A teaching exercise for the travelling salesman problem with time windows using real-world data

This article describes an exercise that can be used to teach concepts related to the travelling salesman problem, the travelling salesman problem with time windows, and heuristic solution development. Data from a real-world, parcel delivery service problem instance is used. The exercise is described and results from a brief survey of student experiences from test runs of the exercise are presented. A sample student handout for the exercise is provided.