Managing organizational resources

• US 7,987,110 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2007
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Winters, Scott Lee, Cases, Moises, Coletrane, Candice Leontine, Mutnury, Bhyrav Murthy
• Primary Examiner(s): Boswell; Beth V
• Assistant Examiner(s): McPhillip; Adrian J
• Application Number:
  US11/828,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20090030927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,462 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 705/9, 705/7.12, 705/319
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for managing organizational resources. The process combines social group data with management information data to form social network data, wherein social group data is derived from interactions among a plurality of users of a social group. The process analyzes the social network data to identify associations among the plurality of users, and generates a multidimensional social network model using the associations among the plurality of users. Thereafter, the process presents a set of recommendations for allocation of the organizational resources, wherein the set of recommendations are derived from the social network model.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for managing organizational resources, the computer implemented method comprising:

receiving data regarding a plurality of interactions between one or more users of a plurality of users in a social group using a plurality of sensor devices to form social group data, wherein the social group data includes information regarding a set of users involved in one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, a frequency of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, a type of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, content from one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, and a length of time of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, wherein the plurality of interactions include conversations between one or more users in the plurality of users, tasks one or more users in the plurality of users have worked together, and events one or more users in the plurality of users have attended, and wherein the plurality of sensor devices comprise video cameras, identification badges, identification readers, and biometric sensors;

combining the social group data with management information data to form social network data;

analyzing the social network data to identify a plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein analyzing the social network data further comprises identifying one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions between one or more users of the plurality of users to identify one or more associations in the plurality of associations;

assigning, using a processing unit, a set of weightings to one or more of the plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein a weighting in the set of weightings assigned to an association in the one or more of the plurality of associations between users in the plurality of users is based on the information in the social group data;

generating a multidimensional social network model using the plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein the multidimensional social network model includes a set of business locations of one or more users in the plurality of users, a set of skills of one or more users in the plurality of users, and a set of tasks being performed by one or more users in the plurality of users;

presenting a set of recommendations for allocation of the organizational resources including one or more users in the plurality of users, wherein the set of recommendations are derived from the social network model and are based on the set of weightings; and

generating a simulation of performance of the set of tasks while removing a business location in the set of business locations from the multidimensional social network model, wherein the set of recommendations include recommendations regarding allocation of the organizational resources to complete of the set of tasks without the business location.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of recommendations identifies a set of users for working on a selected task.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of associations in the multidimensional social network model further include a first number of associations between one or more users in the plurality of users and the set of business locations, a second number of associations between one or more users in the plurality of users and the set of skills, and a third number of associations between one or more users in the plurality of users and the set of tasks.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the management information data comprises, for one or more users in the plurality of users, a user skill, a user location, and a user task.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the set of social network dimensions comprises at least one of a people-people network, a people-skill network, a people-task network, a people-location network, and a people-skill-location network.

6. A computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage device including computer usable program code for managing organizational resources, the computer usable program code comprising;

computer usable program code for receiving data regarding a plurality of interactions between one or more users of a plurality of users in a social group using a plurality of sensor devices to form social group data, wherein the social group data includes information regarding a set of users involved in one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, a frequency of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, a type of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, content from one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, and a length of time of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, wherein the plurality of interactions include conversations between one or more users in the plurality of users, tasks one or more users in the plurality of users have worked together, and events one or more users in the plurality of users have attended, and wherein the plurality of sensor devices comprise video cameras, identification badges, identification readers, and biometric sensors;

computer usable program code for combining the social group data with management information data to form social network data;

computer usable program code for analyzing the social network data to identify a plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein analyzing the social network data further comprises identifying one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions between one or more users of the plurality of users to identify one or more associations in the plurality of associations;

computer usable program code for assigning a set of weightings to one or more of the plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein a weighting in the set of weightings assigned to an association in the one or more of the plurality of associations between users in the plurality of users is based on the information in the social group data;

computer usable program code for generating a multidimensional social network model using the plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein the multidimensional social network model includes a set of business locations of one or more users in the plurality of users, a set of skills of one or more users in the plurality of users, and a set of tasks being performed by one or more users in the plurality of users;

computer usable program code for presenting a set of recommendations for allocation of the organizational resources including one or more users in the plurality of users, wherein the set of recommendations are derived from the social network model and are based on the set of weightings; and

computer usable program code for generating a simulation of performance of the set of tasks while removing a business location in the set of business locations from the multidimensional social network model, wherein the set of recommendations include recommendations regarding allocation of the organizational resources to complete of the set of tasks without the business location.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the set of recommendations identifies a set of users for working on a selected task.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the set of associations in the multidimensional social network model further include a first number of associations between one or more users in the plurality of users and the set of business locations, a second number of associations between one or more users in the plurality of users and the set of skills, and a third number of associations between one or more users in the plurality of users and the set of tasks.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the management information data comprises, for one or more users in the plurality of users, a user skill, a user location, and a user task.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the set of social network dimensions comprises at least one of a people-people network, a people-skill network, a people-task network, a people-location network, and a people-skill-location network.

11. A data processing system for managing organizational resources, the data processing system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device includes program code; and

a processor unit connected to the bus system, wherein the processor unit is configured to;

receive data regarding a plurality of interactions between one or more users of a plurality of users in a social group using a plurality of sensor devices to form social group data, wherein the social group data includes information regarding a set of users involved in one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, a frequency of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, a type of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, content from one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, and a length of time of one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions, wherein the plurality of interactions include conversations between one or more users in the plurality of users, tasks one or more users in the plurality of users have worked together, and events one or more users in the plurality of users have attended, and wherein the plurality of sensor devices comprise video cameras, identification badges, identification readers, and biometric sensors;

combine the social group data with management information data to form social network data;

analyze the social network data to identify a plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein analyzing the social network data further comprises identifying one or more interactions in the plurality of interactions between one or more users of the plurality of users to identify one or more associations in the plurality of associations;

assign a set of weightings to one or more of the plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein a weighting in the set of weightings assigned to an association in the one or more of the plurality of associations between users in the plurality of users is based on the information in the social group data;

generate a multidimensional social network model using the plurality of associations among the plurality of users, wherein the multidimensional social network model includes a set of business locations of one or more users in the plurality of users, a set of skills of one or more users in the plurality of users, and a set of tasks being performed by one or more users in the plurality of users;

present a set of recommendations for allocation of the organizational resources including one or more users in the plurality of users, wherein the set of recommendations are derived from the social network model and are based on the set of weighting;

generate a simulation of performance of the set of tasks while removing a business location in the set of business locations from the multidimensional social network model, wherein the set of recommendations include recommendations regarding allocation of the organizational resources to complete of the set of tasks without the business location.