your problem, namely, # of DMUs, inputs and outputs, and Excel Solver's speed. In a case of 4000 DMUs, it takes about 10 seconds to solve for one DMU under Solver Platform. The same is true for OpenSolver or COIN-OR CBC optimization engine.


When I try to run the DEAFrontier software (and call the DEA models within the DEAFrontier menu), I get an error message saying complie error in hidden module. As a result, I am not able to run the DEAFrontier software?

This error message means that the Excel Solver cannot be found by the DEAFrontier. There are four possible cases.

Case 1:  the Excel Solver is not installed (when the Microsoft Office is installed);

Please see this video on how to find the Excel Solver. 


Case 2: The Excel Solver is installed, but is not loaded as an Add-in;

Case 3: You are using a non-English version of Excel (see the next question).

Case 4: You are using the DEAFrontier with OpenSolver; yet the OpenSolver is not loaded priori to loading.opening the DEAFrontier software.

In order to run the DEAFrontier software, Excel Solver must be installed. The Excel Solver Parameters dialog box has to be displaced once before the DEAFrontier software is loaded. Otherwise, the DEAFrontier software may not run.
 (Please download this ReadMeFirst.pdf file for detailed information and the correct procedure on running the DEAFrontier software.)

Please see this video on how to load the DEAFrontier. 

I am using a non-English version of the Microsoft Office. I  have followed the correct procedure to run the DEAFrontier software as described in the ReadMeFirst.pdf. But I still get the error message saying complie error in hidden module.

 If you are using a non-English version of the Microsoft Office, the DEAFrontier software may not run properly. Please click here for more information.

Can I use DEAFrontier under Excel 2007 & 2010?
Yes. DEAFrontier has two versions. One version  for Excel 97, 2000, 2003 (XP) and the other for 2007 & 2010. Both versions will be provided. DEAFrontier for Excel 2007&2010 does not work under other versions of Excel, due to the fact that the Excel Solver "Solver.xla" is changed to "Solver.xlam" in Excel 2007&2010. (For the same reason DEAFrontier for Excel 97, 2000 and 2003 (XP) does not work under Excel 2007&2010.)
How do I know if my Excel Solver is added as an Add-In in Excel (and is working properly)?

 You can download this "solvertest.xls" to do a test under Excel 97, 2000 and 2003.

This link provides the Excel test file "solvertest2007.xls" for Excel 2007 & 2010. (Please do not use this file under Excel 97, 2000 & 2003)

What DEA models are included in the DEAFrontier?

DEAFrontier has lots of DEA models including many of the standard DEA models/approaches, cross efficiency, super-efficiency, Malmquist, Bootstrapping, Two-stage Netwrok, Additive models and many others. Please download the excel file "models.xls" for DEA models included. A user manual with detailed DEA models will be provided once the software is purchased.