Method and system for developing an accurate skills inventory using data from delivery operations

• US 7,877,284 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2006
• Issued: 01/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Pradhan, Prashant, Hernandez, Milton H., Pingali, Gopal
• Primary Examiner(s): Boswell; Beth V
• Assistant Examiner(s): JACKSON, ERNEST ADEYEMI
• Application Number:
  US11/446,512
• Publication Number:
  US 20070282622A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,695 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/9, 705/11
• US Class Current: 705/7.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources

Abstract

A method and system for obtaining and storing accurate skills data relative to human resource objects of an enterprise. Relevant data is extracted from runtime processes that monitor the activities of the human resource objects and a metric value indicative of a skill level attained for each of a list of skills is calculated for each human resource object.

Claims

1. A method for developing a skills inventory, said method including:

creating a record in a skills inventory database for skills of a resource object, the record including a sub-record for each skill possessed by the resource object, the sub-record including a score assigned to the resource object for the skill;

monitoring an activity performed by the resource object, wherein the activity performed requires at least one skill of the skills;

extracting data relevant to the at least one skill from results of said monitoring;

computing a metric value with a server, wherein the metric value is indicative of a skill level attained by the resource object with respect to each of the at least one skill, wherein the metric value is computed using a number of similar activities the resource object has performed, an amount of time required by the resource object to complete the activity, relative success of the activity, how much time has passed since the activity was completed, and a weighing parameter that gives more weight to activities performed by the resource object more recent in time; and

updating the skills inventory database with the computed metric value.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said monitoring comprises:

operating a runtime application while the resource object performs the activity; and

logging relevant data in accordance with a specified skills classification methodology.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the runtime application is an off-the-shelf ticketing application.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said extracting comprises automatically extracting the data based on a previously specified skills classification methodology.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the record corresponds to an employee of a company and the record includes a metric value for each of the skills.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said computing comprises using stochastic analysis to calculate the metric value.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

grouping a plurality of identified skills into at least one group of skills based on the technology area to which each skill relates;

associating each of at least one resource object into at least one of the groups of skills based on metric values associated to the resource objects for the identified skills.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising allocating human resources to at least one task based on the contents of the updated skills inventory database.

9. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising classifying at least one resource object as a member of one of a plurality of groups based on at least one computed metric value.

10. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the plurality of groups comprises at least:

a generalist group comprising at least one resource object that is determined to have general expertise in an area of interest; and

a specialist group comprising at least one resource object that is determined to have specific expertise in the area of interest, wherein specific expertise requires a higher degree of expertise than general expertise, wherein the area of interest is identified by at least one of the skills in the skills inventory.

11. A computer program product for providing a service to reuse IT system knowledge, the program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

first program instruction for monitoring the activity of a resource object with respect to an activity performed by the resource object, wherein the activity performed requires at least one skill in a skills inventory database;

second program instruction for extracting data relevant to the at least one skill from results of said monitoring;

third program instruction for computing a metric value indicative of a skill level attained by the resource object with respect to each of the at least one skill, wherein the metric value is computed using a number of similar activities the resource object has performed, an amount of time required by the resource object to complete the activity, relative success of the activity, and how much time has passed since the activity was completed, and a weighing parameter that gives more weight to activities performed by the resource object more recent in time; and

fourth program instruction for updating the skills inventory database with the computed metric value.

12. A computer program product as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

fifth program instruction for operating a runtime application while the resource object performs the activity; and

sixth program instruction for logging relevant data in accordance with a specified skills classification methodology.

13. A computer program product as claimed in claim 12, wherein the runtime application is an off-the-shelf ticketing application.

14. A computer program product as claimed in claim 11, wherein the skills inventory database comprises at least one record, the record corresponding to an employee of a company and the record comprising a metric value for each of at least one skill.

15. A system for establishing an accurate skills inventory, the system comprising:

means for monitoring at least one activity of performed by a resource object, wherein the activity performed requires at least one skill in a skills inventory database;

means for extracting data relevant to the at least one skill from results of said monitoring;

means for computing a metric value indicative of a skill level attained by the resource object with respect to each of the at least one skill, wherein the metric value is computed using a number of similar activities the resource object has performed, an amount of time required by the resource object to complete the activity, relative success of the activity, and how much time has passed since the activity was completed, and a weighing parameter that gives more weight to activities performed by the resource object more recent in time; and

means for updating the skills inventory database with the computed metric value.

16. A system as claimed in claim 15, wherein the skills inventory database comprises at least one record corresponding to the resource object and each record comprises at least one independent metric value corresponding to a skill that the resource object possesses.

17. A system for establishing an accurate skills inventory, the system comprising:

a processor;

a first server portion operable to execute a skills data retrieval application, wherein the skills data retrieval application receives data from a runtime application that monitors the performance of a resource object while the resource object performs at least one task, wherein the runtime application is part of a ticketing system of a services business; and

a second server portion operable to calculate at least one metric value corresponding to the at least one task performed by the resource object, wherein each metric value accounts for a plurality of predetermined parameters relevant to its respective task, wherein the calculated metric for each task takes into account the number of tickets operated on by the resource object, a relative importance of the ticket, how long ago the ticket was closed, and a weighing parameter that gives more weight to activities performed by the resource object more recent in time.