Performing automated price determination for tasks to be performed

• US 8,005,697 B1
• Filed: 01/17/2006
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Smoak, Christopher E., Cohen, Peter D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty; Romain
• Application Number:
  US11/334,773
• Time in Patent Office: 2,044 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0206 Price or cost determination based on market factors
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

Techniques are described for facilitating interactions between task requesters who have tasks that are available to be performed and task performers who are available to perform tasks, such as for use by an electronic marketplace for the tasks. In some situations, the electronic marketplace automatically determines prices to be paid for performance of tasks, such as in accordance with pricing-related criteria specified by task requesters who submit groups of numerous related tasks to be performed. Such pricing-related criteria may include various types of information about a desired pace of task performance for tasks of a group, and if so the electronic marketplace performs the automated price determination in such a manner as to accommodate the desired pace, such as by dynamically modifying prices when monitoring of an ongoing actual pace of performance of tasks differs sufficiently from a desired pace of performance.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically setting prices for tasks in an electronic marketplace that facilitates transactions between task requesters having tasks available to be performed and task performers able to perform tasks, the method comprising:

receiving indications of multiple groups of tasks to be performed by task performers, each group having multiple related tasks and an associated desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group;

for each of the multiple groups, automatically determining one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the group, the one or more initial prices being based at least in part on the desired pace for the group, the automatic determining being performed by one or more configured computing system processors that provide the electronic marketplace;

after performance of the tasks of the group by task performers has begun, automatically monitoring an actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed; and

while at least some of the tasks of the group remain to be performed, if the actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed differs from the desired pace for the group by more than a threshold, automatically modifying one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the group, the automatic modifying being performed by the one or more configured computing system processors to alter an actual pace for performance of the remaining tasks of the group in order to reflect a desired pace for those remaining tasks of the group; and

for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks and while at least some of the tasks of the group remain to be performed, dynamically adjusting the desired pace for performance of remaining tasks of the group to account for deviations between the actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed and the desired pace.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks, the desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group includes an indicated quantity of tasks of the group to be performed within an indicated period of time.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein, for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks, the desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group includes a percentage of tasks of the group to be performed within a period of time.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein, for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks, the desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group is based on an average completion time for tasks of the group.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein, for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks, the desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group includes an indicated time by which at least some of the tasks of the group are to be performed.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the indicated time by which at least some of the tasks of a group are to be performed is based on a period of time after the receiving of the indication of the group of tasks to be performed.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the groups of multiple related tasks is indicated by a user so that those tasks are made available to be performed by other users, and further comprising receiving an indication from the user of one or more criteria for use in determining one or more prices for the one group of multiple related tasks, and wherein the automatic determining of the one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the one group and/or the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group are performed in a manner based at least in part on the indicated maximum price.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indicated initial price, and wherein the automatic determining of the one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the one group includes selecting the indicated initial price for the at least some tasks.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indicated maximum price for performance of at least some of the tasks, and wherein the automatic determining of the one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the one group and the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group are each performed such that the initial prices and the modified prices do not exceed the indicated maximum price.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indicated minimum price for performance of at least some of the tasks, and wherein the automatic determining of the one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the one group and the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group are each performed such that the initial prices and the modified prices are not lower than the indicated minimum price.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indication of a manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group, and wherein the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group is performed based at least in part on the indicated manner.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the indicated manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group includes an indication of at least one time at which to perform the adjusting.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the indicated manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group further includes an indication of a quantity of the tasks that remain at the at least one time.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the indicated at least one time at which to adjust prices for tasks of the one group is specified in a manner relative to at least one of an indicated deadline for task performance and when tasks of the one group became available for performance.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the indicated manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group includes an instruction to adjust prices in at least one of an exponential, linear and stepwise manner.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein the indicated manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group includes an instruction to adjust prices upward or downward.

17. The method of claim 7 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an instruction to modify a price for performance of a task depending on a time of day.

