Keynote presentation 3: Evaluation and analysis of heuristic methods

Summary form only given. Heuristics are used for a wide variety of purposes in numerous and diverse optimization applications. In many of these applications, there is a need to measure and evaluate heuristic performance. The purposes for measurement include choosing between heuristics, obtaining guidance about heuristic design, and understanding how problem characteristics affect performance. The variety of both heuristic purposes and details of the application complicate the selection of an appropriate heuristic and performance measure. As a result, the literature contains numerous examples of problematic evaluation and analysis. To improve the process, we propose a detailed theory of heuristic measure selection. This theory provides a foundation for the selection of an appropriate approach to evaluate heuristic performance.