Generating recommendations for staffing a project team

• US 9,141,924 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2012
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Friedlander, Robert R., Kraemer, James R., Nowak, Justyna M., Woodward, Elizabeth V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Padot, Timothy
• Assistant Examiner(s): WALKER III, GEORGE H
• Application Number:
  US13/399,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20130218619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,313 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.12, 705/7.14
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task

Abstract

A processor-implemented method, system, and/or computer program product generates a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team. A requisite skill set that is not presently needed, but will be needed in the future, by a project team is determined. Historical data that describe antecedent conditions, which caused a historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set, is received. A candidate worker'"'"'s current skill set data is adjusted with skill set enhancers, which are available to members of the project team, to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker. In response to the needed requisite skill set matching the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, a recommendation is generated for adding that candidate worker to the project team.

Claims

1. A processor-implemented method of generating a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team, the processor-implemented method comprising:

determining a requisite skill set that will be needed at a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team;

determining the requisite skill set by;

identifying a final product of a current project;

locating a past project that produced a same final product as the current project;

identifying all past requisite skill sets used by the past project to produce said same final product; and

determining the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the current project team by identifying which skill set, from said all past requisite skill sets, is absent from current skill sets that are currently held by members of the current project team;

identifying, by a processor, sources of information that provide evidence of a particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

determining, by the processor, a level of evidence that each of the sources of information provides regarding the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

graphing, by the processor, data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map, wherein the team skill topology map comprises a skill icon surrounded by one or more skill dots, wherein the skill icon represents the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the project team, wherein the one or more skill dots represent said each of the sources of information describing the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, and wherein a distance between the skill icon and a particular skill dot represents the level of evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, such that sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are close to the skill icon are predetermined to provide stronger evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill than sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are farther away from the skill icon than the skill dots that are close the skill icon;

identifying the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map;

receiving a set of binary historical data that describes antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the set of binary historical data is received by the processor, and wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

retrieving, by the processor, a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data that identifies a current skill set of a candidate worker;

identifying skill set enhancers that are made available to members of the project team in response to joining the project team, wherein the skill set enhancers comprise work experience and mentoring from other members of the project team that are provided by working on the project;

retrieving, by the processor, from one or more biometric sensors coupled to the candidate worker, physiological response generated in response to the candidate worker being asked particular questions related to the project;

identifying, by the processor, an interest level for the project by the candidate worker based on the physiological responses generated in response to the candidate worker being asked the particular questions related to the project, wherein the interest level is determined by comparing the physiological response from the candidate worker with known physiological responses to the particular questions related to the project;

identifying stated interests of the candidate worker by comparing the physiological responses from the candidate worker with the known physiological responses, wherein the physiological responses from the candidate worker and the known physiological responses are produced by biometric sensors that monitor workers, and wherein the known physiological responses are produced by known responses to questions regarding the stated interests of the candidate worker;

combining, by the processor, the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers and the stated interests of the candidate worker and the interest level for the project by the candidate worker to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker;

in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, the processor generating a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team.

2. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

graphing, by one or more processors, the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data onto a candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map;

displaying, by one or more processors, the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map on a video display; and

generating, by one or more processors, the recommendation that the candidate worker be included in the project team in response to the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map filling the unpopulated area of the team skill topology map beyond a predetermined fill level.

3. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the processor:

graphing, by one or more processors, the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data onto a candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map;

displaying, by one or more processors, the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map on a video display; and

generating, by one or more processors, the recommendation that the candidate worker be included in the project team in response to the candidate worker'"'"'s skill topology map filling the unpopulated area of the team skill topology map beyond a predetermined fill level.

4. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the requisite skill set comprises multiple skills, and wherein the processor-implemented method further comprises the processor:

applying a different weighting value, from multiple weighting values, to each of the multiple skills to create a weighted requisite skill set;

applying said different weighting value, from said multiple weighting values, to each of the multiple skills in the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker to create a candidate worker'"'"'s predicted weighted skill set; and

recommending a best candidate worker from a pool of candidate workers, wherein the best candidate worker possesses a predicted weighted skill set that best matches the weighted requisite skill set.

5. The processor-implemented method of claim 4, wherein all of said multiple weighting values are equal to one another.

6. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the project is currently in progress.

7. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the project is currently not in progress, and wherein the project is scheduled to begin at a future date.

8. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the processor:

retrieving the historical data and the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data from a social network repository.

9. The processor-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising the processor:

identifying the candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data as a combination of identified work experience, education, credentials, and stated interests of the candidate worker.

10. The processor-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising the processor:

identifying the stated interests of the candidate worker according to a percentage of occurrences of a predefined word from a single document from time-weighted historical writings of the candidate worker, wherein the percentage of occurrences is a ratio of occurrences of the predefined word to occurrences of all other words within the single document, and wherein more recent historical writings are given greater weight than older historical writings.

