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Meaningful Problem Instances and Generalizable Results

Abstract

Computational intelligence methods have gained importance in several real-world domains such as process optimization, system identification, data mining, or statistical quality control. Tools are missing, which determine the applicability of computational intelligence methods in these application domains in an objective manner. Statistics provide methods for comparing algorithms on certain data sets. In the past, several test suites were presented and considered as state of the art. However, there are several drawbacks of these test suites, namely: (i) problem instances are somehow artificial and have no direct link to real-world settings; (ii) since there is a fixed number of test instances, algorithms can be fitted or tuned to this specific and very limited set of test functions; (iii) statistical tools for comparisons of several algorithms on several test problem instances are relatively complex and not easily to analyze. We propose amethodology to overcome these dificulties. It is based on standard ideas from statistics: analysis of variance and its extension to mixed models. This work combines essential ideas from two approaches: problem generation and statistical analysis of computer experiments.

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Meaningful Problem Instances and Generalizable Results

Author: Bartz-Beielstein, Thomas
Year: 2015
Source: https://cos.bibl.th-koeln.de/files/59/Bart15iCos.pdf
Sch i en eihe CIplus, Band 1/2015
He ausgebe : T. Ba z-Beiels ein, W. Konen, H. S enzel, B. Naujoks
Meaning ul P oblem Ins ances
and Gene alizable Resul s
Thomas Ba z-Beiels ein
Meaning ul P oblem Ins ances and Gene alizable
Resul s∗
Thomas Ba z-Beiels ein
SPOTSe en Lab
Cologne Uni e si y o Applied Sciences
S einm¨
ulle allee 1
51643 Gumme sbach
homas.ba z-beiels ein@ h-koeln.de
www.spo se en.de
Feb ua y 12, 2015
Abs ac
Compu a ional in elligence me hods ha e gained impo ance in se e al eal-wo ld do-
mains such as p ocess op imiza ion, sys em iden i ica ion, da a mining, o s a is ical
quali y con ol. Tools a e missing, which de e mine he applicabili y o compu a ional
in elligence me hods in hese applica ion domains in an objec i e manne . S a is ics
p o ide me hods o compa ing algo i hms on ce ain da a se s. In he pas , se e al
es sui es we e p esen ed and conside ed as s a e o he a . Howe e , he e a e se e al
d awbacks o hese es sui es, namely: (i) p oblem ins ances a e somehow a i icial
and ha e no di ec link o eal-wo ld se ings; (ii) since he e is a ixed numbe o es
ins ances, algo i hms can be i ed o uned o his speci ic and e y limi ed se o
es unc ions; (iii) s a is ical ools o compa isons o se e al algo i hms on se e al
es p oblem ins ances a e ela i ely complex and no easily o analyze. We p opose a
me hodology o o e come hese di icul ies. I is based on s anda d ideas om s a is-
ics: analysis o a iance and i s ex ension o mixed models. This chap e combines
essen ial ideas om wo app oaches: p oblem gene a ion and s a is ical analysis o
compu e expe imen s.
∗This is a p ep in o he publica ion T. Ba z-Beiels ein. How o c ea e gene alizable
esul s. In J. Kacp zyk and W. Ped ycz, edi o s, Sp inge Handbook o Compu a ional In-
elligence, chap e 56. Sp inge , 2015 (in p in ). The o iginal publica ion is a ailable a
www.sp inge link.com
1
1 In oduc ion
Compu a ional in elligence (CI) me hods ha e gained impo ance in se e al eal-
wo ld domains such as p ocess op imiza ion, sys em iden i ica ion, da a mining,
o s a is ical quali y con ol. Tools a e missing, which de e mine he appli-
cabili y o CI me hods in hese applica ion domains in an objec i e manne .
S a is ics p o ide me hods o compa ing algo i hms on ce ain da a se s. In
he pas , se e al es sui es we e p esen ed and conside ed as s a e o he a .
Howe e , he e a e se e al d awbacks o hese es sui es, namely:
•p oblem ins ances a e mos ly a i icial and ha e no di ec link o eal-wo ld
se ings;
•since he e is a ixed numbe o es ins ances, algo i hms can be i ed
o uned o his speci ic and e y limi ed se o es unc ions. As a
consequence, s udies (benchma ks) p o ide insigh how hese algo i hms
pe o m on his speci ic se o es ins ances, bu no insigh on how hey
pe o m in gene al;
•s a is ical ools o compa isons o se e al algo i hms on se e al es p ob-
lem ins ances a e ela i ely complex and no easy o analyze.
We p opose a me hodology o o e come hese di icul ies. This me hodology,
which gene a es p oblem classes a he han uses one ins ance, is cons uc ed
as ollows.
1. Fi s , we p e-p ocess he unde lying eal-wo ld da a.
2. In a second s ep, ea u es om hese da a a e ex ac ed. This ex ac ion
elies on he assump ion ha ma hema ical a iables can be used o ep-
esen eal-wo ld ea u es. Fo example, decomposi ion echniques can be
applied o model he unde lying da a s uc u es, i we a e using ime-se ies
da a. The o iginal ime se ies is decons uc ed in o a numbe o compo-
nen se ies, whe e each o hese e lec s a ce ain ype o beha io , e.g., a
end o seasonali y[9]. We ob ain an analy ic model o he da a.
