Configurable, Mixed-Initiative Systems for Planning and Scheduling

Abstract

This paper discusses work aimed at accelerating the construction and introduction of planning and scheduling systems in complex application domains. We begin by outlining our basic perspective on planning and scheduling, and our assumptions about the requirements and characteristics of practical planning and scheduling problems. This leads to a particular constraint-based solution framework, and a specific architecture for configuring application systems. We describe OZONE, a planning and scheduling toolkit that implements these ideas, and give examples from different application building efforts that illustrate the efficacy of the approach.