18. The method of claim 7 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indication to determine prices for tasks based at least in part on prices of other related tasks.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the other related tasks on which to determine prices for tasks are indicated to be tasks submitted by one or more other users.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the other related tasks on which to determine prices for tasks are indicated to be of a same type as the tasks whose prices are being determined.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein the indications of the multiple groups of tasks are received from multiple task requester users so that those tasks are made available to be performed by task performer users, and further comprising, for each at least one of the multiple task requester users, receiving an indication from the user of the threshold for use in determining if the actual pace for the tasks of a group indicated by the user differs sufficiently from the desired pace for the tasks of the group.

22. The method of claim 1 further comprising, for each of at least one of the groups of related tasks:

after the performance of the tasks of the group has begun, receiving one or more indications of additional tasks for the group to be performed, making the additional tasks available for performance, and maintaining performance of the additional tasks at a pace based on the desired pace for the group.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the maintaining of the performance of the additional tasks is performed in such a manner that tasks made available for performance before other tasks are performed before the other tasks.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein, for at least one of the groups of related tasks, the monitoring of the actual pace for the tasks of the group is performed repeatedly.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the groups of multiple related tasks includes numerous tasks of a single type.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein, for each of the groups, the multiple tasks of the group are related based at least in part on being of a similar type.

27. The method of claim 1 wherein, for at least one of the groups of related tasks, the threshold is automatically determined based at least in part on one or more of the desired pace for the group, a number of total tasks of the group, a number of tasks of the group remaining to be performed, an amount of time from an indicated deadline for performance of the tasks, and an amount of time since performance of the tasks began.

28. A non-transitory computer-readable medium whose stored contents configure a computing device to perform a method, the method comprising:

receiving indications of multiple groups of tasks to be performed by task performers, each group having multiple related tasks and an associated desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group;

for each of the multiple groups,

automatically determining one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the group, the one or more initial prices being based at least in part on the desired pace for the group, the automatic determining being performed by the configured computing device;

after performance of the tasks of the group by task performers has begun, monitoring an actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed; and

while at least some of the tasks of the group remain to be performed, if the actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed differs from the desired pace for the group by more than a threshold, automatically modifying one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the group, the automatic modifying being performed by the configured computing device to alter an actual pace for performance of the remaining tasks of the group in order to reflect a desired pace for those remaining tasks of the group; and

for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks and while at least some of the tasks of the group remain to be performed, dynamically adjusting the desired pace for performance of remaining tasks of the group to account for deviations between the actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed and the desired pace.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein, for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks, the desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group includes one or more of an indicated quantity of tasks of the group to be performed within an indicated period of time, of a percentage of tasks of the group to be performed within a period of time, of an average completion time for tasks of the group, and of an indicated time by which at least some of the tasks of the group are to be performed.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein one of the groups of multiple related tasks is indicated by a user so that those tasks are made available to be performed by other users, and wherein the method further comprises receiving an indication from the user of one or more criteria for use in determining one or more prices for the one group of multiple related tasks, and wherein at least one of the automatic determining of the one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the one group and of the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group are performed in a manner based at least in part on the indicated maximum price.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 30 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes at least one of an indicated initial price, an indicated maximum price for performance of at least some of the tasks, and an indicated minimum price for performance of at least some of the tasks.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 30 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indication of a manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group, and wherein the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group is performed based at least in part on the indicated manner.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32 wherein the indicated manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group includes an indication of at least one time at which to perform the adjusting.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 30 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indication to determine prices for tasks based at least in part on prices of other related tasks.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the indications of the multiple groups of tasks are received from multiple task requester users so that those tasks are made available to be performed by task performer users, and wherein the method further comprises, for each at least one of the multiple task requester users, receiving an indication from the task requester user of the threshold for use in determining if the actual pace for the tasks of a group indicated by the task requester user differs sufficiently from the desired pace for the tasks of the group.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the method further comprises, for each of at least one of the groups of related tasks, after the performance of the tasks of the group has begun:

receiving one or more indications of additional tasks for the group to be performed, making the additional tasks available for performance, and maintaining performance of the additional tasks at a pace based on the desired pace for the group.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein, for each of at least one of the groups of related tasks, the group includes numerous tasks of a single type, and the threshold for use with the group is automatically determined based at least in part on one or more of the desired pace for the group, a number of total tasks of the group, a number of tasks of the group remaining to be performed, an amount of time from an indicated deadline for performance of the tasks, and an amount of time since performance of the tasks began.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 28 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computing device, and wherein the stored contents include instructions that when executed program the configured computing device to perform the method.

