Optimizing Tabu List in Tabu Search Algorithm for Efficient and Optimal Scheduling

Scheduling is one of the essential processes that every organization must carry out to achieve organizational goals. Scheduling problems can occur in various organizations, especially with significant resources such as companies, governments, and educational institutions. SMP IT As Salam Malang has 8 classes, scheduling subjects is a complicated problem that always occurs at the beginning of each semester. Now the scheduling process at SMP IT As Salam Malang is still running manually using Microsoft Excel. This research was created to facilitate the scheduling process at SMP IT As Salam Malang. This research uses the Tabu Search algorithm to carry out the process of scheduling subjects. In the Tabu Search method, the initial solution in a schedule is randomly generated, then the final solution is sought. Tabu List optimization is a collection of steps in the form of an array which is the solution to the lesson schedule with the most negligible total penalty for each iteration. The testing has a full penalty of 202 for scheduling 8 classes.

I. Introduction

Proper and correct school scheduling is crucial and significantly impacts the efficiency, productivity, and quality of education in schools [1], [2]. The first reason is to efficiently optimize the Utilization of Resources such as classrooms, facilities, equipment, and teaching staff. Another reason is Avoiding Schedule Conflicts to ensure that no schedule conflicts are detrimental to students and teachers [2], [3] — equal Distribution of Workload where good scheduling helps in a balanced workload distribution between teachers and students. Effective scheduling considers a reasonable number of teaching hours for teachers and prevents overlapping or work overload that can hinder the quality of teaching and learning [4], [5]. Another important reason is reducing Uncertainty and Change, where good scheduling can reduce the uncertainty and changes that often occur in the school environment. With a well-structured and organized schedule, schools can better adapt to changes, such as adding or removing classes, staff changes, or the need for sudden changes in school activities [1], [3]. So based on this problem, scheduling algorithms that use artificial intelligence (AI) can help find optimal or near-optimal solutions.