Interface system and method of building rules and constraints for a resource scheduling system

• US 8,850,303 B1
• Filed: 06/30/2006
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Verint Americas Incorporated (Verint Systems Incorporated)
• Inventors: Boehmer, Tiffany D., Josefsberg, Gal, Aoki, Gary Todd
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Quoc A
• Application Number:
  US11/479,909
• Time in Patent Office: 3,014 Days
• Field of Search: 715/224, 715/212, 715/231, 715762-764, 715/230, 715/273, 715/789, 705/9
• US Class Current: 715/224
• 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

Abstract

The present invention is an interface system for interactively building rules and constraints. The interface system comprises of an output display configured to show a user a partial complete rule with a current rule fragment, such rule fragment comprising a blank space. The user can fill in the blank space by either choosing from a list or by typing in text in the blank space. After the blank space is filled, a completed rule is generated. The interface system then assigns this rule to one or more person in a resource scheduling system. The present invention can be used for agent scheduling in a call center environment.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of building rules and constraints for a resource scheduling system within a call center, comprising:

displaying to a user a current rule fragment, such rule fragment comprising a blank space, wherein the current rule fragment is a portion of a completed rule used to generate a schedule for an employee within the call center;

filling said blank space of the current rule fragment with a value selected by said user, so as to create the completed rule, wherein the selected value comprises a value selected from a displayed list and a value that is entered directly;

allowing a user to impose at least one self-referential constraint on the completed rule, wherein the at least one self-referential constraint is assignable to the employee to be scheduled;

allowing a user to impose at least one self-referential tolerance on the completed rule; and

generating the schedule for the employee within the call center based on the completed rule.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said completed rule refers to a goal that is unspecified in an absolute sense.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said completed rule refers to a schedule that does not yet exist.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying branching rules to previous selections of a user for filling said blank space, so as to interactively and dynamically create future blank spaces and future lists of potential selections.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising accessing a dynamic database, so as to populate said lists of potential selections in accordance with the current value in real time of said dynamic database.