Method and apparatus for supporting individualized selection rules for resource allocation
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- applying at least one validation rule to each work item of a pool of a plurality of currently-available work items to select only those work items from the pool that may be served by a currently-available resource;
applying at least one preference rule to each of only the selected work items to determine a preference score for each of only the selected Work items; and
assigning the available resource to serve one of only the selected work items that has a best said preference score.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to the matching of resources to work entries. In particular, the present invention allows work items to be assigned to a particular resource based on the characteristics of the work item and on the qualifications and preferences of the resource. Furthermore, the present invention does not rely on queues, thereby allowing characteristics of a work item other than or in addition to the amount of time that a work item has been waiting for service to be considered in assigning the work item to a resource. The types of work items that may be validly assigned to a resource, or the preference rules used to select a valid work item for handling by a resource, may be altered by altering the validation rules and preference rules associated with the resource and/or work item. Accordingly, the rules for allocating work may be adjusted easily and quickly, including at run-time, and may represent any attribute desired for use in allocating work.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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applying at least one validation rule to each work item of a pool of a plurality of currently-available work items to select only those work items from the pool that may be served by a currently-available resource;
applying at least one preference rule to each of only the selected work items to determine a preference score for each of only the selected Work items; and
assigning the available resource to serve one of only the selected work items that has a best said preference score. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method, comprising:
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applying at least one validation rule to each resource of a pool of a plurality of currently-available resources to select only those resources from the pool that may serve a currently-available work item;
applying at least one preference rule to each of only the selected resources to determine a preference score for each of only the selected resources; and
assigning the available work item for servicing by one of only the selected resources that has a best said preference score. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for matching a work item to a resource, comprising:
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applying a first validation rule to each work item included in a pool of work items to select only those work items from the pool that may be served by a currently available first resource;
applying a first preference rule to determine a preference score for at least a first one of said selected work items;
applying a second preference rule to determine a preference score for at least a second one of said selected work items; and
assigning the first resource to a selected work item having a best preference score. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for matching a resource to a work item, comprising:
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applying a first validation rule to each resource included in a pool of resources to select only those resources from the pool that may serve a currently available work item;
applying a first preference rule to determine a preference score for at least one of said selected resources;
applying a second preference rule to determine a preference score for at least a second one of said selected work items; and
assigning the available work item to a selected resource having a best preference score for service. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A work allocation system, comprising:
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at least a first resource entry, wherein each resource entry is associated with a system resource;
at least a first work entry, wherein each work entry is associated with a work item;
a first work entry pool associated with a first service;
a second work entry pool associated with a second service;
a first resource entry pool associated with said first service;
a second resource entry pool associated with said second service;
a matchmaker, wherein each work entry included in said first work entry pool is considered with respect to each resource entry included in said first resource entry pool, and wherein in response to a work entry in said first work entry pool and a resource entry in said first resource entry pool, each work entry in said first work entry pool is evaluated against each resource entry in said first resource entry pool, to determine whether a prospective work item and resource pair is valid, wherein each valid prospective work item and resource pair is scored, and wherein a first valid prospective work item and resource pair is scored according to first criteria and wherein a second valid prospective work item and resource pair is scored according to a second criteria. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A computational component for performing a method, the method comprising:
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receiving a first one of a work entry and a resource entry;
receiving a plurality of a second one of a work entry and a resource entry;
comparing a validation rule associated with said first one of a work entry and a resource entry to a characteristic of said plurality of a second one of a work entry and a resource entry to identify each of said plurality of said second one of a work entry and a resource entry that can be validly matched with said first one of a work entry and a resource entry; and
comparing a preference rule associated with said first one of a work entry and a resource entry to a characteristic of each of said plurality of a second one of a work entry and a resource entry that can be validly matched to said first one to generate a score, wherein said first one of a work entry and a resource entry is matched to at least one entry included in said plurality of a second one of a work entry and a resource entry. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A system for matching available resources to available work items, comprising:
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means for generating resource entries;
means for generating work entries;
means for storing said resource entries;
means for storing said work entries;
means for pooling at least a first plurality of said resource entries;
means for pooling at least a first plurality of said work entries;
means for comparing each resource entry included in said first plurality of resource entries to each work entry included in said first plurality of work entries, wherein at least one of a) a first status is assigned to each work entry that has at least a minimum qualification required to service a resource associated with a resource entry under consideration, and b) a first status is assigned to each resource entry that has a minimum requirement that is met by a resource entry under consideration; and
means for scoring at least one of a) a first work entry assigned said first status, and b) a first resource assigned said first status. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44)
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Specification