E10 - Rooming in E10: Introduction and Overview

Modified on Thu, 14 Aug at 12:55 AM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preamble
Overview of rooming data and when it is referenced
Rooming Stage 1: Room data and settings affecting line generation
Rooming Stage 2: Room data and settings affecting timetable construction
Rooming Stage 3: Room data and settings considered post-construction during room allocation

Preamble

E10’s rooming features and options are considerable. For new users, it can be a little overwhelming to understand how the different rooming information all comes together to achieve an excellent auto-generated rooming solution.

E10 considers certain rooming information during different stages of the timetabling process. It is crucial to enter certain information as early as possible, while other rooming information can be entered later on in the process.

This document brings together all the rooming features and settings in E10, advises how they will be used, and will hopefully avoid the situation where users could create a timetable that cannot be roomed in the way expected.

Warning: Why is it so important to enter room data in a timely manner?
--> The subjects that students are granted from the line generation process could be compromised.
--> Timetabled classes could be placed on the grid in such a way that they cannot get the required rooming.

This document is broken down into the following stages:

Overview of rooming data and when it is referenced
Stage 1: Room data and settings affecting line generation
Stage 2: Room data and settings affecting timetable construction
Stage 3: Room data and settings considered post-construction during room allocation

Overview of rooming data and when it is referenced

This table shows all the rooming features in E10 and at which stage/s the data or setting is used.

Feature location	Rooming Stage 1: Does this feature affect the placement of classes during line generation?	Rooming Stage 2: Does this feature affect the placement of classes during construction?	Rooming Stage 3: Does this feature affect auto allocation of rooming?
Rooms > Room data: HomeRoomOf and HomeGroup	No	No	Yes
Rooms > Room data > Size	No	Yes	Yes
Rooms > Room data > Type (G and S)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rooms > Room data > Unavailable	No	No	Yes
Rooms > Room data > Campus	No	Yes	Yes
Rooms > Subject rooms	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rooms > Room areas	No	No	Yes
Rooms > Specialty rooms	No	No	Yes
Class data > Room Pref	No	Yes	Yes
Setup > Campus data	No	Yes	Yes
Setup > Campus data: Distances between campuses	No	Yes	Yes
Settings > Rooms: Specialist rooms to be shared evenly	No	Yes	Yes
Settings > Rooms: Rooming Priorities	No	No	Yes
Settings > Rooms: Over-crowd rooms by x seats	No	No	Yes
Settings > Rooms: Stop general room lending between campuses	No	Yes	Yes
F11 > Weights: Room clashes	No	Yes	No
F11 > Weights > Movement of teachers	No	Yes	No
F11 > Weights > Movement of students	No	Yes	No
F11 > Weights: Fallback rooms	No	Yes	No

Rooming Stage 1: Room data and settings affecting line generation

The following data is used when placing classes on lines during the line generation process. Therefore, it is very important that this information is entered correctly prior to generating lines.

Refer to each feature or setting's detailed Knowledge base document for full information about the feature/setting.

Feature location	Information
Rooms > Room data > Type	The line generation process understands the concept of 'general rooms'. It is very important that rooms have the correct type entered in order to correctly place classes on lines where they can access an appropriate room. There are two room types: G (general) and S (specialist). • G, (G), ((G)) - Three levels of general room preferences are available: Preferred, (Fallback), ((If desperate)). Any subject may be placed into a G general room, unless it specifically requests a S specialist room. • S - Specialist room. Not a general room; only subjects that specifically request the particular S room/s may be placed into it.
Rooms > Subject rooms > Room codes Rooms > Subject rooms > Only	The line generation process references the Subject rooms data, and a class cannot be placed on a line unless one of the listed room options is available on the line. It is crucial to have the room options correct prior to generating the lines. Room codes: The list of rooms the subject may use. Three levels of room preference exist: Preferred, (Fallback), ((If desperate)). If there are no room codes listed for a course, as in the case of course code BMA, then any general room is acceptable for these classes; there is no need to manually enter every general room in the school. Examples: Course ADA: ART1 and ART3 are the preferred rooms, and (ART2) is a fallback option. Course BMA: There are no preferred general rooms; a ny general room can be used, Only: Enter a Y here if the subject MUST be assigned to one of the listed rooms. Leave blank if the subject may be allocated and general room if the listed room is not available. Examples: Course ADA: must be assigned rooms ART1, ART2 or ART3, as it has a Y entry. Course HIS: some preferred rooms are listed, but if those rooms are not available, then any general room will be acceptable, as there is no Y entry.

Rooming Stage 2: Room data and settings affecting timetable construction

When constructing in the Master Grid, certain room data is referred to in order to place classes in grid spots where it can meet these requirements (or a warning will be given if it cannot). It is very important to have this information correct, as much as possible, prior to construction, otherwise when it comes time to allocate rooms to classes, the rooming solution may be problematic. If this occurs, users often have to correct the rooming data and return to the Master grid for E10 to take into account the new information and shuffle classes around accordingly.

