Requirement analyzing with dynamic qualification blocks

• US 8,108,320 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2005
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Sperle, Robin, Schillinger, Heinz, Schoenecker, Mathias
• Primary Examiner(s): Plucinski, Jami A
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIRLIN, AMANDA C.
• Application Number:
  US11/283,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20070118387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,262 Days
• Field of Search: 705/320, 705/321
• US Class Current: 705/321
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24558 Binary matching operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2468 Fuzzy queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1053 Employment or hiring

Abstract

A method for matching an object with a set of qualifications to an object with a set of requirements includes determining whether one or more predetermined blocks of qualifications are wholly or partially fulfilled by the set of qualifications and matching the object with the set of qualifications to the object with the set of requirements based on the one or more predetermined blocks of qualifications that have been determined to be wholly or partially fulfilled.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for matching a first object having a set of qualifications to a second object, comprising:

providing, via a computer, in a database storage, the second object having at least one of a task having requirements and a requirement, each requirement further having a plurality of qualification attributes of the each requirement and each qualification attribute being associated with a proficiency value defining a requirement level for the each qualification attribute, wherein the second object, the task, the requirements, the plurality of qualification attributes and their associated proficiency values form a hierarchical data structure having the second object as a root;

labeling, by the computer, each qualification attribute with a classification number indicating a number of relative hierarchy levels of the each qualification attribute from the root;

flattening, by the computer, the hierarchical data structure of the second object into a flattened list of qualification attributes each with a corresponding classification number;

determining, by the computer, whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list;

performing, by the computer, requirements analyzing of the first object against the flattened list based on the corresponding classification number of the each qualification attribute and the determination of whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes; and

matching, by the computer, the first object to the second object based on the requirements analyzing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first object having the set of qualifications is a person object representing a person and the second object having the set of requirements is a position object representing a position.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing definitions of predetermined blocks for the first object and the second object, the blocks including a plurality of qualification attributes and/or proficiencies;

storing the definitions of predetermined blocks in catalog within in a database;

matching at least one of the plurality of qualification attributes and proficiencies of the second object block to those of the first object;

determining whether one or more of the predetermined blocks are wholly or partially fulfilled by a set of at least one of qualification attributes and proficiencies of the first object; and

displaying any predetermined blocks of qualifications that have been determined to be partially fulfilled, along with a percentage indicating a degree to which the blocks have been fulfilled.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing requirements analyzing further includes, for duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list,

determining whether the duplicate qualification attributes have the same classification numbers;

if the duplicate qualification attributes do not have the same qualification numbers, only the qualification attribute with the lesser classification number remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if the duplicate qualification attributes do have the same classification numbers, determining whether a proficiency difference exists among the duplicate qualification attributes;

if a proficiency difference exists, only the qualification attribute of the highest proficiency remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if proficiency difference does not exist, the qualification attributes are identical and one qualification attribute is kept in the flattened list while the other is discarded.

5. A computer implemented method for matching a person represented by a person object within a database to a position represented by a position object within the database, comprising:

reading, by a computer, a set of qualifications applied to the person object from the database;

storing, by the computer, in the database, the position object having at least one of a task having requirements and a requirement, each requirement further having a plurality of qualification attributes of the each requirement and each qualification attribute being associated with a proficiency value defining a requirement level for the each qualification attribute, wherein the position object, the task, the requirements, the plurality of qualification attributes and their associated proficiency values form a hierarchical data structure having the position object as a root;

labeling, by the computer, each qualification attribute of the position object with a classification number indicating a number of relative hierarchy levels of the each qualification attribute from depth value with respect to the root;

flattening, by the computer, the hierarchical data structure of the position object into a flattened list of qualification attributes each with a corresponding classification number;

determining, by the computer, whether or not the position object has duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list; and

matching, by the computer, the person object to the position object by performing requirements analyzing, which compares the person object against the flattened list based on the corresponding classification number of the each qualification attribute and the determination of whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing requirements analyzing further includes, for duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list,

determining whether the duplicate qualification attributes have the same classification numbers;

if the duplicate qualification attributes do not have the same qualification numbers, only the qualification attribute with the lesser classification number remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if the duplicate qualification attributes do have the same classification numbers, determining whether a proficiency difference exists among the duplicate qualification attributes;

if a proficiency difference exists, only the qualification attribute of the highest proficiency remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if proficiency difference does not exist, the qualification attributes are identical and one qualification attribute is kept in the flattened list while the other is discarded.

