Method and system of managing a business process

• US 20060178923A1
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Published: 08/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hulu LLC (The Walt Disney Company)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ricketts, John A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,881,961 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

A method of managing capacity in a business process on demand for providing a service to a service requester. The method comprises the steps of providing a business process having one or more service inputs, at least one service output, at least one capacity constraint having a capacity level and a queue located ahead of the capacity constraint having an upper queue threshold and a lower queue threshold. The method further comprises gathering with a performance monitoring subsystem a set of business process data, and adjusting with a capacity management subsystem the capacity level of the capacity constraint in response to the set of business process data gathered by the performance monitoring subsystem.

Claims

1. A method of managing capacity for providing a service to a service requester, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a business process having one or more service inputs, at least one service output, at least one capacity constraint and a queue located ahead of said at least one capacity constraint, said queue having an upper queue threshold and a lower queue threshold and said at least one capacity constraint having a capacity level;

gathering with a performance monitoring subsystem a set of business process data; and

adjusting with a capacity management subsystem said capacity level of said at least one capacity constraint in response to said set of business process data gathered by said performance monitoring subsystem.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said business process has a feedback loop from said at least one capacity constraint to said capacity management subsystem.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein said gathering with a performance management subsystem step further comprises:

linking said performance monitoring subsystem to said capacity management subsystem, such that said set of business process data gathered by said performance monitoring subsystem is transmitted to said capacity management subsystem in a timely manner.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein said gathering by said performance monitoring subsystem step further comprises:

analyzing said set of business process data gathered; and

transmitting a recommendation to said capacity management subsystem to adjust either upward or downward said capacity level of said at least one capacity constraint based on said set of business process data gathered.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein said set of business process data gathered by said performance monitoring subsystem comprises:

service input data for said one or more service inputs, service output data for a plurality of service factors associated with said at least one service output, capacity constraint data for said at least one capacity constraint, non-constraint data for each non-constraint, and queue data for said queue ahead of said at least one capacity constraint.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein said performance management subsystem continuously updates said set of business process data and transmits said set of business process data updated to said capacity management subsystem in a timely manner, such that said capacity management subsystem accommodates any change in said at least one capacity constraint.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting with a capacity management subsystem said capacity level of said at least one capacity constraint comprises at least one of:

activating alternate web sites, adding shifts, removing shifts, adding personnel, removing personnel, resuming normal operations, reducing work schedules, increasing work schedules, reassigning resources between business processes for services utilizing the same process, reassigning resources among clients using the same process, accelerating non-critical tasks, deferring non-critical tasks, bumping critical service inputs to the front, substituting automated processing for non-automated processing, hiring subcontractors, releasing subcontractors, obtaining resources, and shedding resources.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein said one or more service inputs comprises one of:

service requests and service transactions.

9. A method according to claim 5, wherein said plurality of service factors associated with said at least one service output comprises:

speed, cost, quality and scope.

10. A method according to claim 8, wherein said service requests comprises at least one of:

in-person contact by service requesters, phone calls, faxes and text messages, and wherein said service transactions comprise at least one of;

paper documents and digital records.

11. A method of achieving a desired service level for one or more of a plurality of service factors for providing a service to a service requester, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a business process having one or more service inputs, one or more service outputs, one or more capacity constraints, a buffer with an upper buffer threshold and a lower buffer threshold located ahead of each of said one or more capacity constraints, each of said one or more capacity constraints having a capacity level;

measuring with a performance monitoring subsystem a set of business process data including service input data for said one or more service inputs, service output data for said one or more service outputs, capacity constraint data for said one or more capacity constraints, non-constraint data for each non-constraint, and queue data for said queue ahead of each of said one or more capacity constraints;

transmitting said set of business process data measured by said performance monitoring subsystem to a capacity management subsystem in a timely manner; and

directing said capacity management subsystem to adjust said capacity level of said one or more capacity constraints in response to said set of business process data transmitted by said performance monitoring subsystem in order to achieve said desired service level for said one or more of said plurality of service factors that are associated with said one or more service outputs.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein said measuring with a performance monitoring subsystem step further comprises:

measuring an existing service level for each of said set of business process data, including an existing service level for said plurality of service factors associated with said one or more service outputs.

13. A method according to claim 11, wherein said directing said capacity management subsystem step further comprises:

evaluating with said performance monitoring subsystem said set of business process data measured by said performance monitoring subsystem before transmitting said set of business process data to said capacity management subsystem; and

instructing said capacity management subsystem to adjust either upward or downward said capacity level of said one or more capacity constraints in order to achieve said desired service level for said one or more of said plurality of service factors.

14. A method according to claim 11, wherein said directing said capacity management subsystem to adjust said capacity level of said one or more capacity constraints further comprises one or more of:

activating alternate web sites, adding shifts, removing shifts, adding personnel, removing personnel, resuming normal operations, reducing work schedules, increasing work schedules, reassigning resources between business processes for services utilizing the same process, reassigning resources among clients using the same process, accelerating non-critical tasks, deferring non-critical tasks, bumping critical service inputs to the front, substituting automated processing for non-automated processing, hiring subcontractors, releasing subcontractors, obtaining resources, and shedding resources.

15. A method according to claim 11, wherein said one or more service inputs comprises one of:

service requests and service transactions.

16. A method according to claim 11, wherein said plurality of service factors associated with said one or more service outputs comprises:

speed, cost, quality and scope.

17. A method according to claim 15, wherein said service requests comprises at least one of:

in-person contact by service requesters, phone calls, faxes and text messages, and wherein said service transactions comprises at least one of;

paper documents and digital records.

18. Programmable media containing programmable software to manage capacity in a business process, said programmable software comprising the steps of:

gathering with a performance monitoring subsystem a set of data from said business process having one or more service inputs, at least one service output, at least one capacity constraint having a capacity level, and a queue having an upper queue threshold and a lower queue threshold located ahead of said at least one capacity constraint;

transmitting in a timely manner said set of data gathered by said performance monitoring subsystem to a capacity management subsystem; and

adjusting with said capacity management subsystem said capacity level of said at least one capacity constraint either upward or downward in response to said set of data transmitted by said performance monitoring subsystem.

19. A programmable media according to claim 18, wherein said set of data from said business process comprises at least one of:

service input data for said one or more service inputs, service output data for said at least one service output, capacity constraint data for said at least one capacity constraint, non-constraint data for any non-constraints and queue data for said queue ahead of said at least one capacity constraint.

20. A programmable media according to claim 19, wherein said performance monitoring subsystem is directly linked to each of said one or more service inputs, each of said one or more service outputs, each of said at least one capacity constraint, each of said any non-constraints, and said queue ahead of each of said at least one capacity constraint and said capacity management subsystem.

21. A method of providing a service to a service requester, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a business process having one or more service inputs, one or more service outputs, one or more capacity constraints, each of said one or more capacity constraints having a capacity level, a queue with an upper queue threshold and a lower queue threshold located ahead of each of said one or more capacity constraints;

measuring with a performance monitoring subsystem a set of business process data, including non-constraint data pertaining to any non-constraints in said business process;

evaluating said set of business process data with said performance monitoring subsystem;

transmitting in a timely manner said set of business process data from said performance monitoring subsystem to a capacity management subsystem; and

directing said capacity management subsystem to adjust either upward or downward said capacity level of said one or more capacity constraints in response to said set of business process data transmitted by said performance monitoring subsystem.