Multilevel assignment of jobs and tasks in online work management system

• US 10,395,187 B2
• Filed: 02/10/2009
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clearshift Corporation
• Original Assignee: Clearshift Corporation
• Inventors: Weyl, Stephen, Elenbaas, Daniel J., Krishnan, Rajesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson, Foloshade
• Application Number:
  US12/368,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20090204470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,850 Days
• Field of Search: 705 8, 705 711- 742
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group

Abstract

An online work management system provides a marketplace for multiple job owner and workers. The job owners provide a job description that defines task. The job description may be processed to generate task descriptions that may be published for workers'"'"' application. The task descriptions specify the qualification or restrictions for workers to have the task assigned. The online work management system also provides various functions supporting coordination and management of task assignment such as determining the trust level of the user'"'"'s identity, search the tasks or workers, monitoring the progress of job, managing payment to workers, training and testing the workers, evaluating the review by the job owners, and generation of surveys.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for creating a customized task template in an online work-management system to accommodate information from partner systems comprising:

in a computing device including one or more data processors and memory storing executable code for at least one data processor to execute a plurality of control and web-based interface actions for providing task templates within a web-based user interface and receiving input data representative of modifications from a particular user into the task templates to directly connect to a particular user avatar representative of a user online persona for the particular user selected from a set of classified avatars used with partner systems hosting partner programs, including;

providing a first task template from a plurality of different task templates, by said one or more data processors and said executable code within the web-based user interface for display to said particular user and receiving within a first region of the first task template, by said at least one or more data processors and said executable code, at least one user input for said particular user to indicate information associated with the particular user avatar selected from the set of classified avatars, the information configured to generate a description defining at least one task;

obtaining, by said at least one or more data processors and said executable code, the information for accessibility to the partner systems including a plurality of websites, including a password and login operation provided through the web-based user interface from the partner systems, and upon receiving a user login, creating a link between two avatars identified from the set of classified avatars;

receiving within a second region of the first task template by said one or more data processors and said executable code, available options associated with the particular user avatar for said particular user, including

     1) a selection of a leisure suit for a user avatar for certain recreation applications and

     2) a business suit for a user avatar for business applications;

storing information by said one or more data processors and said executable code from within the first task template associated with the user avatars including user selections in a local repository and a database associated with the partner systems to allow users to combine activities with the partner systems based on linked avatars;

generating within a third descriptive region of the first task template, by said at least one or more data processors and said executable code, a task description for the task based on the user input and the description generated;

assigning, by said at least one or more data processors and said executable code, the task to a first user based on the task description, wherein the first user assigns at least part of the task to a second user through the web-based user interface;

sending for display, by said at least one or more data processors and said executable code, assignment information indicating the assignment of the task to the first user and the assignment of part of the task to the second user on at least one of user terminals used by the first and second users;

receiving, by said at least one or more data processors and said executable code, a first request to view a modified customized task template with one or more of the task, the part of the task, the assignment of the first user and the assignment of the second user, wherein one or more of the task, the part of the task, the first user, the second user and a task owner are assigned a linked avatar for both said first user and said second user;

responsive to receiving the first request, by the one or more data processors and said executable code, sending a first set of one or more linked avatars for display;

receiving, by at least one of the one or more data processors and said executable code, a second request to view the modified customized task template with one or more of the task, the part of the task, the assignment of the first user and the assignment of the second user;

sending, by at least one of the one or more data processors and executable code, a second set of one or more avatars for display, the second set of one or more avatars including at least one avatar different from that of the first set of one or more avatars for one or more of a task, a part of the task, an assignment of the first user and an assignment of the second user common to both the first request and the second request;

receiving, by at least one of the one or more data processors and executable code, a further modification to the customized task template including a task description from the first user defining the task, the task including at least a first subtask;

generating, by at least one or more data processors and executable code, a subtask description within the user interface, defining the first subtask based on the task description; and

assigning by the web-based user interface the first subtask to the second user based on the subtask description.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the task further includes a second subtask performed by the first user.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

displaying, by the one or more data processors and said executable code, the subtask description responsive to assigning the task to the first user;

receiving, by at least one of the one or more data processors and said executable code, applications from a group of users for the subtask responsive to showing the subtask description; and

receiving, by at least one of the one or more data processors and said executable code, a selection of the second user from the group of users responsive to receiving the applications.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first user is anonymized so that an identity of the first user is concealed from a task owner assigning the task to the first user.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving, by at least one or more data processors and executable code, applications for the task from a first set of users for a predetermined amount of time; and

receiving, by the one or more data processors and executable code, applications for the task from a second set of users after the predetermined amount of time passed.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

accessing, by at least the one or more data processors and executable code, an information source external to the online work-management system to search for users qualified for executing the subtask; and

selecting, by at least the one or more data processors and executable code, the second user from the users searched from the external information source.