Variable neighborhood scatter search for the incremental graph drawing problem

Automated graph-drawing systems utilize procedures to place vertices and arcs in order to produce graphs with desired properties. Incremental or dynamic procedures are those that preserve key characteristics when updating an existing drawing. These methods are particularly useful in areas such as planning and logistics, where updates are frequent. We propose a procedure based on the scatter search methodology that is adapted to the incremental drawing problem in hierarchical graphs. These drawings can be used to represent any acyclic graph. Comprehensive computational experiments are used to test the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed procedure.