3. Then, we pa ame ize his model. Based on his pa ame iza ion and
andomiza ion, we can gene a e in ini ely many new p oblem ins ances.
4. I no eal-wo ld da a a e a ailable, p oblem ins ances can be gene a ed
using es -p oblem gene a o s. The gene a ion o es p oblems, which a e
well- ounded and ha e p ac ical ele ance, is an on-going ield o esea ch
o se e al decades.
5. F om his in ini e se , we can d aw a limi ed numbe o p oblem ins ances
which will be used o he compa ison.
6. Since p oblem ins ances a e selec ed andomly, we apply andom and
mixed models o he analysis [15]. Mixed models include ixed and
andom e ec s. A ixed e ec is an unknown cons an . I s es ima ion
om he da a is a common p ac ice in analysis o a iance (ANOVA) o
eg ession. A andom e ec is a andom a iable. We a e es ima ing he
2
pa ame e s ha desc ibe i s dis ibu ion, because—in con as o ixed
e ec s—i makes no sense o es ima e he andom e ec i sel .
This chap e combines ideas om wo app oaches: p oblem gene a ion and
s a is ical analysis o compu e expe imen s. The wo k p esen ed by Chia an-
dini and Goegebeu [11] p o ides he basis o ou s a is ical analysis. They
p esen a sys ema ic and well-de eloped amewo k o mixed models. Rela ed
modeling app oaches we e sugges ed by McGeoch[14] and Bi a a i [7]. Gal-
laghe and Yuan [13] p esen a p oblem ins ance (landscape) gene a o ha is
pa ame e ized by a small numbe o pa ame e s, and he alues o hese pa am-
e e s ha e a di ec and in ui i e in e p e a ion in e ms o he geome ic ea u es
o he landscapes ha hey p oduce. Cas i˜nei as, Cauwe , and O’Sulli an [10]
p esen a pa ame izable benchma k gene a o o bin packing ins ances based
on he well-known Weibull dis ibu ion. Using he shape and scale pa ame e s
o he Weibull dis ibu ion, he au ho s gene a e benchma ks ha con ain a
a ie y o i em size dis ibu ions. They epo ha o all bin capaci ies, he
numbe o bins equi ed in an op imal solu ion inc eases as he Weibull shape
pa ame e inc eases. Using his ea u e, scalabili y is enabled.
Basically, his chap e ies o ind answe s o he ollowing undamen al
ques ions in expe imen al esea ch.
(Q-1) How o gene a e p oblem ins ances?
(Q-2) How o gene alize expe imen al esul s?
The chap e is s uc u ed as ollows. Sec ion 2 in oduces eal-wo ld and
a i icial op imiza ion p oblems. Algo i hms a e desc ibed in Sec . 3. Objec-
i e unc ions and s a is ical models a e in oduced in Sec . 4. These models
ake p oblem and algo i hm ea u es in o conside a ion. Sec ion 5 p esen s case
s udies, which illus a e ou me hodology. This chap e closes wi h a summa y
and an ou look.
2 Fea u es o Op imiza ion P oblems
2.1 P oblem Classes and Ins ances
Nowadays, i is a common p ac ice in op imiza ion o choose a ixed se o p ob-
lem ins ances in ad ance and o apply classical ANOVA o eg ession analysis.
In many expe imen al s udies a ew p oblem ins ances πi(i= 1,2, . . . , q) a e
used and esul s o some uns o he algo i hms αj(j= 1,2, . . . , h) on hese in-
s ances a e collec ed. The ins ances can be ea ed as blocks and all algo i hms
a e un on each single ins ance. Resul s a e g ouped pe ins ance πi. Analyses
o hese expe imen s shed some ligh on he pe o mance o he algo i hms on
hose speci ic ins ances. Howe e , he in e es o he esea che should no be
jus he pe o mance o he algo i hms on hose speci ic ins ances chosen, bu
a he on he gene aliza ion o he esul s o he en i e class Π. Gene aliza ions
3
abou he algo i hm’s pe o mance on new p oblem ins ances a e di icul o
impossible in his se ing.
Based on ideas om Chia andini and Goegebeu [11], o o e come his di -
icul y, we p opose he ollowing app oach: A small se o p oblem ins ances
{πi∈Π|i= 1,2, . . . , q}is chosen a andom om a la ge se , o class Π, o pos-
sible ins ances o he p oblem. P oblem ins ances a e conside ed as ac o le els.
Howe e , his ac o is o a di e en na u e om he ixed algo i hmic ac o s in
he classical ANOVA se ing. Indeed, he le els a e chosen a andom and he
in e es is no in hese speci ic le els bu in he p oblem class Π om which hey
a e sampled. The e o e, he le els and he ac o a e andom. Consequen ly,
ou esul s a e no based on a limi ed, ixed numbe o p oblem ins ances. They
a e andomly d awn om an in ini e se , which enables gene aliza ion.
2.2 Fea u e Ex ac ion and Ins ance Gene a ion
A p oblem class Π can be gene a ed in di e en manne s. We will conside
a i icial and na u al p oblem class gene a o s. A i icially gene a ed p oblems
allow ea u e gene a ion based on some p ede ined cha ac e is ics. They a e ba-
sically heo y d i en, i.e., he esea che de ines ce ain ea u es such as linea i y
o mul i modali y. Based on hese ea u es, a model ( o mula) is cons uc ed.
