An enterprise system component based on graph colouring for exam timetabling: A case study in a Tunisian university

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to consider the exam timetabling of the re‐sit session in the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences of Sfax. The objective is to find a timetable which minimizes the number of timeslots for exams required by the enrolled students.

Design/methodology/approach

Two heuristic procedures based on graph colouring are developed and tested on real data to solve the exam timetabling problem at the faculty.

Findings

These heuristics were tested on a simple example which shows the out‐performance of the second heuristic compared with the first one. When tested with the real data of the faculty, exam size heuristic provides a timetable with a shorter timeframe; however, the timetable obtained from the second heuristic is of better quality.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this paper is to create an automated exam timetabling that helps the faculty to manage its own enterprise system.

Citation

Dammak, A., Elloumi, A. and Kamoun, H. (2007), "An enterprise system component based on graph colouring for exam timetabling: A case study in a Tunisian university", Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 255-270. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506160710778095