Method for formulating a plan to secure access to limited deliverable resources

• US 8,135,603 B1
• Filed: 03/20/2008
• Issued: 03/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gordon, Robert D.
• Original Assignee: Gordon, Robert D.
• Inventors: Gordon, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett, Jonathan G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lan, Tzu-Hsiang
• Application Number:
  US12/077,901
• Time in Patent Office: 1,454 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.12
• US Class Current: 705/7.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals

Abstract

The method of applying constraints across a generally extensible and configurable resource delivery system as a basis for identifying or calculating the relative impacts of each constraint on resource delivery to various points and, through the use of constraint release mechanisms, developing prescriptive courses of action to optimize and increase the certainty of delivery of the resource, or in the reverse sense, restrict delivery of the resource. In an embodiment of the present invention, a method for characterizing the availability and potential use of water resources alongside associated impacts in order to identify and time the various policy decisions and investments needed to ensure access to water supplies over time given multiple stakeholders and uncertain, variable supplies and demands where such embodiment provides additional methods generally applicable across the full scope of embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for releasing constraints limiting the supply of a resource to meet a demand by applying releases to modify the amount by which constraints decrease supply or create a demand comprising:

identifying a limited resource, wherein the limited resource is capable of being displaced from a point to another point within a delivery system;

identifying a representation of the delivery system having a plurality of paths where each path is positioned between at least two of a plurality of points;

applying a plurality of constraints to elements of the representation of the delivery system by;

identifying a plurality of supply and demand constraints associated with the identified limited resource; and

selecting one of the plurality of supply or demand constraints;

identifying a plurality of impact calculation methods for generating a set of impact values wherein the set of impact values indicates at least a change in a magnitude of the limited resource over a period of time in response to the selected supply or demand constraint and wherein one of the impact values indicates a quantitative measure to the selected supply or demand constraint;

selecting at least one of the plurality of impact calculation methods to calculate the set of impact values wherein the selected impact calculation methods are associated with one of the supply or demand constraints;

associating one of the plurality of supply or demand constraints to at least one element of the representation of the delivery system; and

calculating by the processor, an impact value based on the selected at least one of the plurality of impact calculation methods for the selected one of the plurality of supply or demand constraints;

identifying a plurality of release methods to either;

modify an amount by which supply and demand constraints decrease supply or create a demand;

or

release the bounds of a plurality of supply constraints;

or

increase the bounds of a plurality of demand constraints;

selecting at least one of the plurality of release methods as a candidate for releasing the selected one of the plurality of supply or demand constraints;

identifying a plurality of release calculation methods for calculating a set of release values for each of the selected release methods, wherein the set of release values indicates at least a change in a release amount of the limited resource over a period of time that the selected release method is operable to effect;

selecting and applying at least one of the plurality of release calculation methods to calculate a set of release values for each of the selected release methods;

associating each selected release method to the at least one element of the representation of the delivery system;

calculating by the computer processor, a set of release values for each selected release method using the selected release calculation method;

identify a plurality of sort parameters calculated from at least one of the plurality of release values specific to the selected release method;

assigning a sorting parameter to each of the selected release methods, wherein the sorting parameter is calculated from at least one of the plurality of release values specific to each selected release method;

applying at least one sorting parameter calculation method from a set of sorting parameter calculation methods to generate a sort value for each selected release method;

calculating by the computer processor, a sort value for each selected release method;

sorting the release methods in an order selected from the group consisting of an increasing order or a decreasing order based on the sort value;

generating by the computer processor, a subset of at least one selected release method by identifying said at least one release method having a sort value exceeding a threshold sort value; and

implementing the subset of at least one selected release method.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein one of the plurality of constraints is selected from the group of a supply constraint operable to bound the supply of a resource by bounding the use of at least one release method and a demand constraint operable to bound the demand for the resource by bounding the use of at least one release method.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the invention is operable over a plurality of time steps.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the invention is recursively applied wherein operation of processes in earlier recursions operable without modification in subsequent recursions are not repeated in subsequent recursions of the method.

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein calculated values of calculation methods are compiled over multiple time steps.

6. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

recording the plurality of impact and release values on one table;

associating the plurality of releases values with the plurality of impact values on one table; and

associating sort parameter values with the plurality of release values on one table wherein tables used for recording and associating values are accessible by methods selected from the group consisting of methods utilized as part of the invention and methods not utilized as a part of the invention.

7. A method according to claim 1 wherein the selection of constraint and release calculation methods includes:

monitoring the values and operation of one representation of a delivery system operable to calculate one delivery system property;

modifying the values and the operation of one representation of a delivery system operable to calculate one delivery system property; and

operating a method operable to calculate one delivery system property and at least one limited resource property.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein identification, selection, and association of constraint methods, constraint calculation methods, release methods, release calculation methods, sort parameters, sort parameter calculation methods, and the values thereof as therein described is accomplished by at least one method selected from the group consisting of input by the user and embodiment-specific presets.

9. A method according to claim 1 comprised of one operation selected from the following group consisting of filtering, grouping, and sorting wherein the operation is applied to one of the group consisting of impact values and release values.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein methods for calculating constraint impacts, release values, and sort parameters are comprised of one calculation method selected from the group including:

direct user input;

iterative methods;

methods of interpolation;

methods of extrapolation;

methods of set theory methods of statistics; and

methods of simultaneous solutions.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein one value is calculated and is selected from the group including:

a magnitude of change in a resource;

a resultant quantity of a resource;

costs of a constraint impact costs of a release;

quality of a resource;

a incidence of constraint operation;

a incidence of release operation;

probabilities of occurrence;

periods of constraint operation;

periods of release operation; and

statistical measures.

12. A method according to claim 1 wherein the sorting parameter is selected from a mathematical or algorithmic derivation of factors selected from the group including:

a quantity of resource released;

a cost of the release;

resource quality;

probability of effectiveness.

13. A method according to claim 1 wherein such methods are operable to be applied in a reverse order so as to obstruct or prohibit delivery of a resource selected from the group consisting of exercising the invention against a “

negative resource”

wherein the resource delivered is the absence of the resource and substituting releases for constraints and constraints for releases in the operation of the invention.

14. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

recognizing and using one resource under evaluation as a “

common currency”

for evaluating impacts on other parameters wherein at least one selected from the group consisting of resource quantities, financial quantities, and symbolic quantities of the resource being evaluated is translated into at least one selected from the group consisting of resource quantities, financial quantities, and symbolic quantities for a plurality of resources using at least one method selected from the group including;

direct user input;

look-up functions on tables of information;

iterative methods;

methods of optimization;

methods of interpolation;

methods of extrapolation;

methods of set theory;

methods of statistics;

methods of simultaneous solutions.

15. A method according to claim 1 further comprising:

repeating operation of the method for releasing constraints across multiple parties and multiple resources wherein optional optimization methods are employed as a means to optimize deliveries and cooperative resource management.