课弈How to Choose School Timetabling Software: 9 Questions to Ask
Nine questions for evaluating timetabling software: time model, option blocks, infeasibility, minimal-change re-solve, drag-and-drop, term ops, data, security.
Keyi Timetabling · Updated
The most reliable way to evaluate timetabling software is to run your own last term's data through it and compare the result with the timetable you actually used. Before that, these nine questions will quickly rule out systems that won't fit.
1. Can it express your time model?
Does it support 6- or 10-day rotation cycles, A/B weeks and different start and end times per period? If you have to fake your time model to get it in, every later step will feel awkward.
2. Does it handle option blocks and student-level timetables?
International schools need option blocks built from student choices; Gaokao schools need mobile classes. What matters is whether the system produces a timetable for each individual student, not just for each class.
3. When it can't solve, can it tell you why?
A good system returns a minimal conflicting rule set: a group of rules that cannot all hold, where removing any one lets the rest be satisfied. It should also distinguish "proven infeasible" from "timed out without finding a solution", because the fixes are completely different.
4. Can it re-solve with minimal change mid-term?
When a teacher goes on long leave or a new section is added, you want only the necessary few lessons to move, not a brand-new timetable that the whole school must relearn.
5. Does drag-and-drop give instant feedback?
As you drag a lesson, does it immediately show which slots are legal, which clash and which allow a swap? Drag-and-drop without feedback just postpones the manual checking.
6. Does it separate hard and soft rules?
"A teacher cannot teach two lessons at once" is a hard rule; "Maths preferably in the morning" is a preference. You should be able to weight and prioritize soft rules instead of treating every wish as mandatory.
7. Does it cover day-to-day term operations?
Publishing the timetable is where the work starts: swaps, cancellations, make-up lessons, cover and lesson counts. If these live in a separate tool, the data drifts apart quickly.
8. Can data move in and out easily?
Can you import all base data from one Excel file? Does it connect to student information systems such as ManageBac or PowerSchool? Can timetables be viewed on phones and subscribed to in a calendar?
9. Data security and deployment
Student and staff data is sensitive. Check where it is stored, who can access it, and whether private deployment is available.
How to run a meaningful trial
Don't judge on demo data alone. Import last term's teachers, classes and rules, then compare three things: does it solve, how many soft rules are broken, and where it is better or worse than the timetable you used. Common questions are answered in the FAQ.
How Keyi handles it
- Supports 6/10-day rotations, A/B weeks and per-period times; imports all base data from Excel, with ManageBac and PowerSchool connectors;
- Solves with an AI-assisted mathematical optimisation engine after a pre-solve health check; when infeasible, returns the minimal conflicting rule set and distinguishes proven infeasibility from timeout;
- Drag-and-drop marks legal, clashing and swappable slots instantly, and a "make room" re-solve moves the fewest other lessons;
- The term calendar covers swaps, cancellations, make-ups, cover and lesson counts; published links work on phones and support iCal subscription;
- Chinese/English interface, available as SaaS or private deployment.
Bring last term's data and book a demo.