HOW TO START

1. Starting a New Game

a) Option 1: Generating a Random Puzzle

1. Set Game Parameters:


• On the homepage, find the button explicitly labeled 'JSSP Input'. This button is your starting point for creating a new puzzle.



• Initiate Puzzle Generation: Click directly on the 'JSSP Input' button. A new pop-up window will open, presenting you with input fields to define the puzzle parameters.


• Fill in the Puzzle Details: Within the pop-up window, input the following details as per the example shown:
  • Number of Jobs: Enter "10" to define the total jobs to be scheduled.
  • Number of Machines: Input "10" to set how many machines are available for the jobs.
  • Min Operation Time: Specify "1" for the shortest time any single operation will take.
  • Max Operation Time: Set "10" as the longest time any operation can take.
  • Leave the checkbox for "All jobs have equal operation time" unticked unless you want every job to require the same amount of time on each machine.


• Input your desired number of jobs and machines according to your skill level and challenge preference. Decide on the complexity of your game based on your skill level. Use the recommended sizes as a guide:
  • Kids: 4x4
  • Beginners: 5x5
  • Intermediate: 6x6
  • Researchers: 10x10
  • Godlike players: Maximum 20x20 for an extreme challenge.

2. Generate Puzzle:


• After entering the numbers, press the blue button labelled "Generate JSSP Puzzle".
• The system will generate a random JSSP puzzle with the specified input parameters, and you can then start solving it.

b) Option 2: Using Custom JSSP Data

1. Insert Custom Data:


• Click the blue button "Insert your own JSSP or solution" to bring up two text input areas.

• On the left side, you can enter your custom JSSP data. The first line should contain the number of jobs and machines, separated by a space. Following lines should include the MachineID and ProcessingTime for each job, each pair separated by a space. For example:

      3 2       // 3 jobs and 2 machines
      0 3 1 6   // Job 1: Machine 0 for 3 units, Machine 1 for 6 units
      1 8 0 10  // Job 2: Machine 1 for 8 units, Machine 0 for 10 units
      1 8 0 5   // Job 3: Machine 1 for 8 units, Machine 0 for 5 units
                      




• On the right side, if you have a solution, you can input it using letters for jobs and numbers for the sequence without spaces and separated by commas. For example:

  C1,B1,A1,C2,B2,A2




• This allows players to test their own JSSP configurations or solutions against the game.

2. Reset/Start with Custom Data:


• If you entered custom JSSP data and want to start the game with it, press the green "Reset/Start Game" button. This will initialize the game with your data.
• If you also entered a solution, you can validate it by pressing the green "Generate Auto Solution" button after entering both JSSP and solution data.

1. Playing the Game

• With the puzzle displayed, your task is to schedule the jobs on the machines in a way that minimizes the total time taken to complete all jobs, also known as the makespan (MaxTime).

2. Generating a Random Solution

• If you wish to compare your solution to a randomly generated one, you can press the blue "Create Random Solution" button. This might give you new insights into potential solutions or simply offer a benchmark for your own scheduling strategy.

3. Choose Heuristics

• To select a heuristic method for solving the JSSP, press the "Choose Heuristics" button. A pop-up will appear with a list of heuristic methods. Choose one of the following options:
  • LLT - Longest Processing Time Left
  • SLT - Shortest Processing Time Left
  • LPT - Longest Processing Time
  • SPT - Shortest Processing Time
  • LTT - Longest Total Time
  • STT - Shortest Total Time
  • MGR - Minimize Gap Rule
  • ESM - Earliest Start Minimization


• After selecting the desired heuristic, click the "Use Heuristics" button to apply it to the problem.

4. Resetting the Game

• At any point, if you wish to start from scratch, press the green "Reset/Start Game" button. This will clear all data jobs from machines and allow you to enter create a new solution for JSSP.

5. Hiding and Showing Data Entry Fields

• To toggle the visibility of the custom data text areas, use the "Hide text areas" and "Show text areas" buttons as needed. This can help manage screen space and focus on the game.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO PLAY

• Remember, the key to JSSP is to organize the order of jobs and their assignment to machines effectively. Take your time to plan your moves, and don't hesitate to reset and try different strategies to improve your solution.

1. Review the Orders:

• You will find orders arranged alphabetically, each distinguished by a different color.
• Each order has a sequence of jobs. It's important to note that only the first job is active; the others are inactive and displayed transparently.

2. Hover Information:

• Hover over a job to view its details, including its order, duration, sequence, and its designated machine.

3. Scheduling Jobs:

• Below, you'll find the machine timelines.
• When you hover over a job, it indicates where the job can be placed on the timeline.

• To schedule, simply click on the job, and it will be assigned to the machine timeline.

• When you look at the job board, you'll notice that the most recently placed job is marked with a distinct highlight. This visual cue differentiates your last action from the rest. Use the highlighted job as a reference to easily identify your previous move. This will help you to keep track of the sequence of your actions and plan your next steps accordingly.

4. Job Details on machine:

• Once jobs are scheduled on machines, details within the job will be updated to display its order letter and sequence number.
• The first job from order A goes on machine 6;

• and gets a new label A1, which represents 1st job of order A.

5. More Information:

• Hover over a job on the machine to view more details about it, such as the order, machine, start time, duration time, end time, and sequence of job in the order.

6. Highlighting Related Scheduled Jobs:

• When you hover your mouse over a job on the machine, every job of the same order is emphasized. This feature allows you to instantly recognize all the tasks connected to that specific order, providing a clearer overview of your scheduling.

7. Removing Jobs:

• To remove a job from a machine, simply click on the desired job. By doing so, not only will the selected job be removed, but any subsequent jobs from the same order will also be taken off. This ensures the order of operations remains consistent throughout the process.
• For instance, clicking on C4 also removes jobs C5 and C6.

8. Returning to the Order:

• After removing jobs, they will automatically move back to the order section they originated from. This keeps your workspace organized and ensures each job is easily accessible for rescheduling.

• It's vital to remember that the sequence of operations for a specific order must be preserved. The interface facilitates this by automatically removing subsequent jobs from the same order if an earlier job in the sequence is deleted. This automatic feature prevents potential scheduling conflicts and guarantees a streamlined workflow.

9. Rescheduling Jobs:

• Once a job has been returned to its order section after removal, you can effortlessly place it on any machine to reassign it. This flexibility allows you to experiment with various machine assignments to determine the most optimal scheduling configuration.

10. Efficient Scheduling:

• Always be mindful of the 'Max Time' indicator located in the bottom right corner. As you make adjustments and modifications, this indicator will update to show the cumulative time required for all jobs based on the current scheduling setup. Your primary objective should be to minimize this time to achieve the most efficient production schedule possible.

11. Reaching the Game's Conclusion:

• The game concludes when all jobs have been successfully assigned to their respective machines. Upon completion, a confirmation pop-up will appear, which may be displayed in various languages based on your settings. The pop-up will offer two options:
  • If you're content with your scheduling solution and ready to finalize, press 'OK' to confirm. The button to confirm may read 'V redu' or its equivalent in other languages.
  • If you wish to revise your strategy, select 'Cancel'. This option allows you to return to the puzzle and make adjustments. The 'Cancel' button might be labeled as 'Prekliči' or a similar term, depending on the language of the interface.


• Celebrate your strategic accomplishment and assess your scheduling efficacy by examining the 'Max Time' indicator. Strive for improvement with each new attempt to enhance your proficiency in production scheduling.