VisOpt: a visual interactive optimization tool for P-median problems

Abstract In this paper, we describe a visual interactive decision support tool `VisOpt' which is designed to solve P-median problems with capacity constraints. Various design features incorporated in VisOpt are also presented and analyzed. We also present a demonstration of the use of VisOpt by a number of human subjects for various problem instances. The quality of solutions obtained by subjects using VisOpt is compared with that obtained from a standard stand-alone heuristic. The visual interactive tool provides encouraging results in this specific problem context.

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