Best Practices for Optimizer Runs

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Setup
25Live Fields vs SIS Data
Key LYNX Settings
Setting Up Translation Tables
Mapping Event Names, Categories, and Attributes
Best Practices for Optimizer Partitions and Preferences
Utilizing Meeting Patterns and Standard Schedules
At the Start of Each Term
Roll courses/exams over from previous term
Initialize reference data in LYNX
Using and Understanding Extract Sets
Tips for Import Extract Sets
Tips for Export Extract Sets
Create date exceptions
Test extract sets and import data into 25Live
Review errors and conflicts
Placing Classes Using Optimizer
Finalize bindings between sections
Review Best Practices for Optimizer Runs
Run the Optimizer to find placements
Tweak settings to improve your Optimizer results
Ongoing Throughout Term
Updates Throughout the Term
Ongoing Maintenance for LYNX
Finishing a Term
Final Exams
Tips For Final Exams in LYNX


Once your term has been imported from your SIS to 25Live via LYNX, you can start making location assignments. While this can be done manually in 25Live using the event form, it's far more efficient to let an algorithm do the heavy lifting.

See Performing Schedule25 Optimizer Runs for a full walkthrough of the steps you'll take to run the Optimizer, with a few more tips on this page.

Before running the Optimizer...

  • Set up partitions and preferences according to these best practices.
  • Prevent further updates to sections in your SIS. You want the Optimizer to be working with the latest data, so you should do it when scheduling is paused.
  • Set up all necessary bindings in LYNX, including back-to-back and overlapping groups.

During each Optimizer run...

  • Create searches using only what you need. Use the "missing location assignment" criterion for events so that only ones without an assignment are included.
  • Don't select the "Ignore Preassignments" setting, as it is only intended for use while testing.
  • Decide whether to sum the headcounts of bound events. This will apply to all sections which are bound at the same time (i.e., everything but back-to-back binding).
  • Typically you will want to use a location's maximum capacity as the basis for placement, but you could choose to use the default layout capacity in cases where you want to enforce policies such as distance restrictions.
  • Address all errors during the Prepare step before continuing to the Optimize step.

After a run...

  • Use the Meeting Pattern Grid to adjust results before accepting them.
  • To experiment with the factors that affect the Optimizer algorithm, see Improving Optimizer Results.
  • If you accept the Optimizer placements but need to do another run on the remainder, create a new extract set instead of re-running the prior one. This will allow you to keep "breadcrumbs" if you would like to review the results in the future. Otherwise, the application only keeps the results of the most recent run.