Abstract
The paper introduces duty measure for optimization methods.
Duty expresses the relationship
between the quality of the result and
the time required to obtain the result.
The usefulness of the duty measure is demonstrated on a case study
involving a local optimization of a large traveling salesman problem.
Using duty,
a deterministic method and a probabilistic method
are combined into a hybrid method.
The hybrid method exhibits the best quality-time tradeoff
of the three methods.
The performance of the hybrid method is analyzed and
some future research questions are addressed.