Complex problem solving: another test case?

摘要

Attacks on classic complex problem solvingfocus on both their ecological validity and the difficulty toanalyze such a complex interplay of system variables. Butwe argue that the domain of travel planning is in somesense a much more "natural" domain and at least partiallyable to deal with this kind of criticism. We first review themain existing scenarios and paradigms like Lohhausen,Tailorshop, and Moro and compare them to what we callthe TRAVELPLAN problem. This problem contains anumber of computationally well-investigated problems,which are worked out and can be described by so-calledconstrained satisfaction problems. The formal investiga-tions have led to the development of a computationalarchitecture which is able to deal with these kinds ofsubproblems simultaneously. More important, however, isthat it serves as a basis for developing experiments andparticularly to determine aspects of the computationalcomplexity of the main problem. This in turn allows us tospecify and to formulate experimental ideas. Finally, thestatus quo of ongoing experiments is briefly presented.