RAPIDLY OPTIMIZING STAFFING LEVELS IN A TICKETING SYSTEM USING SIMULATION

• US 20140244331A1
• Filed: 02/22/2013
• Published: 08/28/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bournas, Redha M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,092,750 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063116 Schedule adjustment for a person or group

Abstract

A method, system and software for determining a final staffing schedule by scheduling a plurality of staffing resource units (SRUs) into a plurality of shifts. The method includes the following steps (not necessarily in the following order except as explicitly indicated): (i) determining an initial staffing schedule; (ii) iteratively-adding SRUs to the staffing schedule until it is determined that the staffing schedule meets a feasibility condition; (iii) iteratively-subtracting SRUs from the staffing schedule until it is determined that the staffing schedule meets at least one improper condition; and (iv) subsequent to the subtracting step, adding a single SRU to the staffing schedule to yield the final staffing schedule.

Claims

1. A method for at least partially determining a final staffing schedule by scheduling a plurality of staffing resource units (SRUs) into a plurality of shifts, the plurality of shifts having a preliminary or current staffing schedule including pluralities of SRUs assigned to the plurality of shifts, respectively, the method comprising:

determining, by one or more processors, which shift of the plurality of shifts of a first current staffing schedule will experience the greatest amount of decrease in utilization of its SRUs by the addition of an SRU to that shift; and

tentatively adding an SRU to the shift determined at the determining step performed on the first current staffing schedule to form a second current staffing schedule.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the shift determined at the determining step is over utilized when the determining step is performed.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the preliminary, first current, second current and final staffing schedules are staffing schedules for a ticketing system.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein all of the SRUs of the first current and second current staffing schedule are SRUs of an identical class value.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein:

the SRUs of the first current staffing schedule include SRUs having at least two different class values; and

the SRUs of the second current staffing schedule include SRUs having at least two different class values.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein:

the SRUs of the first current staffing schedule include SRUs having n class values, where n is an integer greater than zero; and

the SRUs of the second current staffing schedule include SRUs having n+1 class values.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining, by one or more processors, which shift of the plurality of shifts of a third current staffing schedule will experience the greatest amount of increase in utilization of its SRUs by the removal of an SRU to that shift; and

tentatively subtracting an SRU to the shift determined at the determining step performed on the third current schedule to form a forth current staffing schedule.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the third and fourth current schedules occur prior to the first and second current schedules.

9. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices and computer-readable program instructions which are stored on the one or more storage devices and, when executed by one or more processors, perform the method of claim 1.

10. A computer system for at least partially determining a final staffing schedule by scheduling a plurality of staffing resource units (SRUs) into a plurality of shifts, the plurality of shifts having a preliminary or current staffing schedule including pluralities of SRUs assigned to the plurality of shifts, respectively, the computer system comprising:

one or more processors, one or more computer-readable memories, one or more computer-readable storage devices, and program instructions stored on at least one of the one or more storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors via at least one of the one or more memories, the program instructions comprising;

first program instructions to determine which shift of the plurality of shifts of a first current staffing schedule will experience the greatest amount of decrease in utilization of its SRUs by the addition of an SRU to that shift; and

second program instructions to tentatively add an SRU to the shift determined at the determining step performed on the first current staffing schedule to form a second current staffing schedule.

11. A method for at least partially determining a final staffing schedule by scheduling a plurality of staffing resource units (SRUs) into a plurality of shifts, the plurality of shifts having a preliminary or current staffing schedule including pluralities of SRUs assigned to the plurality of shifts, respectively, the method comprising:

determining, by one or more processors, which shift of the plurality of shifts of a first current staffing schedule will experience the greatest amount of increase in utilization of its SRUs by the removal of an SRU to that shift; and

tentatively subtracting an SRU to the shift determined at the determining step performed on the first current staffing schedule to form a second current staffing schedule.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the shift determined at the determining step is under utilized when the determining step is performed.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the preliminary, first current, second current and final staffing schedules are staffing schedules for a ticketing system.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein all of the SRUs of the first current and second current staffing schedule are SRUs of an identical class value.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the SRUs of the first current staffing schedule include SRUs having at least two different class values; and

the SRUs of the second current staffing schedule include SRUs having at least two different class values.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the SRUs of the first current staffing schedule include SRUs having n class values, where n is an integer greater than zero; and

the SRUs of the second current staffing schedule include SRUs having n−

1 class values.

17. A computer program product comprising one or more computer-readable storage devices and computer-readable program instructions which are stored on the one or more storage devices and, when executed by one or more processors, perform the method of claim 11.