11. A computer program product for generating a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable non-transitory storage media with program instructions, which cause a processing unit to;

determine a requisite skill set that will be needed in a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team determining the requisite skill set by;

identify a final product of a current project;

locate a past project that produced a same final product as the current project;

identify all past requisite skill sets used by the past project to produce said same final product; and

determine the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the current project team by identifying which skill set, from said all past requisite skill sets, is absent from current skill sets that are currently held by members of the current project team, and

identify, by the processor, sources of information that provide evidence of a particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

determine, by the processor, a level of evidence that each of the sources of information provides regarding the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

graph data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map, wherein the team skill topology map comprises a skill icon surrounded by one or more skill dots, wherein the skill icon represents the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the project team, wherein the one or more skill dots represent said each of the sources of information describing the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, and wherein a distance between the skill icon and a particular skill dot represents the level of evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, such that sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are close to the skill icon are predetermined to provide stronger evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill than sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are farther away from the skill icon than the skill dots that are close the skill icon;

identify the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map;

receive historical data that describe antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

retrieve a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set data that identify a current skill set of a candidate worker;

identify skill set enhancers that are made available to members of the project team in response to joining the project team, wherein the skill set enhancers comprise work experience and mentoring from other members of the project team that are provided by working on the project;

identify the stated interests of the candidate worker by comparing physiological responses from the candidate worker with known physiological responses, wherein the physiological responses from the candidate worker and the known physiological responses are produced by biometric sensors that monitor workers, and wherein the known physiological responses are produced by known responses to questions regarding the stated interests of the candidate worker;

combine the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers and the stated interests of the candidate to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker;

in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, generate a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team.

12. A computer program product for generating a recommendation for a worker to be included in a project team, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable non-transitory storage media with program instructions, which cause a processing unit to;

determine a requisite skill set that will be needed in a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team;

determine the requisite skill set by;

identifying a final product of a current project;

locating a past project that produced a same final product as the current project;

identifying all past requisite skill sets used by the past project to produce said same final product; and

determining the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the current project team by identifying which skill set, from said all past requisite skill sets, is absent from current skill sets that are currently held by members of the current project team;

identify sources of information that provide evidence of a particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

determine a level of evidence that each of the sources of information provides regarding the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

graph data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map, wherein the team skill topology map comprises a skill icon surrounded by one or more skill dots, wherein the skill icon represents the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the project team, wherein the one or more skill dots represent said each of the sources of information describing the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, and wherein a distance between the skill icon and a particular skill dot represents the level of evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, such that sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are close to the skill icon are predetermined to provide stronger evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill than sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are farther away from the skill icon than the skill dots that are close the skill icon;

identify the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map;

receive historical data that describe antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

retrieve a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data that identify a current skill set of a candidate worker;

identify skill set enhancers that are made available to members of the project team in response to joining the project team, wherein the skill set enhancers comprise work experience and mentoring from other members of the project team that are provided by working on the project;

retrieve, from one or more biometric sensors coupled to the candidate worker, physiological responses generated in response to the candidate worker being asked particular questions related to the project;

identify an interest level for the project by the candidate worker based on the physiological responses generated in response to the candidate worker being asked the particular questions related to the project, wherein the interest level is determined by comparing the physiological responses from the candidate worker with known physiological responses to the particular questions related to the project;

identify stated interests of the candidate worker by comparing the physiological responses from the candidate worker with the known physiological responses, wherein the physiological responses from the candidate worker and the known physiological responses are produced by biometric sensors that monitor workers, and wherein the known physiological responses are produced by known responses to questions regarding the stated interests of the candidate worker;

combine the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers and the stated interests of the candidate worker to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker;

in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, generate a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team.

13. A system comprising:

one or more biometric sensors coupled to a candidate worker; and

a central processing unit (CPU), a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage media with program instructions stored thereon causing the CPU to;

determine a requisite skill set that will be needed in a future time by a project team, wherein the project team comprises workers on a project, and wherein the requisite skill set is not presently needed by the project team determining the requisite skill set by;

identifying a final product of a current project;

locating a past project that produced a same final product as the current project;

identifying all past requisite skill sets used by the past project to produce said same final product; and

determining the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the current project team by identifying which skill set, from said all past requisite skill sets, is absent from current skill sets that are currently held by members of the current project team;

identify sources of information that provide evidence of a particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

determine, by the processor, a level of evidence that each of the sources of information provides regarding the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set;

graph data that describe skill sets held by the other workers onto a team skill topology map, wherein the team skill topology map comprises a skill icon surrounded by one or more skill dots, wherein the skill icon represents the requisite skill set that will be needed at the future time by the project team, wherein the one or more skill dots represent said each of the sources of information describing the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, and wherein a distance between the skill icon and a particular skill dot represents the level of evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill from the requisite skill set, such that sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are close to the skill icon are predetermined to provide stronger evidence of the particular person'"'"'s skill than sources of information that are depicted by skill dots that are farther away from the skill icon than the skill dots that are close the skill icon;

identify the requisite skill set by identifying an unpopulated area on the team skill topology map;

receive historical data that describe antecedent conditions for a historical worker, wherein the antecedent conditions have been predetermined to have caused the historical worker to obtain the requisite skill set;

retrieve a candidate worker'"'"'s skill set binary data that identify a current skill set of the candidate worker;

identify skill set enhancers that are made available to members of the project team in response to joining the project team, wherein the skill set enhancers comprise work experience and mentoring from other members of the project team that are provided by working on the project;

retrieve, from said one or more biometric sensors coupled to the candidate worker, physiological responses generated in response to the candidate worker being asked particular questions related to the project;

identify an interest level for the project by the candidate worker based on the physiological responses generated in response to the candidate worker being asked the particular questions related to the project, wherein the interest level is determined by comparing the physiological responses from the candidate worker with known physiological responses to the particular questions related to the project;

identify stated interests of the candidate worker by comparing the physiological responses from the candidate worker with the known physiological responses, wherein the physiological responses from the candidate worker and the known physiological responses are produced by biometric sensors that monitor workers, and wherein the known physiological responses are produced by known responses to questions regarding the stated interests of the candidate worker;

combine the current skill set of the candidate worker with the skill set enhancers and the stated interests of the candidate to generate a predicted future skill set of the candidate worker;

in response to matching the requisite skill set to the predicted future skill set of the candidate worker, generate a recommendation that the candidate worker be presently added to the project team.