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12/11/08 - USPTO Class 705 | 1 views | #20080306805 | Prev - Next | About this Page

Method and apparatus for queue-based automated staff scheduling

Title: Method and apparatus for queue-based automated staff scheduling

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Claims

The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080306805, Method and apparatus for queue-based automated staff scheduling.

1. A queue-based scheduling apparatus for automated staff scheduling and for enforcing scheduling rules and requirements, comprising: means for defining conditional and unconditional rules; means for ranking rules and requests in varying priority as represented by a numeric value assigned to each rule and request; and means for specifying rules both per individual and per group.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: at least one queue per each scheduled assignment for holding requests and rules.

3. A scheduling process, comprising the steps of: collecting requests and rules using a graphical user-interface; determining a scheduling period that has a user-defined start date and stop date; creating a request queue for each day of a period; for each request or rule, determining which days said request or rule is applicable; for each applicable day, inserting a request into its queue; sorting said days from most constrained to least constrained; beginning scheduling from a most constrained day; for each assignment in a day, creating a list of candidates for that assignment for that day; for each candidate, associating a highest priority request in said request queue that applies to said candidate, wherein said highest priority value for a candidate is a candidate bid for a chosen assignment; sorting said candidates according to a bid calculated in the immediately preceding step; scheduling a candidate having a highest number; determining a schedule for any remaining days.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said constraints on scheduling choices comprise either of conditional and unconditional constraints, wherein conditional constraints are only in effect if a certain scheduling condition applies.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein a rule applies to either of a specific individual or a group of individuals.

6. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: associating rules with a number which describes a rank or a priority of that rule relative to other rules; wherein a large positive number indicates that any individual under that rule is highly favored to be scheduled for the given shift on a given day; wherein a large negative number indicates that any individual under that rule is not favored to be scheduled for the given shift on a given day; and wherein an individual who is not subject to any rules has a priority point zero by default, indicating neutrality.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: choosing a rule having a highest absolute value of priority points for an individual to compete with other individuals when more than one rule is to be applied.

8. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: entering static or unconditional rules in the request queue prior to running the automated scheduler; and entering conditional rules and requests during execution of the steps of said method, depending on the scheduling conditions; wherein a highly adaptive scheduler is provided that changes its scheduling behavior during execution of the method, based on scheduling decisions made during execution of the method.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: providing conditional rules, wherein each conditional rule has a set of conditions and a set of actions, wherein when all conditions are met, said set of actions is converted into a request.

10. The method of claim 3, further comprising the step of: providing an alternates list that exposes information in a form a user can use to override the choice that said automatic scheduler has made; wherein said alternates list displays all constraints and requests that are currently imposed on alternate individuals.

11. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: said auto scheduler generating schedules in multiple phases; wherein during each phase, said automatic scheduler entirely schedules every assignment on every day in a scheduling period; wherein on second and later phases, said auto scheduler learns from any hazards detected in earlier phases to generate a better overall schedule; wherein said hazards are detected whenever said automatic scheduler cannot find an individual that would not violate some rule or request; said automatic scheduler determining if any conditional rule has forced this situation and, if it did, finding a source or a condition of the rule that generated a violating request; said automatic scheduler generating and submitting an internal request; and in subsequent phases, said automatic scheduler avoiding said hazard by using said submitted request from previous phases.

12. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: said auto scheduler randomly choosing different assignments on different days, rescheduling individuals until a global schedule improves or converges to an acceptable one; and said auto scheduler summarizing a number of requests or rules in each queue that are in violation across all assignments in an entire schedule to determine whether a global schedule has improved after a scheduling adjustment; wherein if a total number of violations decreases, said schedule has been improved and therefore is chosen over prior schedules.

13. An auction method for resolving conflicting scheduling requests, comprising the steps of: giving each scheduled individual a fixed number of points or currency to spend; each individual then deciding how to distribute or spend said points to various requests, based on individual needs and preferences; wherein an individual that spends the most points wins a request for an assignment for a specific day.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein seniority or preferential treatment is provided to individuals by giving each individual a different number of points to spend based upon said seniority or preference.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of: a scheduling administrator defining scheduling rules and policies and entering said scheduling rule and practices in the form of conditional or unconditional rules, wherein each rule is given a number that represents the priority of that rule; users entering their request for a scheduling period, wherein said users, can assign a priority point to each of these requests, indicating a relative importance of said request; once all rules and requests have been entered, said scheduling administrator initiating scheduling for a user-specified period defined by a begin date and an end date; sorting said rules and requests for a given assignment for a day based on the value of said priorities; matching candidates with requests to arrive at a candidate with a highest request priority, which is a scheduling choice for an assignment for that day; once a schedule has been generated, said scheduling administrator optionally inspecting each scheduling choice and reviewing alternates for any particular assignment; and when said schedule is complete, making said schedule available.

16. An automated staff scheduling method, comprising the steps of: allowing a large number of conflicting requests and rules to be entered; said requests and rules competing in a scheduling decision based on numerical priority associated with said requests and rules.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: resolving conflicts that arise in said scheduling decision.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: implementing rules and exceptions to rules.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: implementing auction-based bidding for contentious assignments and days based on which request has the highest priority.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: exposing a rationale for a scheduling decision to a user by showing who is scheduled, their constraints, and a cause for said constraints.

21. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of: manipulating a local queue of requests for each assignment.

Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Claims

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Previous Patent Application:
Transportation management processes and systems
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Methods and apparatus for dynamically allocating tasks
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Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or cost/price determination

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