System and method for assigning and scheduling activities

• US 20070219842A1
• Filed: 03/28/2002
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siebel Systems Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Siebel Systems Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Purohit, Atul, Bansal, Harish, Delerm, Olivier, Nash, Chrisopher
• Granted Patent: US 7,788,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/9
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/963 Calendar or scheduling

Abstract

Techniques to facilitate assignment and scheduling of activities. In accordance with a method, a chart showing a calendar of schedule for a number of available resources is provided in a first frame (or window) in a user interface menu, and a number of objects representative of a number of unplanned activities are provided in a second frame. A selection for an unplanned activity in the second frame (or a planned activity in the first frame) is received and, in response, selected ones of a number of objects in the chart are highlighted based on the selected activity. A request to assign the selected activity to a selected resource and to schedule the selected activity for a particular time duration is thereafter received. The requested assignment and scheduling may be accepted or rejected based on the requirements of the selected activity and the capabilities of the selected resource.

Claims

1. A computer program product for assigning activities, comprising a computer-usable medium having embodied therein computer-readable program codes for:

providing in a first frame a plurality of selectable search criteria for use in a search function for identifying one or more personnel that are eligible for fulfilling an activity among a plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities;

providing in a second frame a plurality of objects representative of the plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities;

receiving a selection of a selected activity from among the plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities;

in response to the receiving the selection of the selected activity, propagating search criteria associated with the selected activity for consideration in the search function;

in response to the receiving the selection of the selected activity, activating the search function based on the propagated search criteria.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the receiving a selection of the selected activity is received via mouse actions.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the receiving a selection of the selected activity is received via a drag and drop action on an object representative of the selected activity.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer-usable medium is further embodied with computer-readable program codes for:

receiving a directive to refresh a selected frame; and

updating contents in the selected frame in response to the refresh directive.

5. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the refresh directive is generated in response to activation of a refresh object.

6. The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the computer-usable medium is further embodied with computer-readable program codes for periodically and automatically generating the refresh directive.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer-usable medium is further embodied with computer-readable program codes for:

providing in a third frame information related to one or more parameters from the plurality of selectable search criteria used in assigning and scheduling the selected activity.

34. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a selected search criterion from among the selectable search criteria;

wherein the search function is further based on the selected search criterion.

8. In a computer system, a method for assigning activities, comprising:

receiving a selection of an activity;

providing on a display screen a plurality of selectable search criteria for use in a search function for identifying one or more personnel that are eligible for fulfilling the selection, wherein the selectable search criteria includes a skill requirement of the one or more personnel, the skill requirement for performing the selection;

automatically selecting search criteria using search criteria associated with the activity;

providing on a display screen a chart showing at least a plurality of personnel that satisfy the selected search criteria; and

highlighting a first set of objects on the chart based at least in part on time restrictions for the activity.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the highlighting includes providing a highlighted column in the chart indicative of a time window meeting the time restrictions for the activity.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

displaying objects on the chart representative of previously assigned and scheduled activities.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

displaying objects on the chart representative of non-schedulable times for the plurality of personnel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein objects for schedulable and non-schedulable times in the chart are coded with different colors.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

highlighting a second set of objects on the chart based on one or more requirements for the activity.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein the chart is a Gantt chart.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the selection of the activity is received via a mouse click on an object in the display screen representative of the activity.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the search criteria comprise employee, time, parts, and territory.

10. (canceled)

18. In a computer system, a method for assigning activities, comprising:

receiving an indication of a request to assign an activity to selected personnel and to schedule the activity for a particular time duration;

providing on a display screen a plurality of selectable search criteria for use in a search function for identifying one or more personnel that satisfy requirements associated with the activity, wherein the selectable search criteria includes a skill requirement of the one or more personnel, the skill requirement for performing the activity;

automatically selecting search criteria based on requirements associated with the activity;

modifying the selected search criteria in response to a user selection of search criteria;

accepting the request if the selected personnel satisfies the search criteria; and

rejecting the request if the selected personnel fails to satisfy the search criteria.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

updating data for the activity and the selected personnel if the request is accepted.