By in eg a ing pa ame e s in o his o mula, many p oblem ins ances can be
gene a ed by pa ame e a ia ion. We will exempli y his app oach in he ol-
lowing pa ag aph. The second way, which will gene a e na u al p oblem classes,
uses a h ee-s age app oach. Fi s , he eal-wo d sys em and i s componen s a e
desc ibed. Then, ea u es a e ex ac ed om a eal-wo ld sys em. Based on his
ea u e se , a model is de ined. Adding pa ame e s o his model, new p ob-
lem ins ances can be gene a ed. The e is also a hi d way o ”gene a e” es
ins ances: i we a e lucky, many da a a e a ailable. In his case, we can sample
a limi ed numbe o p oblem ins ances om he la ge se o eal-wo ld da a.
The s a is ical analysis is simila o hese h ee cases.
2.2.1 A i icial Tes Func ions
Se e al p oblem ins ance gene a o s ha e been p oposed o e he las yea s. Fo
example, Gallaghe and Yuan p esen a landscape es gene a o , which can be
used o se up p oblem ins ances o con inuous, bound-cons ained op imiza ion
p oblems [13]. The Max-Se o Gaussian Landscape Gene a o (MSG) uses he
maximum o mweigh ed Gaussian unc ions
G(x) = max
i∈1,2,...,m(wigi(x)),
whe e g:Rn→Rdeno es an n-dimensional Gaussian unc ion
g(x) = exp −1
2(x−µ)Σ−1(x−µ)T
(2π)n/2|Σ|1/2!1/n
,
4

µis an n-dimensional ec o o means, and Σ is an (n×n) co a iance ma ix.
The mean o each Gaussian co esponds o an op imum on he landscape and
he loca ion o all op ima is known. The global op imum is he one wi h he
la ges alue. We will use he MSG p oblem ins ance gene a o in Sec . 5 o
demons a e ou app oach.
2.2.2 Na u al P oblem Classes
This sec ion exempli ies he h ee undamen al s eps o gene a ing eal-wo ld
p oblem ins ances, namely
1. Desc ibing he eal-wo ld sys em and i s da a
2. Fea u e ex ac ion and model cons uc ion
3. Ins ance gene a ion.
We will illus a e his p ocedu e by using he classic Box and Jenkins ai line
da a [8]. These da a con ain he mon hly o als o in e na ional ai line pas-
senge s om 1949 o 1961. The ea u e ex ac ion is based on me hods om
ime-se ies analysis. Because o i s simplici y he Hol -Win e s me hod is pop-
ula in many applica ion domains. I is able o adap o changes in ends and
seasonal pa e ns. The Hol -Win e s p edic ion unc ion equi es he es ima ion
o h ee pa ame e s, i.e., α,βand γ, which can be es ima ed om o iginal ime-
se ies da a. Thei op imal alues a e de e mined by minimizing he squa ed
one-s ep p edic ion e o . To gene a e new p oblem ins ances, hese pa ame e s
can be sligh ly modi ied. Based on hese modi ied alues, he model is e- i ed.
Finally, we can ex ac he new ime se ies. One ypical esul om his ins ance
gene a ion is shown in Fig. 1. Ba z-Beiels ein [2] desc ibes his p ocedu e in
de ail.
To illus a e he wide applicabili y o his app oach, we will lis u he eal-
wo k p oblem domains, which a e subjec o ou cu en esea ch.
Sma Me e ing. The de elopmen o accu a e o ecas ing me hods o elec i-
cal ene gy consump ion p o iles is an impo an ask. We conside ime
se ies collec ed om a manu ac u ing p ocess. Each ime se ies con ains
qua e -hou ly samples o he ene gy consump ion o a bake y. A de ailed
da a desc ip ion can be ound in [3].
Wa e Indus y. Cana y is a so wa e de eloped by he Uni ed S a es En i on-
men al P o ec ion Agency (US EPA) and Sandia Na ional Labo a o ies.
I s pu pose is o de ec e en s in he con ex o wa e con amina ion. An
e en is in his con ex de ined as a ce ain ime pe iod whe e a con am-
inan signi ican ly de e io a es he wa e quali y. Dis inguishing e en s
om (i) backg ound changes, (ii) main enance and modi ica ion due o
ope a ion, and (iii) ou lie s is an essen ial ask, which was implemen ed
in he Cana y so wa e. The e o e, de ia ions a e compa ed o egula
pa e ns and sho e m changes. The co esponding da a con ains mul i-
a ia e ime-se ies da a. I is a selec ion om a la ge da ase shipped
wi h he open sou ce e en -de ec ion so wa e CANARY de eloped by US
EPA and Sandia Na ional Labo a o ies [19].
5
Time
Ai Passenge s
1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960
100 200 300 400 500 600
Figu e 1: Hol -Win e s p oblem ins ance gene a o . The solid line ep esen s
he eal da a, he do ed line p edic ions om he Hol -Win e s model and he
ine do ed line modi ied p edic ions, espec i ely.
Finance. The da a a e eal-wo ld da a om in aday o eign exchange (FX)
ading. The FX ma ke is a inancial ma ke o ading cu encies o
enable in e na ional ade and in es men . I is he la ges and mos
liquid inancial ma ke in he wo ld. Cu encies can be aded ia a wide
a ie y o di e en inancial ins umen s, anging om simple spo ades
o e o highly complex de i a i es. We a e using h ee o eign exchange
(cu ency a e) ime se ies collec ed om Bloombe g. Each ime se ies
con ains hou ly samples o he change in cu ency exchange a e [12].
