INTERACTIVE SIMULATED ANNEALING FOR COMPLEX DEPENDENCY VISUALIZATION

Authors
Citation
Jc. Smart et V. Vemuri, INTERACTIVE SIMULATED ANNEALING FOR COMPLEX DEPENDENCY VISUALIZATION, International journal of general systems, 25(2), 1996, pp. 119-146
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
System Science","Computer Science Theory & Methods",Ergonomics
ISSN journal
03081079
Volume
25
Issue
2
Year of publication
1996
Pages
119 - 146
Database
ISI
SICI code
0308-1079(1996)25:2<119:ISAFCD>2.0.ZU;2-6
Abstract
An interactive tool for visualizing the dependency structure of comple x systems using simulated annealing is presented. While a seemingly un likely candidate for interactive use, simulated annealing is actually quite adaptable. With the ability to adjust basic algorithm parameters , an interactive system that allows a user to make tradeoffs between c omputational investment and solution optimality is possible. This conc ept is illustrated using a dependency visualization problem taken from software engineering. A formal model for capturing dependency informa tion extracted from software systems is constructed for this purpose. Several simulated annealing strategies for generating and evaluating p otential solutions within this model are then presented. A performance analysis of the basic simulated annealing components used by this met hod is discussed along with a comparison of different generation techn iques. An integrated process which combines simulated annealing with o ther interactive tools is described.