7. A computer recording medium comprising computer executable code stored thereon, which when executed causes a computer to perform a method of matching a first object having a set of qualifications to a second object having a set of requirements, comprising:

code for providing the second object having at least one of a task having requirements and a requirement, each requirement further having a plurality of qualification attributes of the each requirement and each qualification attribute being associated with a proficiency value defining a requirement level for the each qualification attribute, wherein the second object, the task, the requirements, the plurality of qualification attributes and their associated proficiency values form a hierarchical data structure having the second object as a root;

code for labeling each qualification attribute with a classification number indicating a number of relative hierarchy levels of the each qualification attribute from the root;

code for flattening the hierarchical data structure of the second object into a flattened list of qualification attributes each with a corresponding classification number;

code for determining whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list;

code for performing requirements analyzing of the first object against the flattened list based on the corresponding classification number of the each qualification attribute and the determination of whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes; and

code for matching the first object to the second object based on the requirements analyzing.

8. The computer recording medium of claim 7, wherein the first object having the set of qualifications is a person object representing a person and the second object having the set of requirements is a position object representing a position.

9. The computer recording medium of claim 7, further comprising:

code providing definitions of predetermined blocks for the first object and the second object, the blocks including a plurality of qualification attributes and/or proficiencies;

code for storing the definitions of predetermined blocks in catalog within in a database;

code for matching at least one of the plurality of qualification attributes and proficiencies of the second object block to those of the first object;

code for determining whether one or more of the predetermined blocks are wholly or partially fulfilled by a set of at least one of qualification attributes and proficiencies of the first object; and

code for displaying any predetermined blocks of qualifications that have been determined to be partially fulfilled, along with a percentage indicating a degree to which the blocks have been fulfilled.

10. The computer recording medium of claim 7, wherein the performing requirements analyzing further includes, for duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list,

determining whether the duplicate qualification attributes have the same classification numbers;

if the duplicate qualification attributes do not have the same qualification numbers, only the qualification attribute with the lesser classification number remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if the duplicate qualification attributes do have the same classification numbers, determining whether a proficiency difference exists among the duplicate qualification attributes;

if a proficiency difference exists, only the qualification attribute of the highest proficiency remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if proficiency difference does not exist, the qualification attributes are identical and one qualification attribute is kept in the flattened list while the other is discarded.

11. A computer recording medium comprising computer executable code stored thereon, which when executed causes a computer to perform a method of matching a person represented by a person object within a database to a position represented by a position object within the database, comprising:

code for reading a set of qualifications applied to the person object from the database;

code for storing in the database the position object having at least one of a task having requirements and a requirement, each requirement further having a plurality of qualification attributes of the each requirement and each qualification attribute being associated with a proficiency value defining a requirement level for the each qualification attribute, wherein the position object, the task, the requirements, the plurality of qualification attributes and their associated proficiency values form a hierarchical data structure having the position object as a root;

code for labeling each qualification attribute of the position object with a classification number indicating a number of relative hierarchy levels of the each qualification attribute from the root;

code for flattening the hierarchical data structure of the position object into a flattened list of qualification attributes each with a corresponding classification number;

code for determining whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list; and

code for matching the person object to the position object by performing requirements analyzing, which compares the person object against the flattened list based on the corresponding classification number of the each qualification attribute and the determination of whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes.

12. The computer recording medium of claim 11, wherein the performing requirements analyzing further includes, for duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list,

determining whether the duplicate qualification attributes have the same classification numbers;

if the duplicate qualification attributes do not have the same qualification numbers, only the qualification attribute with the lesser classification number remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if the duplicate qualification attributes do have the same classification numbers, determining whether a proficiency difference exists among the duplicate qualification attributes;

if a proficiency difference exists, only the qualification attribute of the highest proficiency remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if proficiency difference does not exist, the qualification attributes are identical and one qualification attribute is kept in the flattened list while the other is discarded.