One ypical goal in o ecas ing is he minimiza ion o he o ecas e o s o
he di e ences be ween eal (obse ed) alues, say yi, and p edic ed alues, say
ˆyi. This goal can be conside ed as an op imiza ion p oblem.
As s a ed in Sec . 2.2, he s a is ical analysis is simila o a i icial and na -
u al p oblem classes. Ou goal can be s a ed as ollows: Fo a gi en p oblem
class Π, which can be a i icial o na u al, we a e ying o de e mine i an op i-
miza ion algo i hm αo se e al algo i hm ins ances αishow simila beha io on
andomly selec ed p oblem ins ances πi∈Π. This ques ion will be o mula ed
as a s a is ical hypo hesis. Based on he ela ed s a is ical amewo k, we can
de e mine con idence in e als o he pe o mance o he algo i hm on unseen
p oblem ins ances.
6
3 Algo i hm Fea u es
3.1 Fac o s and Le els
E olu iona y algo i hms (EA) belong o he la ge class o bio-inspi ed sea ch
heu is ics. They combine speci ic componen s, which may be quali a i e, like
he ecombina ion ope a o o quan i a i e, like he popula ion size. Ou in e es
is in unde s anding he con ibu ion o hese componen s. In s a is ical e ms,
hese componen s a e called ac o s. The in e es is in he e ec s o he speci ic
le els chosen o hese ac o s. Hence, we say ha he le els and consequen ly
he ac o s a e ixed. Al hough mode n sea ch echniques like sequen ial pa-
ame e op imiza ion o Pa e o gene ic p og amming [18] allow mul i-objec i e
pe o mance measu es (solu ion quali y e sus a iabili y o desc ip ion leng h),
we es ic ou sel es o analyze he e ec o hese ac o s on a uni a ia e mea-
su e o pe o mance. We will use he quali y o he solu ions e u ned by he
algo i hm a e mina ion as he pe o mance measu e.
3.2 Example: E olu ion S a egy
E olu ion s a egies (ES) a e p ominen ep esen a i es o e olu iona y algo-
i hms, which includes gene ic algo i hms and gene ic p og amming as well [17].
They can be classi ied as gene ic popula ion-based me aheu is ic op imiza ion
algo i hms o global op imiza ion ha in some sense mimics he na u al e olu-
ion. E olu ion s a egies a e applied o ha d eal- alued op imiza ion p oblems.
Mu a ion is pe o med by adding a no mally dis ibu ed andom alue o each
ec o componen . The s anda d de ia ion o hese andom alues is modi ied
by sel -adap a ion. E olu ion s a egies can use a popula ion o se e al solu-
ions. Each solu ion is conside ed as as indi idual and consis s o objec and
s a egy a iables. Objec a iables ep esen he posi ion in he sea ch space,
whe eas s a egy a iables s o e he s ep sizes, i.e., he s anda d de ia ions o
he mu a ion. We a e analyzing he ES basic a ian , which has been p oposed
in [6].
Mu a ion means neighbo hood-based mo emen in sea ch space ha includes
he explo a ion o he ”ou e space” cu en ly no co e ed by a popula ion,
whe eas ecombina ion ea anges exis ing in o ma ion and so ocuses on he
”inne space”. Selec ion is mean o in oduce a bias owa ds be e i ness al-
ues. A conc e e ES may con ain speci ic mu a ion, ecombina ion, o selec ion
ope a o s, o call hem only wi h a ce ain p obabili y, bu he con ol low is
usually le unchanged. Each o he consecu i e cycles is e med a gene a ion.
The con ol low is shown in Fig. 2. Conce ning he ep esen a ion, i should be
no ed ha mos empi ic s udies a e based on canonical o ms as bina y s ings
o eal- alued ec o s, whe eas many eal-wo ld applica ions equi e specialized,
p oblem dependen ones. Table 1 summa izes impo an ES pa ame e s. This
chap e p esen s wo case s udies. The i s case s udy is based on a ixed ES
pa ame e se ing, whe eas he second case s udy modi ies he ecombina ion
ope a o o objec a iables. We a e con inced ha he applicabili y o he
7
ma ing selec ion
ecombina ion
ini ializa ion
and e alua ion
mu a ione alua ion
es o e mina ion
en i onmen al
selec ion c osso e
eplacemen
Figu e 2: The e olu iona y cycle, basic wo king scheme o all ES and EA. Te ms
common o desc ibing e olu ion s a egies a e used, al e na i e e ms a e added
below in blue.
me hods p esen ed in his chap e goes a beyond he simpli ied case s udies.
Ou main con ibu ion is a amewo k, which allows conclusions ha a e no
limi ed o a small numbe o p oblem ins ances bu o p oblem classes.
4 Objec i e Func ions
We will use he ollowing op imiza ion amewo k: An ES is applied as a min-
imize on he es unc ion (x). Fo mally speaking, le Sdeno e some se ,
e.g., S⊆Rn. We a e seeking o alues ∗and x∗, such ha minx∈S (x) wi h
∗= minx∈S (x) and x∗= a g min (x). This app oach can be ex ended in
many ways. Fo example, i Sdeno es imes-se ies da a, hen an op imiza ion
algo i hm can be applied o minimize he empi ical mean squa ed p edic ion
e o .