Refer to each feature or setting's detailed Knowledge base document for full information about the feature/setting.

Feature location	Information
Rooms > Room data > Size Rooms > Room data > Type (G and S) Rooms > Room data > Campus	Size: Maximum room size. During construction, as classes are placed on the grid, E10 checks that there is a suitable room available that can seat the number of students in the class. Type: Explained in previous table. During construction, as classes are placed on the grid, E10 checks that there is a suitable room type available. Campus: If the file is multi-campus, enter the campus each room is located on. During construction, there is a weighting to instruct E10 to minimise occasions where the students have to move from one campus to another on consecutive periods.
Rooms > Subject rooms	Explained in previous table. During construction, as classes are placed on the grid, E10 checks that there is a suitable room available.
Class data > Room Pref	While E10 reads the room options for each subject from Rooms > Subject rooms, a class can request a preferred room/s. Examples: 7ASP.A - no entry, so the RoomPref cell shows there are 11 preferred rooms, but the '(lots)' shows that any general type room is acceptable. This is best for timetable flexibility. 7ASP.B - 'A2' has been entered into the RoomPref, so E10 will try to place this class on the grid where it can get this room, but knows it can use the other rooms listed in the Subject room options if it cannot. Some flexibility is maintained during timetable construction. 7ASP.C - 'A5,Only' has been entered into the RoomPref, so E10 will place this class on the grid where it can get this room (or warn if it cannot). This type of entry constrains the timetable construction.
Setup > Campus data Setup > Campus data: Distances between campuses	Rooms will be assigned to each campus, and then a distance between the campuses entered. During construction, E10 will consider these requirements and place classes in an appropriate manner.
Settings > Rooms: Specialist rooms to be shared evenly Settings > Rooms: Stop general room lending between campuses	These settings are referred to during construction: Specialist rooms to be shared evenly: Select rooms that are likely to be heavily requested by classes to allow them to placed on the grid in such a way so that they can get some time in these rooms, if not all. Stop general room lending between campuses: An important setting in the use of general type rooms; it places classes on the grid where it can access general rooms on their own campus only (as defined in Setup > Year levels > Campus).
F11 > Weights: Room clashes F11 > Weights > Movement of students F11 > Weights > Movement of teachers F11 > Weights: Fallback rooms	Room clashes: E10 tries to place classes to avoid room clashes as a high priority, according to all relevant features and settings previously mentioned. Movement of students: E10 can attempt to place classes where the movement of students across campuses or rooms is minimised. Movement of teachers: E10 can attempt to place classes where the movement of teachers across campuses or rooms is minimised. Fallback rooms: An extra setting for E10 to attempt to place classes on the grid where preferred rooms are available, rather than fallback rooms, according to all relevant features and settings previously mentioned.

Rooming Stage 3: Room data and settings considered post-construction during room allocation

After the timetable is constructed, E10 uses most of the features/settings already covered, plus some extras, when allocating classes to rooms.

Refer to each feature or setting's detailed Knowledge base document for full information about the feature/setting.

Feature location	Information
Rooms > Room data: HomeRoomOf and HomeGroup	Teachers and/or Year level groups can request a room for their classes to be allocated where possible.
Rooms > Room data > Size	Classes will be allocated rooms with suitable capacity.
Rooms > Room data > Type (G and S)	Classes will be allocated rooms within the type requested.
Rooms > Room data > Unavailable	Classes cannot be allocated rooms during times the room is marked as unavailable.
Rooms > Room data > Campus	Classes will be allocated rooms on their own campus.
Rooms > Subject rooms	Classes will be allocated rooms according to the information entered into Subject rooms.
Rooms > Room areas	Room 'areas' can be set up so that E10 better understands where rooms are situated, and classes can be allocated rooms in their own or a nearby area where possible.
Rooms > Specialty rooms	Students with special needs can be associated with particular rooms, and their classes will be allocated to a room accordingly if it contains the listed student/s.
Class data > Room Pref	Classes will be allocated preferred rooms listed in RoomPref where possible.
Setup > Campus data	Classes will be allocated rooms on their own campus.
Setup > Campus data: Distances between campuses	Classes will be allocated rooms to minimise cross-campus movement.
Settings > Rooms: Specialist rooms to be shared evenly	Classes will be allocated rooms selected here in a fair manner.
Settings > Rooms: Rooming Priorities	Classes of a year level, group, or code can be given priority during the rooming allocations process.
Settings > Rooms: Over-crowd rooms by x seats	Classes may be allocated rooms that exceed capacity by the amount entered.
Settings > Rooms: Stop general room lending between campuses	Classes will be assigned general type rooms on their own campus only.