How to solve a timetabling problem by negotiation?
Résumé
Timetable creation has usually been tackled as a constraints satisfaction problem (CSP). In this article, we propose a new, original and promising way to create timetables: negotiation. Using negotiation allow users to establish their timetable according to their preferences and without revealing their constraints. The problem we tackle here is to create a timetable involving teachers and groups of student. Multi-agent systems seem particularly of interest for this problem as different entities have to negotiate together.