Step 6: Review and Generate

Introduction

You've reached the critical stage where all your preparation comes together. The review and generate step is where you'll verify all your data and use TimetableMaster's intelligent algorithm to create a conflict-free schedule. This step transforms your inputs into a complete, optimized timetable.

The Review Process

Before generating your timetable, it's essential to review all the data you've entered:

What to Check

TimetableMaster provides a comprehensive review dashboard that highlights:

General Information Check

• Timetable structure (periods, days, breaks)
• Basic school parameters
• Any inconsistencies in the general setup

Subject Verification

• Total number of subjects
• Subject names and time-off settings

Class Review

• All classes and sections
• Time-off settings

Teacher Allocation

• All teachers
• Time-off settings

Lesson Analysis

• Complete coverage of all required teaching
• Special arrangements (consecutive periods, split classes)

Verification Checks

• Teacher Allocation: Ensure all teachers have appropriate teaching loads
• Class Schedule Completeness: Verify all classes have all required subjects
• Subject Coverage: Confirm all subjects are properly allocated

Using the Summary View

The summary view helps identify issues:

1. Navigate to the "Lessons Summary" tab
2. Review the allocation totals for teachers and classes
3. Look for any discrepancies or missing allocations
4. Make adjustments as needed before proceeding

Understanding Constraints

Before generation, it's important to understand how constraints affect the process:

Hard Constraints

These cannot be violated in the timetable:

• A teacher cannot be in two places at once
• A class cannot have two different subjects at the same time
• A room cannot be double-booked
• Teachers cannot be scheduled during their unavailable times

Soft Constraints

These are preferences that the system tries to satisfy but may override if necessary:

• Distributing subjects evenly throughout the week
• Avoiding consecutive periods of challenging subjects
• Respecting teacher preferences for morning/afternoon teaching
• Minimizing gaps in student and teacher schedules

Constraint Management

If you have too many constraints, you may need to:

1. Review and remove unnecessary constraints
2. Prioritize which constraints are most important
3. Consider whether some hard constraints could be relaxed to soft constraints
4. Add additional flexibility where possible

Starting the Generation Process

When you're ready to generate your timetable:

1. Navigate to the top of the page
2. Review your settings one last time
3. Click the "Generate Timetable" button
4. Monitor the generation progress

What Happens During Generation

TimetableMaster's algorithm:

1. Analyzes all your inputs and constraints
2. Creates an initial feasible solution
3. Iteratively improves the solution through optimization
4. Tests thousands of variations to find the best arrangement
5. Applies quality checks to the result
6. Presents the optimized timetable

Reviewing Generation Results

Once generation completes, you'll see the result:

Quality Metrics

TimetableMaster provides quality metrics to evaluate the timetable:

• Constraint Satisfaction: Percentage of soft constraints satisfied
• Distribution Score: How well lessons are distributed
• Teacher Satisfaction: Analysis of teacher schedule quality
• Student Experience: Assessment of student schedule balance

Viewing Options

You can view the generated timetable in multiple ways:

• Teacher View: Individual schedules for each teacher
• Class View: Timetables for each class
• Master View: Complete school-wide timetable

Identifying Issues

Look for these common problems in the generated timetable:

• Undesirable consecutive subjects
• Poor distribution of subjects
• Excessive free periods for teachers
• Imbalanced daily schedules for classes

Generation Scenarios

Sometimes, timetable generation may not succeed on the first try:

Scenario 1: Successful Generation

• All constraints are satisfied
• Quality metrics are good
• The timetable is ready for fine-tuning

Scenario 2: Partial Success

• The timetable is generated but with some soft constraints violated
• Quality metrics show areas for improvement
• Minor adjustments may be needed

Scenario 3: Generation Failure

• Hard constraints conflict with each other
• No feasible solution exists with current settings
• Constraints need to be reviewed and relaxed

Troubleshooting Generation Issues

If you encounter problems with timetable generation:

Common Issues and Solutions

• Overconstrained Schedule: Remove or relax less important constraints
• Teacher Availability Conflicts: Adjust teacher time-off settings
• Room Shortage: Add more flexible room assignments or stagger class times
• Lesson Distribution Problems: Review distribution requirements
• Consecutive Period Conflicts: Reduce consecutive period requirements

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

1. Review the error or warning messages
2. Identify the specific constraints involved
3. Make minimal targeted changes
4. Attempt generation again
5. Repeat until successful

Next Steps

Once you have successfully generated a timetable, you can proceed to fine-tuning and finalizing it:

Before Moving On, Ensure You Have:

• ✓ Reviewed all your data for accuracy
• ✓ Successfully generated a complete timetable
• ✓ Checked the quality metrics and identified any issues
• ✓ Resolved any critical problems in the generated schedule
• ✓ Viewed the timetable from different perspectives (teacher, class, room)