47. The computing device of claim 38 wherein the one or more modules are further configured to, for each of at least one of the groups of related tasks, and after the performance of the tasks of the group has begun:

receive one or more indications of additional tasks for the group to be performed, make the additional tasks available for performance, and maintain performance of the additional tasks at a pace based on the desired pace for the group.

39. A configured computing device, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more modules configured to, when executed by at least one of the one or more processors;

receive indications of multiple groups of tasks to be performed by task performers, each group having multiple related tasks and an associated desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group;

for each of the multiple groups,

automatically determine one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the group, the one or more initial prices being based at least in part on the desired pace for the group;

after performance of the tasks of the group by task performers has begun, monitor an actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed; and

while at least some of the tasks of the group remain to be performed, if the actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed differs from the desired pace for the group by more than a threshold, automatically modify one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the group to alter an actual pace for performance of the remaining tasks of the group that reflects a desired pace for those remaining tasks of the group; and

for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks and while at least some of the tasks of the group remain to be performed, dynamically adjust the desired pace for performance of remaining tasks of the group to account for deviations between the actual pace at which the tasks of the group are being performed and the desired pace.

40. The computing device of claim 39 wherein, for at least one of the groups of multiple related tasks, the desired pace for performance of the tasks of the group includes one or more of an indicated quantity of tasks of the group to be performed within an indicated period of time, of a percentage of tasks of the group to be performed within a period of time, of an average completion time for tasks of the group, and of an indicated time by which at least some of the tasks of the group are to be performed.

41. The computing device of claim 39 wherein one of the groups of multiple related tasks is indicated by a user so that those tasks are made available to be performed by other users, and wherein the one or more modules are further configured to receive an indication from the user of one or more criteria for use in determining one or more prices for the one group of multiple related tasks, and wherein the automatic determining of the one or more initial prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the tasks of the one group and the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group are performed in a manner based at least in part on the indicated maximum price.

42. The computing device of claim 41 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes at least one of an indicated initial price, an indicated maximum price for performance of at least some of the tasks, and an indicated minimum price for performance of at least some of the tasks.

43. The computing device of claim 41 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indication of a manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group, and wherein the automatic modifying of the one or more prices to be paid for performance of at least some of the remaining tasks of the one group is performed based at least in part on the indicated manner.

44. The computing device of claim 43 wherein the indicated manner for adjusting prices for tasks of the one group includes an indication of at least one time at which to perform the adjusting.

45. The computing device of claim 41 wherein the criteria indicated by the user for use with the one group of tasks includes an indication to determine prices for tasks based at least in part on prices of other related tasks.

46. The computing device of claim 39 wherein the indications of the multiple groups of tasks are received from multiple task requester users so that those tasks are made available to be performed by task performer users, and wherein the one or more modules are further configured to, for each at least one of the multiple task requester users, receive an indication from the task requester user of the threshold for use in determining if the actual pace for the tasks of a group indicated by the task requester user differs sufficiently from the desired pace for the tasks of the group.

48. The computing device of claim 39 wherein, for each of at least one of the groups of related tasks, the group includes numerous tasks of a single type, and the threshold for use with the group is automatically determined based at least in part on one or more of the desired pace for the group, a number of total tasks of the group, a number of tasks of the group remaining to be performed, an amount of time from an indicated deadline for performance of the tasks, and an amount of time since performance of the tasks began.

49. The computing device of claim 39 wherein the one or more modules each include software instructions for execution by the one or more processors.