SIMULATED ANNEALING IN THE OPTIMIZATION OF COLLABORATIVE SYSTEMS OPERATION

The simulated annealing (SA) algorithm has been applied for the optimization of a variety of systems. In this paper, we discuss the application of SA for optimizing the operation of collaborative systems. We choose the weighted average of the time customers spend in the system as the objective function to be minimized. This is because the time spent in the system is directly related to customer satisfaction, which in turn is related to business profits. Optimization through SA is sought for the system operating with the service time as well as the capacity of each of its servers, under constrains. We have tested the algorithm on a small-scale clinic model and found the results satisfactory. As future work, we plan to fine-tune the algorithm and apply it to larger collaborative systems.