The Examination Timetabling Problem Based on Expert System: A Case Study in Malaysia

The Examination Management System (eMaS) is specifically developed for managing and generating all aspects regarding final examination matters such as the timetable for students and invigilators, reports on the occupancy of examination rooms and other examination documents that correspond with the Department of Academic Affairs (BHEA). eMaS provides valuable features that grant precise and fast solution for improving the existing examination scheduling system. All constraints raised such as invigilators’ special requests, and specific time slots for certain exams will be scrutinized and automatically generate instantly. The generated timetable can be accessed online easily. eMaS system is developed by using the Visual Basic (VB), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Graphical User Interface (GUI). To confirm with the competency of the developed eMaS, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Cawangan Johor, Kampus Pasir Gudang (UiTMCJKPG) has been chosen as to pilot the project. The system has been successfully deployed in automatically generating the final examination timetable for the semester sessions of March 2018 – June 2018 and September 2018 – January 2019 respectively. Reviews obtained from the piloted project proved that eMaS offered a precise time saving solution on the scheduling management while improving the quality and reliability of the system.