System and Methods for Managing Complex Service Delivery Through Coordination and Integration of Structured and Unstructured Activities

• US 20100042620A1
• Filed: 08/20/2009
• Published: 02/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Beijing Zitiao Network Technology Company Limited (ByteDance Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bailey, John H., Kandogan, Eser
• Application Number:
  US12/544,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20100042620A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: N/A
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment 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 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1097 Task assignment

Abstract

The invention allows for the integration of structured and unstructured human activities in the context of delivering one or more service. The systems and method described improve efficiency and quality of service delivery by increasing overall productivity and by providing better accountability for the actual cost of delivery.

Claims

1. A computer implemented service delivery system, comprising:

a plurality of instantiated activities, wherein the activities are embodied as first class objects;

an activity agent; and

an activity repository, wherein the activity agent and the activity repository are operatively coupled to exchange information with each other regarding the plurality of activities.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity repository stores resources are created manually or automatically in the context of the one or more activity.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity repository can be searched manually or dynamically at instantiation of the one or more activity, and wherein in response to the search a set of previously complete activities are returned to an activity agent user to populate/extend the one or more activity.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity agent receives, classifies, and propagates events from client actions associated with an active activity, and wherein the activity agent shares the events with other participants in the active activity.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity agent retrieves structured or general activity templates and pre-populates the templates during instantiation using one or more of the following sources of information:

a user/group directory server, a calendar event;

event data and event source data.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity agent assembles activity data and structures the data for presentation and user manipulation.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity agent captures and adds structured and ad hoc actions and data to the one or more activity.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the activity agent captures ad hoc user actions, and if unassociated with current activities, prompts the user to associate the actions.

9. A computer implemented method of accounting for unstructured activities, comprising:

analyzing unstructured activities in a service delivery environment; and

identifying ad hoc activity patterns in one or more activity for potential inclusion in or promotion to structured workflows by an activity pattern recognition service.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising a step of analyzing structured activities.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein an aggregate cost of participants in one or more activity is calculated by an activity analysis service.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein completion times of one or more on-going activity is estimated by an activity analysis service.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein common inefficiencies in one or more activity is identified by an activity analysis service.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein one or more ad hoc activity pattern is identified for potential automation by an activity pattern recognition service.

15. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium including computer usable code for launching one or more tools that are contextually part of an activity, comprising:

computer usable code for passing relevant activity information to the one or more tools, and passing information from the one or more to tools back to an activity agent.

16. The product of claim 15, wherein the information from the one or more tools is passed for inclusion in an activity data structure residing in an activity repository.