Operator Theory-Driven Autoformulation of MDPs for Control of Queueing Systems

Abstract

Autoformulation is an emerging field that uses large language models (LLMs) to translate natural-language descriptions of decision-making problems into formal mathematical formulations. Existing works have focused on autoformulating mathematical optimization problems for $\textit{one-shot}$ decision-making. However, many real-world decision-making problems are $\textit{sequential}$, best modeled as $\textit{Markov decision processes}$ (MDPs). MDPs introduce unique challenges for autoformulation, including a significantly larger formulation search space, and for computing and interpreting the optimal policy. In this work, we address these challenges in the context of queueing problems---central to domains such as healthcare and logistics---which often require substantial technical expertise to formulate correctly. We propose a novel operator-theoretic autoformulation framework using LLMs. Our approach captures the underlying decision structure of queueing problems through constructing the Bellman equation as a graph of $\textit{operators}$, where each operator is an $\textit{interpretable}$ transformation of the value function corresponding to certain $\textit{event}$ (e.g., arrival, departure, routing). Theoretically, we prove a universal three-level operator-graph topology covering a broad class of MDPs, significantly shrinking the formulation search space. Algorithmically, we propose customized Monte Carlo tree search to build operator graphs while incorporating self-evaluation, solver feedback, and intermediate syntax checking for early assessment, and present a provably low-complexity algorithm that automatically identifies structures of the optimal policy (e.g., threshold-based), accelerating downstream solving. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in formulating queueing problems and identifying structural results.