GENERATING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR STAFFING A PROJECT TEAM

• US 20130218619A1
• Filed: 02/17/2012
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: FRIEDLANDER, ROBERT R., KRAEMER, JAMES R., WOODWARD, ELIZABETH V., NOWAK, JUSTYNA M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,141,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task

Abstract

A processor-implemented method, system, and/or computer program product generates a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team. A requisite skill set that is not presently needed, but will be needed in the future, by a project team is determined. Historical data that describe antecedent conditions, which caused a historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set, is received. A candidate worker'"'"'s current skill set data is adjusted with skill set enhancers, which are available to members of the project team, to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker. In response to the needed requisite skill set matching the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, a recommendation is generated for adding that candidate worker to the project team.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method of generating a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team, the processor-implemented method comprising:

determining a requisite skill set that will be needed at a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team;

receiving a set of binary historical data that describes antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the set of binary historical data is received by a processor, and wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

retrieving, by the processor, a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data that identifies a current skill set of a candidate worker;

identifying skill set enhancers that are available to members of the project team;

combining, by the processor, the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker; and

in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, the processor generating a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team.

2. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the project team is currently populated with other workers, and wherein the processor determines the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the project team by:

graphing data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map; and

identifying the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map.

3. The processor-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising the processor:

graphing the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data onto a candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map; and

generating the recommendation that the candidate worker be included in the project team in response to the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map filling the unpopulated area of the team skill topology map beyond a predetermined fill level.

4. The processor-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the processor-implemented method further comprises the processor:

determining that the requisite skill set comprises a combination of at least two skill sets, wherein the combination of at least two skill sets comprises a first skill level for a first skill and a second skill level for a second skill;

displaying a visual connector between a first skill icon and a second skill icon on the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map, wherein the first skill icon represents the first skill and the second skill icon represents the second skill needed at the future time by the project team;

generating a combination graphic figure that graphically depicts a combination of at least two skill sets possessed by the candidate worker; and

displaying the combination graphic figure at a processor-determined position on the visual connector, wherein the processor-determined position indicates how skilled the candidate worker is in the first skill compared to the second skill.

5. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the requisite skill set comprises multiple skills, and wherein the processor-implemented method further comprises the processor:

applying a different weighting value, from multiple weighting values, to each of the multiple skills to create a weighted requisite skill set;

applying said different weighting value, from said multiple weighting values, to each of the multiple skills in the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker to create a candidate worker'"'"'s predicted weighted skill set; and

recommending a best candidate worker from a pool of candidate workers, wherein the best candidate worker possesses a predicted weighted skill set that best matches the weighted requisite skill set.

6. The processor-implemented method of claim 5, wherein all of said multiple weighting values are equal to one another.

7. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the project is currently in progress.

8. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the project is currently not in progress, and wherein the project is scheduled to begin at a future date.

9. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the processor:

retrieving the historical data and the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data from a social network repository.

10. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the processor:

identifying the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data as a combination of identified work experience, education, credentials, and stated interests of the candidate worker.

11. The processor-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising the processor:

identifying the stated interests of the candidate worker according to a percentage of occurrences of a predefined word in time-weighted historical writings of the candidate worker, wherein more recent historical writings are given greater weight that older historical writings.

12. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the skill set enhancers comprise work experience and mentoring from other members of the project team that are provided by working on the project.

13. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the processor:

identifying the stated interests of the candidate worker by comparing physiological responses from the candidate worker with known physiological responses, wherein the physiological responses from the candidate worker and the known physiological responses are produced by biometric sensors that monitor workers, and wherein the known physiological responses are produced by known responses to questions regarding the stated interests of the candidate worker.

14. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the project is a current project, wherein the project team is a current project team, and wherein said determining the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the current project team is performed by the processor:

identifying a final product of the current project;

locating a past project that produced a same final product as the current project;

identifying all past requisite skill sets used by the past project to produce said same final product; and

determining the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the current project team by identifying which skill set, from said all past requisite skill sets, is absent from current skill sets that are currently held by members of the current project team.

15. A computer program product for generating a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage media;

first program instructions to determine a requisite skill set that will be needed in a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team;

second program instructions to receive historical data that describe antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

third program instructions to retrieve a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set data that identify a current skill set of a candidate worker;

fourth program instructions to identify skill set enhancers that are available to members of the project team;

fifth program instructions to combine the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker; and

sixth program instructions to, in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, generate a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team; and

wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the project team is currently populated with other workers, and wherein the first program instructions for determining the requisite skill set that will be needed in the future time further comprise:

seventh program instructions to graph data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map; and

eighth program instructions to identify the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map; and

wherein the seventh and eighth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising:

ninth program instructions to graph the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set data onto a candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map; and

tenth program instructions to generate the recommendation that the candidate worker be included in the project team in response to the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map filling the unpopulated area of the team skill topology map beyond a predetermined fill level; and

wherein the ninth and tenth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

18. A computer system comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU), a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage media;

first program instructions to determine a requisite skill set that will be needed in a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team;

second program instructions to receive historical data that describe antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

third program instructions to retrieve a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set data that identify a current skill set of a candidate worker;

fourth program instructions to identify skill set enhancers that are available to members of the project team;

fifth program instructions to combine the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker; and

sixth program instructions to, in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, generate a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team; and

wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the project team is currently populated with other workers, and wherein determining the requisite skill set that will be needed in the future time is performed by executing:

seventh program instructions to graph data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map; and

eighth program instructions to identify the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map; and

wherein the seventh and eighth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

20. The computer system of claim 18, further comprising:

ninth program instructions to graph the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set data onto a candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map; and

tenth program instructions to generate the recommendation that the candidate worker be included in the project team in response to the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map filling the unpopulated area of the team skill topology map beyond a predetermined fill level; and

wherein the ninth and tenth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.