13. A computer system comprising:

a processor; and

a program storage device including computer executable code, tangibly embodied on a computer recording medium readable by the computer system, for matching a first object having a set of qualifications to second object having a set of requirements, the computer executable code comprising;

code for providing the second object having at least one of a task having requirements and a requirement, each requirement further having a plurality of qualification attributes of the each requirement and each qualification attribute being associated with a proficiency value defining a requirement level for the each qualification attribute, wherein the second object, the task, the requirements, the plurality of qualification attributes and their associated proficiency values form a hierarchical data structure having the second object as a root;

code for labeling each qualification attribute with a classification number indicating a number of relative hierarchy levels of the each qualification attribute from the root;

code for flattening the hierarchical data structure of the second object into a flattened list of qualification attributes each with a corresponding classification number;

code for determining whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list; and

code for performing requirements analyzing of the first object against the flattened list based on the corresponding classification number of the each qualification attribute and the determination of whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes; and

code for matching the first object to the second object based on the requirements analyzing.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the first object having the set of qualifications is a person object representing a person and the second object having the set of requirements is a position object representing a position.

15. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising:

code providing definitions of predetermined blocks for the first object and the second object, the blocks including a plurality of qualification attributes and/or proficiencies;

code for storing the definitions of predetermined blocks in catalog within in a database;

code for matching at least one of the plurality of qualification attributes and proficiencies of the second object block to those of the first object;

code for determining whether one or more of the predetermined blocks are wholly or partially fulfilled by a set of at least one of qualification attributes and proficiencies of the first object; and

code for displaying any predetermined blocks of qualifications that have been determined to be partially fulfilled, along with a percentage indicating a degree to which the blocks have been fulfilled.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the performing requirements analyzing further includes, for duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list,

determining whether the duplicate qualification attributes have the same classification numbers;

if the duplicate qualification attributes do not have the same qualification numbers, only the qualification attribute with the lesser classification number remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if the duplicate qualification attributes do have the same classification numbers, determining whether a proficiency difference exists among the duplicate qualification attributes;

if a proficiency difference exists, only the qualification attribute of the highest proficiency remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if proficiency difference does not exist, the qualification attributes are identical and one qualification attribute is kept in the flattened list while the other is discarded.

17. A computer system comprising:

a processor; and

a program storage device including computer executable code, tangibly embodied on a computer recording medium readable by the computer system, for matching a person represented by a person object within a database to a position represented by a position object within the database, the computer executable code comprising;

code for reading a set of qualifications applied to the person object from the database;

code for storing in the database the position object having at least one of a task having requirements and a requirement, each requirement further having a plurality of qualification attributes of the each requirement and each qualification attribute being associated with a proficiency value defining a requirement level for the each qualification attribute, wherein the position object, the task, the requirements, the plurality of qualification attributes and their associated proficiency values form a hierarchical data structure having the position object as a root;

code for labeling each qualification attribute of the position object with a classification number indicating a number of relative hierarchy levels of the each qualification attribute from the root;

code for flattening the hierarchical data structure of the position object into a flattened list of qualification attributes each with a corresponding classification number;

code for determining whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list; and

code for matching the person object to the position object by performing requirements analyzing, which compares the person object against the flattened list based on the corresponding classification number of the each qualification attribute and the determination of whether or not the second object has duplicate qualification attributes.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the performing requirements analyzing further includes, for duplicate qualification attributes in the flattened list,

determining whether the duplicate qualification attributes have the same classification numbers;

if the duplicate qualification attributes do not have the same qualification numbers, only the qualification attribute with the lesser classification number remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if the duplicate qualification attributes do have the same classification numbers, determining whether a proficiency difference exists among the duplicate qualification attributes;

if a proficiency difference exists, only the qualification attribute of the highest proficiency remains in the flattened list for performing the requirements analyzing, and the rest are discarded;

otherwise, if proficiency difference does not exist, the qualification attributes are identical and one qualification attribute is kept in the flattened list while the other is discarded.