Planning education for real-world stuff.

Edition 005

Let’s do better than “BECAUSE I SAID SO”: How to build trust in optimization

Blog post by Tom Cools - DevRel at Timefold

I love being a dad. It’s really amazing to see this little human learn and explore every day with that child-like curiosity. Kids are so full of “why” questions. 

• "Why don’t fish drown?"
• “Why can’t I play on my video game console today?"
• “Why can’t I have ice cream for breakfast if it's made from milk?”

Sometimes we take our time to answer. Other times when parents are stressed, juggling four other things at the same time, or are just plain tired, they whip out the universal catch-all answer: “Because I said so!”. 

I don’t like that answer. It’s a shortcut. It ends the conversation. Worst of all, it shuts down curiosity and that is something we can’t afford to lose. Yet, this is also what a lot of scheduling software does.

An algorithm spits out a schedule and the experts, the human planners, are left with questions:

• Why did Alina get her preferred shift but Myey didn’t?
• Why not fix Thomas’ electricity problem before moving into the city for the other assignments?
• Why assign Pieter when Maarten lives closer?

When the only answer to those questions is “because the algorithm said so”, planners will not trust the solution. And without trust, they’ll toss the plans aside and will stick to the techniques they have been using before. Our solutions do not just need to find the best schedules… they need to be able to explain them as well.

But the question is: How does one make planning optimization trustworthy? 

Partnership announcement: Timefold x Bryntum

Explainability is one thing that makes people understand PlanningAI; visualization is another. 

Big news: Timefold and Bryntum are partnering up!

Bryntum is a leading provider of scheduling UI-components, visualizing the schedules of enterprises like Microsoft, Coca-Cola, 3M, Adobe, Airbus...

And boy, are we excited about this partnership.

Because for too long, businesses have been forced to choose between powerful, mathematical optimization engines and intuitive, but unintelligent, scheduling tools. That compromise is no longer necessary: Together, we bridge the gap between complex optimization and clear, interactive schedules.

Webinar Replay

Vehicle Routing Problems in production: When research meets reality

Missed our VRP webinar last week? No worries, we've put the entire recording online. Sit back, relax, and enjoy one hour of VRP magic whenever it suits you.

The past, present and future of Timefold Solver

Interview between Tom Cools and Timefold Solver Lead Engineer Lukáš Petrovický

It’s been a little over two years since we forked OptaPlanner and carried the project forward as Timefold Solver. An excellent occasion to sit together with Timefold Solver Lead Engineer Lukáš Petrovický and discuss his work and the project has evolved in the past years.

Look who made it to the fold! We appreciate your time.

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Cheers, Timefold.