A Visual Entity-Relationship Model for Constraint-Based University   Timetabling
  University timetabling (UTT) is a complex problem due to its combinatorial nature but also the type of constraints involved. The holy grail of (constraint) programming: "the user states the problem the program solves it" remains a challenge since solution quality is tightly coupled with deriving "effective models", best handled by technology experts. In this paper, focusing on the field of university timetabling, we introduce a visual graphic communication tool that lets the user specify her problem in an abstract manner, using a visual entity-relationship model. The entities are nodes of mainly two types: resource nodes (lecturers, assistants, student groups) and events nodes (lectures, lab sessions, tutorials). The links between the nodes signify a desired relationship between them. The visual modeling abstraction focuses on the nature of the entities and their relationships and abstracts from an actual constraint model. 
Islam Abdelraouf, Slim Abdennadher, Carmen Gervet
cs.AI cs.PL