VisMatchmaker: Cooperation of User and Computer in Centralized Matching Adjustment

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 
Department of Computer Science and Engineering 

Final Year Thesis Oral Presentation

Title: "VisMatchmaker: Cooperation of User and Computer in Centralized 
        Matching Adjustment"

by 

Mr. LAW Po Ming


Abstract: 

Centralized matching is a ubiquitous resource allocation problem. Many 
problems can be formulated in such a way that each agent has a preference 
list ranking the other agents. While algorithms can be used to find a 
matching which optimizes some performance metrics, they are used as a 
black box and preclude the central planner from applying domain knowledge 
to find a matching which aligns better with user tasks. Furthermore, the 
existing matching visualization techniques (i.e. bipartite graph and 
adjacency matrix) fail in helping the central planner understand the 
differences between matchings. We present VisMatchmaker, a visualization 
system which allows the central planner to explore alternatives to an 
algorithm-generated matching. We identified three common tasks in the 
process of matching adjustment, which are problem detection, matching 
recommendation and matching evaluation. We classified matching evaluation 
into three levels and designed visualization techniques for them, 
including the number line view and the stacked graph view. Two types of 
algorithmic support, namely direct assignment and range search, and their 
interactive operations are also provided to enable the user to apply 
domain knowledge in matching adjustment.
  

Date                 : 26 April 2016 (Tuesday)

Time                 : 3:30pm to 4:30pm

Venue                : Room 5504 (lift 25/26)

Advisor              : Prof. Huamin QU

2nd Reader           : Dr. Xiaojuan MA