METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MATCHING PROJECTS AND WORKERS

• US 20020026338A1
• Filed: 06/03/1999
• Published: 02/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: APC Workforce Solutions LLC (Magnit LLC)
• Original Assignee: Silicon Valley Bank (SVB Financial Group)
• Inventors: BUKOW, HANS MAX THEODORE
• Granted Patent: US 6,567,784 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method of matching projects and workers using both mandatory, or binary, characteristics and quantitative characteristics is described. The projects and workers have a number of characteristics that are symmetric. For example, the project has an activity characteristic that defines what is to be done and the worker has an activity characteristic describing what she/he wants to do. Project creators and workers can request matching workers and projects, respectively. The matching process itself occurs in two stages. In the first stage, the mandatory characteristics are considered. Only workers, or projects, meeting the mandatory characteristics are selected for further evaluation at the next stage. At the second stage, the quantitative characteristics are evaluated for the workers, or projects. The result is a subset of the total number of workers, or projects, matching the project criterion, or worker needs, ranked based on the quantitative characteristics. The size of the subset can be restricted to show only the top n or the top x% of matching workers, or projects, from the first stage.

Claims

1. A method of matching a project to a subset of a plurality of workers, the method comprising:

defining the project, the project having a corresponding plurality of binary characteristics and a corresponding plurality of quantitative characteristics;

defining a plurality of workers, each worker in the plurality of workers having a corresponding plurality of binary characteristics and a corresponding plurality of quantitative characteristics;

matching the project to the subset of the plurality of workers using the pluralities of corresponding binary characteristics, the subset of the plurality of workers comprising workers in the plurality of workers whose corresponding binary characteristics matches the project'"'"'s corresponding plurality of binary characteristics; and

refining the subset of the plurality of workers to include the top n workers as determined by a rating for each of the workers in the subset according to the each worker'"'"'s corresponding plurality of quantitative characteristics and the project'"'"'s corresponding plurality of quantitative characteristics defined by the project.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of binary characteristics defined by the project includes one or more of an activity, a location, and an industry.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of quantitative characteristics for each worker includes one or more of an experience, a cost, an start time and an end time, a bid amount, a reputation information and a financial information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the refining comprises:

computing a plurality of coefficients for each worker in the subset of workers, each coefficient corresponding to a quantitative characteristic in the plurality of quantitative characteristics for a worker;

computing the rating for each worker in the subset of workers using a weighted average of the plurality of coefficients and a plurality of weights, each of the plurality of weights corresponding to a quantitative characteristic in the plurality of quantitative characteristics for a worker; and

retaining in the subset of workers only the n workers with the highest corresponding rating.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the project includes the plurality of weights for adjusting the impact of the quantitative characteristics.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein if the project does not include the plurality of weights, the plurality of weights is determined from a predetermined plurality of weights.

7. A method of matching projects with workers using a computer system, the method comprising:

defining the projects, each project having at least one corresponding binary characteristic and at least one corresponding quantitative characteristic;

defining the workers, each worker having at least one corresponding binary characteristic and at least one corresponding quantitative characteristic;

matching the workers to projects using the corresponding binary characteristics to determine a preliminary groups of matching workers for corresponding projects, each preliminary group comprising workers whose at least one corresponding binary characteristic matches the at least one corresponding binary characteristic defined by the project; and

refining the preliminary groups to create final groups by including the top n workers in each group as determined by a rating for each of the workers in the corresponding preliminary group according to the at least one quantitative characteristic for each worker and the at least one quantitative characteristic for the corresponding project.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one corresponding binary characteristic defined by each project includes one or more of an activity, a location, and an industry.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the at least one corresponding quantitative characteristics for each worker includes one or more of an experience, a cost, a start time and end time, a bid amount, a reputation information and a financial information.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein at least some of the workers including a corresponding quantitative characteristic indicating a level of participation in the system.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein at least some of the workers including a corresponding quantitative characteristic indicating a level of past work performance.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein at least some of the workers including a corresponding quantitative characteristic indicating a corresponding indication of how often the worker included a bid and how good the worker was at paying the bid.

13. An internet based matching system for matching workers to projects, the system comprising:

a server having the projects, the server being coupled in communication with the Internet, each project having at least one corresponding binary characteristic and at least one corresponding quantitative characteristic;

the server further having the workers, each worker having at least one corresponding binary characteristic and at least one corresponding quantitative characteristic; and

a matching program, the matching program being coupled in communications with the server, the matching program matching the workers to projects using the corresponding binary characteristics to determine a preliminary groups of matching workers for corresponding projects, each preliminary group comprising workers whose at least one corresponding binary characteristic matches the at least one corresponding binary characteristic defined by the project;

the matching program further for refining the preliminary groups to create final groups by including the top n workers in each group as determined by a rating for each of the workers in the corresponding preliminary group according to the at least one quantitative characteristic for each worker and the at least one quantitative characteristic for the corresponding project.

14. An matching system for matching workers to projects, the system comprising:

means for defining the projects, each project having at least one corresponding binary characteristic and at least one corresponding quantitative characteristic;

means for defining the workers, each worker having at least one corresponding binary characteristic and at least one corresponding quantitative characteristic;

means for matching the workers to projects using the corresponding binary characteristics to determine a preliminary groups of matching workers for corresponding projects, each preliminary group comprising workers whose at least one corresponding binary characteristic matches the at least one corresponding binary characteristic defined by the project; and

means for refining the preliminary groups to create final groups by including the top n workers in each group as determined by a rating for each of the workers in the corresponding preliminary group according to the at least one quantitative characteristic for each worker and the at least one quantitative characteristic for the corresponding project.