Tes p oblem ins ances will be d awn om Gallaghe ’s and Yuan’s MSG es
unc ion gene a o . The ollowing pa ame e s can be used o speci y he MSG
gene a o .
•The numbe o Gaussian componen s m.
•The mean ec o µo each componen .
•The co a iance ma ix Σ o each componen .
•The weigh o each componen wi.
•A maximum h eshold ∈[0; 1] can be speci ied o local op ima and
he i ness alue o he global op imum G∗. Local op ima a e andomly
gene a ed wi hin [0; ×G∗].
8
Table 2: ANOVA able o a one- ac o ixed and andom e ec s models
Sou ce Sum Deg ees Mean EMS EMS
o Va ia ion o Squa es o eedom Squa e Fixed Random
T ea men SS ea q−1 MS ea σ2+ Pq
i=1 τ2
i
q−1σ2+ σ2
τ
E o SSe q( −1) MSe σ2σ2
To al SS o al q −1
and
MSe =SSe
q( −1) =Pq
i=1 P
j=1(Yij −¯
Yi.)2
q( −1) .
I can be shown ha
E(MS ea ) = σ2+ σ2
τand E(MSe ) = σ2,(9)
c . [15]. The e o e, he es ima o s o he a iance componen s a e
ˆσ2= MSe ,(10)
ˆ
σ2
τ=MS ea −MSe
.(11)
The co esponding ANOVA able is shown in Table 2.
Based on ANOVA calcula ions, we ob ain wi h (10) an es ima o o he
i s a iance componen ˆσ2=−0.4848257, and om (11), we ob ain he second
componen ˆσ2
τ= 11.32854. The model a iance can be de e mined as ˆσ2+ ˆσ2
τ=
10.84372. The mean µ=−12.05554 om (8) can be ex ac ed. Finally, he p
alue in he ANOVA able is calcula ed as 0.7979083.
No e, ha we ha e ob ained a nega i e a iance. Since nega i e a iances
a e no easible, we can p oceed by se ing hei alues o ze o and p oceed wi h
his modi ied alues. A mo e elegan way is p esen ed in he ollowing.
Res ic ed maximum likelihood. In some cases, he s anda d ANOVA,
which was used in ou example, p oduces a nega i e es ima e o a a iance
componen . This can be seen in (11): I MSe >MS ea , nega i e alues
occu . By de ini ion, a iance componen s a e posi i e. Me hods, which al-
ways yield posi i e a iance componen s ha e been de eloped. He e, we will
use es ic ed maximum likelihood es ima o s (REML). The ANOVA me hod
o a iance componen es ima ion, which is a me hod o momen s p ocedu e,
and REML es ima ion may lead o di e en esul s. Ou pu om an R-based
analysis wi h he unc ion lme om he package lme4 eads as ollows ( Seed
deno es he p oblem ins ance) [16]:
Linea mixed model i by REML
Fo mula: yLog ~ 1 + (1 | Seed)
Da a: samp.d
15

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Figu e 5: Le : Q-Q plo o he esiduals o aw da a. Le : Q-Q plo o he
log- ans o med esponses.
AIC BIC logLik de iance REMLde
475.6 483.1 -234.8 469.3 469.6
Random e ec s:
G oups Name Va iance S d.De .
Seed (In e cep ) 0.000 0.0000
Residual 10.893 3.3004
Numbe o obs: 90, g oups: Seed, 9
Fixed e ec s:
Es ima e S d. E o alue
(In e cep ) -12.0555 0.3479 -34.65
Compa ed o he ANOVA se ing, di e en alues o ˆσ2, ˆσ2
τ, and µwe e
ob ained. Howe e , he REML based analysis also shows ha he a iabili y in
he esponse obse a ions can be a ibu ed o he a iabili y o he algo i hm.
SAMP-3 Valida ion o he Model Assump ions Be o e pe o ming hy-
po hesis es ing based on he models in oduced in SAMP-2, he alidi y o he
model assump ions has o be in es iga ed. I he model is adequa e, he esiduals
should exhibi no s uc u e. Residuals a e plo ed agains i ed alues o check
he assump ion o homoscedas ici y and quan ile-quan ile (Q-Q) plo s a e used
o check i esiduals mee he no mali y assump ion. Quan ile-quan ile plo s o
he esiduals is shown in Fig. 5 o he aw and he log- ans o med esponses.
These plo s p o ide a good way o compa e he he dis ibu ion o a sample
wi h a dis ibu ion. La ge de ia ions om he line indica e non-no mali y o
he sample da a. These Q-Q plo s indica e ha a log ans o ma ion o he
esponse migh be use ul in ou se ing.
