title: VisMatchmaker: Cooperation of the User and the Computer in Centralized Matching Adjustment.
abstract: Centralized matching is a ubiquitous resource allocation problem. In a centralized matching problem, each agent has a preference list ranking the other agents and a central planner is responsible for matching the agents manually or with an algorithm. While algorithms can find a matching which optimizes some performance metrics, they are used as a black box and preclude the central planner from applying his domain knowledge to find a matching which aligns better with the 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. In this paper, 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: problem detection, matching recommendation and matching evaluation. We classified matching comparison 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 his domain knowledge in matching adjustment.
authors.forename: Po-Ming
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Law
authors.forename: Wenchao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yixian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Huamin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qu