Research On Priority-Based Algorithm With Multi-Objective Decision To Solve Timetabling Problem

Timetable Problem (TTP) is a typical combination optimization problem and uncertain management problem, which has been proved a NP-complete problem. TTP is widely applied in university course timetabling problem (UCTP), all sorts of large conferences, sports games and plane scheduling problem. UCTP, as a typical instance of TTP, is concerned with the scheduling of a number of courses into some limited resources, such as timeslots and classrooms, subject to a set of constraints. Course timetabling is essential to educational activities, and it plays an important role in improving the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, either from the perspective of practical application or the perspective of the theory development, the research on the university course timetabling problem has great significance.With the work experience at academic affairs office of School of Economics and Management of BUPT (Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications), this paper aims to design a simple and efficient algorithm to solve UCTP. All aspects of the problem of course timetabling are analyzed in detail and the mathematical model of UCTP is established in this article.After the introduction of various approaches and techniques which have been intensively applied to the problem at present, we design two strategies algorithm named PAMOD (Priority-based Algorithm with Multi-Objective Decision) to solve timetabling problems. The proposed algorithm comprises two phases; the first phase is to construct all feasible solutions inspired by the idea of priority, and the second phase concentrates on weighing which solution is the best choice for the current course by multi-objective decision method. Then the algorithm was implemented in SQL Server 2005 database which was satisfied with 3NF, lossless linking and maintain dependence. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that the PAMOD algorithm is capable to achieve feasible and comfort solutions for the university course timetabling problem.