SAMP-4 Hypo hesis Tes ing Tes ing hypo heses abou indi idual ea -
men s (ins ances) is useless, because he p oblem ins ances πia e he e consid-
16
e ed as samples om some la ge popula ion o ins ances Π. We es hypo heses
abou he a iance componen σ2
τ, i.e., he null hypo hesis
H0:σ2
τ= 0 e sus H1:σ2
τ>0.(12)
Unde H0, he algo i hm pe o mance is iden ical on all p oblem ins ances (”all
ea men s a e iden ical”), i.e., σ2
τis e y small. Based on (9), we conclude ha
E(MS ea ) = σ2+ σ2
τand E(MSe ) = σ2a e simila . Unde he al e na i e,
a iabili y exis s be ween ea men s. S anda d analysis shows ha SSe /σ2is
dis ibu ed as chi-squa e wi h q( −1) deg ees o eedom. Le Fu, deno e he
Fdis ibu ion wi h unume a o and denomina o deg ees o eedom. Unde
H0, he a io
F0=
SS ea
q−1
SSe
q( −1)
=MS ea
MSe
is dis ibu ed as Fq−1,q( −1). To es hypo heses in (8), we equi e ha τ1, . . . , τq
a e i.i.d. N(0, σ2
τ), εij,i= 1, . . . , q,j= 1, . . . , , a e i.i.d. N(0, σ2), and all τi
and εij a e independen o each o he . These conside a ions lead o he decision
ule o ejec H0a he signi icance le el αi
0> F(1 −α;q−1, q( −1)),(13)
whe e 0is he ealiza ion o F0 om he obse ed da a. An in ui i e mo i a ion
o he o m o s a is ic F0can be ob ained om he expec ed mean squa es.
Unde H0bo h MS ea and MSe es ima e σ2in an unbiased way, and F0can
be expec ed o be close o one. On he o he hand, la ge alues o F0gi e
e idence agains H0.
Rega ding he SAMP case, we ob ain he ollowing alues: Based on (9)
and (13), we can de e mine he Fs a is ic and he p alue. We ge MS ea =
MSe = 10.89275 and 0= 1, which esul s a la ge p alue: 0.4426363. The
null hypo hesis H0:σ2
τ= 0 om (12) can no be ejec ed, i.e., we conclude ha
he e is no ins ance e ec . A simila conclusion was ob ained om he ANOVA
me hod o a iance componen es ima ion as in oduced in Table 2.
SAMP-5 Con idence In e als and P edic ion An unbiased es ima o o
he o e all mean µis
ˆµ= ¯y·· =
q
X
i=1
X
j=1
yij/(q ).
I s a iance is gi en by
V(¯y··)=V

q
X
i=1
X
j=1
yij/(q )
= σ2
τ+σ2
q .
Wi h (9) and (10), we ob ain an es ima o o he a iance o he o e all mean
µas ˆ
V(¯y··) = MS ea /q .
17
Since ¯
Y·· −µ
pMS ea /q ∼ q( −1),
he con idence limi s o µcan be de i ed as
¯y·· ± 1−α/2;q( −1)pMS ea /q . (14)
We conclude he SAMP case s udy wi h p edic ion o he algo i hm’s pe -
o mance on a new ins ance om he same class. Based on (14), we ob ain he
ollowing 95% con idence in e al: [2.6773e−06; 1.262e−05]. Again, con idence
in e als om he REML and ANOVA me hods a e e y simila . Summa iz-
ing, we can conclude ha he ES pe o ms simila on ins ances om ΠMSG,
which we e gene a ed wi h Eq. 2.
5.3 MAMP: Mul iple Algo i hms, Mul iple P oblems
In he MAMP case s udy, ixed e ec s a e included in he condi ional s uc u e
o (6), which leads o a mixed model. Ins ead o one ixed algo i hm as in he
SAMP case, we conside ei he se e al algo i hms o algo i hms wi h se e al
pa ame e s. Bo h si ua ions can be ea ed while conside ing algo i hms as
le els o a ixed ac o , whe eas p oblem ins ances a e d awn andomly om he
popula ion o ins ances ΠMSG.
MAMP-1 Algo i hm and P oblem Ins ances
MAMP-2 ANOVA and REML Model Building
MAMP-3 Valida ion o he Model Assump ions
MAMP-4 Hypo hesis Tes ing
a) Random e ec s
b) Fixed e ec s
MAMP-5 Con idence In e als and P edic ion
MAMP-1 Algo i hm and P oblem Ins ances We aim a compa ing he
pe o mance o he ES wi h di e en ecombina ion ope a o s o e an ins ance
class. Mo e p ecisely, we ha e ou ES ins ances using ecombina ion ope a o s
{1,2,3,4}and nine ins ances andomly sampled om he class ΠMSG as illus-
a ed in Fig. 3. Each un is epea ed en imes. In his s udy 4 ×9×10 = 360
da a we e used. We a e in e es ed in he ollowing ques ions:
•Is he e an ins ance e ec ?
•Do he mean pe o mances o he ES wi h di e en ecombina ion ope a-
o s di e ?
•Do he ins ance-algo i hm in e ac ions con ibu e o he a iabili y o he
esponse?
A i s isual inspec ion, which plo s he pe o mance o he algo i hm wi hin
each p oblem ins ance, is shown in Fig. 6. In eigh o he nine ins ances he
linea eg ession line does ha e a nega i e slope and he in e cep s do no di e
e y much. This indica es ha he e is no signi ican in e ac ion be ween he
ixed and he andom ac o s.
18
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132
Figu e 6: Fou algo i hms (ES wi h modi ied ecombina ion ope a o s) on nine
es p oblem ins ances. Each panel ep esen s one p oblem ins ance and p oblem
ins ances a e labeled om 124 o 130. Pe o mance is plo ed agains he le el
o he ecombina ion ope a o .
