Interactively Solving School Timetabling Problems Using Extensions of Constraint Programming

Timetabling problems have been frequently studied due to their wide range of applications. However, they are often solved manually because of the lack of appropriate computer tools. Although many approaches mainly based on local search or constraint programming seem to have been quite successful in recent years, they are often highly dedicated to specific problems and encounter difficulties to take the dynamic and over-constrained nature of such problems. We were confronted with such an over-constrained and dynamic problem in our institution. This paper deals with a timetabling system based on constraint programming with the use of explanations to offer a dynamic behaviour and to allow an automatic relaxation of constraints. Our tool has successfully answered the needs of the current planner by providing solutions in a few minutes instead of a week of manual computation. We present in this paper the techniques used, the results obtained and a discussion on the effects of the automation of the timetabling process.