35. The method of claim 18, wherein the modifying the selected search criteria comprises overriding the requirements associated with the activity with the user selection.

20. In a computer system, a user interface screen to facilitate assignment of activities, comprising:

a first frame configured to display a chart, wherein the chart includes

a plurality of selectable search criteria for automatically searching for a plurality of personnel that meet a set of requirements associated with a selected activity, wherein the selectable search criteria includes a skill requirement of the plurality of personnel, the skill requirement for performing the selected activity, wherein the search criteria are subject to automated selection based on a selection of an activity to be assigned to personnel,

a plurality of rows for the plurality of personnel that meet the set of requirements,

a plurality of columns for a plurality of time intervals for possible scheduling the selected activity, and

a plurality of first objects representative of previously assigned and scheduled activities.

21. The user interface screen of claim 20, wherein the chart further includes a highlighted column indicative of a time window meeting time restrictions associated with the selected activity.

22. The user interface screen of claim 20, wherein the chart further includes a pop-up window displaying information related to selected personnel.

23. The user interface screen of claim 20, wherein the chart further includes a pop-up window displaying information related to a selected activity in the chart.

24. The user interface screen of claim 20, wherein the chart further includes a plurality of second objects representative of time periods not schedulable for the plurality of personnel.

25. The user interface screen of claim 24, wherein the first and second objects are coded with different colors.

27. The user interface screen of claim 20, wherein contents of the chart are configurable by a user.

28. The user interface screen of claim 20, further comprising:

a second frame configured to display unscheduled and unassigned activities for possible assignment and scheduling.

29. The user interface screen of claim 28, further comprising:

a third frame configured to display information for one or more parameters used in assigning and scheduling activities.

26. (canceled)

30. A dispatch system comprising:

a client system configured to

provide in a first frame a plurality of selectable search criteria for use in a search function for identifying one or more personnel that are eligible for fulfilling a selected activity selected from a plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities, wherein the selectable search criteria includes a skill requirement of the one or more personnel, the skill requirement for performing the selected activity,

provide in a second frame a plurality of objects representative of the plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities,

receive a selection of an unscheduled and unassigned activity in the second frame,

in response to receiving the selection, select the search criteria using search criteria associated with the activity and activate the search function based on the selected search criteria, and

provide a server system operatively coupled to the client system and configured to store and maintain data for the dispatch system in a database.

32. The dispatch system of claim 30, wherein the local storage is configured to store a portion of the data available in the database maintained by the server system.

31. A dispatch system comprising:

a client system including

a user interface module configured to provide a display screen having a plurality of frames, wherein a first frame includes a plurality of selectable search criteria for use in a search function for identifying one or more personnel that are eligible for fulfilling a selected activity selected from a plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities and a second frame includes a plurality of objects representative of the plurality of unscheduled and unassigned activities, and wherein the selectable search criteria includes a skill requirement of the one or more personnel, the skill requirement for performing the selected activity, wherein the search criteria are subject to automated selection based on a selection of an activity to be assigned to personnel,

a dispatch application operatively coupled to the user interface module and configured to receive input data and commands from the user interface module and to provide data for the display screen, and

a local storage configured to store the data for the display screen, and

a server system operatively coupled to the client system and configured to store and maintain data for the dispatch system in a database.

33. (canceled)

36. A method comprising:

providing in a user interface a selection interface for skill requirements of personnel;

displaying in the user interface a calendar indicating a schedule for a plurality of available personnel;

displaying in the user interface a plurality of unassigned activities;

receiving a selection of a selected activity from among the unassigned activities through the user interface; and

modifying the calendar in the user interface to indicate the schedule only for available personnel that meet a skill requirement associated with the selected activity.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising:

receiving a manually selected skill requirement through the selection interface;

further modifying the calendar in the user interface in response to the manually selected skill requirement.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the manually selected skill requirement comprises an override of the requirement associated with the selected activity.