19
MAMP-2 ANOVA and REML Model Building The a iabili y in he
pe o mance measu e can be decomposed acco ding o he ollowing mixed-
e ec s ANOVA model:
Yijk =µ+αj+τi+γij +εijk,(15)
whe e µis an o e all pe o mance le el common o all obse a ions, αjis a ixed
e ec due o he algo i hm j,τiis a andom e ec associa ed wi h ins ance i,
γij is a andom in e ac ion be ween ins ance iand algo i hm j, and εijk is a
andom e o o eplica ion ko algo i hm jon ins ance i. We assume ha
he αj’s a e ixed e ec s such ha Ph
j=1 αj= 0 and ha he andom elemen s
a e τia e i.i.d. N(0, σ2
τ), γij a e i.i.d. N(0, σ2
γ), εijk a e i.i.d. N(0, σ2), and
τi,γij and εijk a e mu ually independen andom a iables. Simila o (6) he
condi ional dis ibu ion o he pe o mance measu e gi en he ins ance and he
ins ance–algo i hm in e ac ion is gi en by
Yijk|τi, γij ∼ N(µ+αj+τi+γij, σ2),(16)
wi h i= 1, . . . , q, j = 1, . . . , h, and k= 1, . . . , . The ma ginal model eads
(a e in eg a ing ou he andom e ec s τiand γij):
Yijk ∼ N (µ+αj, σ2+σ2
τ+σ2
γ).(17)
Based on hese s a is ical assump ions, hypo hesis es s can be pe o med abou
ixed and andom ac o e ec s. Using he mixed model (16), we a e in e es ed
in es ing whe he he e is a di e ence be ween he ac o le el means µ+αj
(j= 1, . . . , h). The hypo heses o es ing he ixed e ec s can be o mula ed as
H0:αi= 0 ∀iagains H1:∃αj6= 0 (18)
Rega ding andom e ec s, es s abou pa icula le els a e useless. This is
simila o he andom-e ec s model (8). Again, we pe o m es s abou he
a iance componen s σ2
τand σ2
γins ead. These can be o mula ed as ollows:
H0:σ2
τ= 0,and H0:σ2
γ= 0,
H1:σ2
τ>0, H1:σ2
γ>0,(19)
espec i ely. I all ea men (p oblem ins ances) combina ions ha e he same
numbe o obse a ions, i.e., i he design is balanced, he es s a is ics o hese
hypo heses a e a ios o mean squa es ha a e chosen such ha he expec ed
mean squa es o he nume a o di e s om he expec ed mean squa es o he
denomina o only by he a iance componen s o he andom ac o unde es .
Chia andini and Goegebeu [11] p esen he esul ing analysis o a iance, which
is shown in Table 3.
ANOVA Model Building. The ANOVA able o he expe imen s om he
MAMP case s udy is shown in Table 4. Equa ing he obse ed mean squa es
20

Table 3: Expec ed mean squa es and consequen app op ia e es s a is ics o
a mixed wo- ac o model wi h h ixed ac o s, q andom ac o s, and epea s.
F om [11].
Mean Expec ed Tes
E ec s squa es d mean squa es s a is ics
Fixed ac o MSA h−1σ2+ σ2
γ+ q Ph
j=1 α2
j
h−1MSA/MSAB
Random
ac o
MSB q−1σ2+ σ2
γ+ hσ2
τMSB/MSAB
In e ac ion MSAB (h−1)(q−1) σ2+ σ2
γMSAB/MSE
E o MSE hq( −1) σ2
Table 4: ANOVA o he MAMP case
Mean squa es Fac o s D Sum Sq Mean Sq F alue P (>F)
MSA obj eco 3 154.59 51.53 11.05 0.0000
MSB Seed 8 251.79 31.47 6.75 0.0000
MSAB obj eco: Seed 24 185.60 7.73 1.66 0.0288
MSE Residuals 324 1511.27 4.66
21
in he lines o he ANOVA able o hei expec ed alues and sol ing o he
a iance componen s leads o he ollowing equa ions[15]:
ˆσ2
τ=MSB −MSAB
h = 0.593502
ˆσ2
γ=MSAB −MSE
= 0.306907
ˆσ2=MSE = 4.664423
Nex , we will compa e hese esul s o he REML based analysis o he
mixed model.
REML Model Building. We ha e speci ied sum con as s ins ead o he
de aul ea men con as s used in lme (). Again, Seed ep esen s he p ob-
lem ins ance, whe eas he algo i hm ins ance αj,j= 1,...,4, is ep esen ed by
obj eco.
Linea mixed model i by REML
Fo mula: yLog ~ obj eco + (1 | Seed)
+ (1 | Seed:obj eco)
Random e ec s:
G oups Name Va iance S d.De .
Seed:obj eco (In e cep ) 0.30691 0.55399
Seed (In e cep ) 0.59351 0.77039
Residual 4.66442 2.15973
Numbe o obs: 360,
g oups: Seed:obj eco, 36; Seed, 9
Fixed e ec s:
Es ima e S d. E o alue
(In e cep ) -6.0222 0.2956 -20.370
obj eco1 0.6176 0.2539 2.433
obj eco2 0.6918 0.2539 2.725
obj eco3 -0.6671 0.2539 -2.628
As can be seen om he Random e ec s sec ion o he REML model ou pu ,
he es ima ed a iances o he p oblem ins ance and he ins ance-in e ac ion
andom e ec s a e ˆσ2
τ= 0.59351 and ˆσ2
γ= 0.30691, espec i ely. The Random
e ec s sec ion p esen s he es ima es o he ixed e ec s model pa ame e s,
i.e., obj eco.
MAMP-3 Valida ion o he Model Assump ions Again, he check o
he diagnos ic plo s (Fig. 7) e eals ha a log ans o ma ion o he esponse
imp o es he model adequacy.
22
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−3 −2 −1 0 1 2 3
−6 −4 −2 0 2 4
Q−Q plo o esiduals
Theo e ical Quan iles
Sample Quan iles
Figu e 7: Le : Q-Q plo o he esiduals o aw da a. Le : Q-Q plo o he
log- ans o med esponses.
MAMP-4a Hypo hesis Tes ing: Random E ec s We will conside an-
dom e ec s i s . Rega ding p oblem ins ances, es abou le els a e meaning-
less. Hence, we pe o m es s abou he a iance componen s σ2
τand σ2
γ, which
we e p esen ed in (19). Fi s , we a e es ing he null hypo hesis, which s a es
ha he componen s o he andom e ec s a e ze o. Based on he ANOVA om
Table 3, we ob ain he alues o he MAMP case ha a e shown in Table 4.
The alues e eal ha he e a e main ac o e ec s ( ixed and andom), bu no
signi ican in e ac ion e ec s.
Al e na i ely, we can compu e he likelihood a ios o models wi h and wi h-
ou he ac o s unde obse a ion.
Da a: mamp.d
Models:
mamp.lme 2: yLog ~ obj eco + (1 | Seed)
mamp.lme 3: yLog ~ obj eco + (1 | Seed)
+ (1 | Seed:obj eco)
D AIC BIC logLik
mamp.lme 2 6 1616.7 1640.0 -802.35
mamp.lme 3 7 1616.6 1643.8 -801.31
Chisq Chi D P (>Chisq)
2.0929 1 0.148
These es s indica e ha he e a e also no signi ican ins ance-algo i hm in e -
ac ions. Addi ional likelihood- a io es show ha he ixed ac o and andom
ac o e ec s a e signi ican .
MAMP-4b Hypo hesis Tes ing: Fixed Fac o E ec s Rega ding ixed
ac o s, we a e in e es ed in es ing o di e ences in he ac o le el means
µ+αi. These es s we e o mula ed in (18), i.e., we a e es ing H0: all αi
a e equal o 0 e sus H1: a leas one αj6= 0. He e, we a e using he es
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s a is ic om [15, p. 523] o es ing ha he means o he ixed ac o e ec s
a e equal. The app op ia e es s a is ic o es ing ha he means o he ixed
ac o e ec s a e equal, i.e., H0is ue, is
F0=MSA
MSAB =154.59/3
185.6/24 = 6.663362,
wi h alues aken om Table 4. The e e ence dis ibu ion is Fn−1,(n−1)(q−1).
We calcula e he p alue o he es on he ixed-e ec e m. The ob ained p
alue is 0.002, hence he esul s collec ed indica e ha he ac o ecombina-
ion (obj eco) has a s a is ically signi ican impac on he pe o mance o he
algo i hm. Using sum o con as s implies ha Pαj= 0. The poin es ima es
o he mean algo i hm pe o mance wi h he j h ixed ac o se ing can be
ob ained by µ·j=µ+αj. The ixed ac o e ec s can be es ima ed in he mixed
model as
ˆµ=y...
ˆαj=yj. −y...,
which esul s in he ollowing es ima es: ˆα1= 0.6175519, ˆα2= 0.6918047,
ˆα3=−0.6671266, and ˆα4=−0.6423659.
The same es ima es we e ob ained wi h he REML analysis as can be seen
om he REML model ou pu on page 22. The co esponding ixed e ec s a e
shown in he Fixed e ec s sec ion o he REML ou pu . Fo example, we
ob ain he ollowing alue: obj eco1 = ˆα1= 0.6176.
MAMP-5 Con idence In e als and P edic ion We gene a e pai ed com-
pa isons plo s, which a e based on con idence in e als. The w appe unc ion
in e als() om Chia andini and Goegebeu [11] was used o isualizing
hese con idence in e als as shown in Fig. 8. When in e als o e lap we con-
clude ha he e is no signi ican di e ence. He e, we can conclude ha he
ecombina ion ope a o s (1) and (2) show a simila pe o mance, whe eas pe -
o mances be ween (3) and (2) a e di e en . In e media e ecombina ion o
he objec a iables, i.e., (3) and (4), esul s in a signi ican imp o emen o
he pe o mance.
6 Summa y and Ou look
In o de o answe ques ion (Q-1), we p opose an app oach o gene a e na u-
al p oblem classes, which a e based on eal-wo ld da a. I no such da a a e
a ailable, a i icial p oblem gene a o s such as MSG can be used. Since ou
app oach uses a model, say M, o gene a e new p oblem ins ances, one con-
cep ual p oblem a ises: This app oach is no applicable, i he inal goal is he
de e mina ion o a model o he da a, because Mis pe de ini ion he bes
model in his case and he sea ch o good models will esul in M. Bu he e
is a simple solu ion o his p oblem. In his case, he ea u e ex ac ion and
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