Method and system for tracking user performance

• US 7,503,480 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2004
• Issued: 03/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Liberty Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (American Express Company)
• Inventors: Bonalle, David S., Barnes, Brian, Saunders, Peter D.
• Primary Examiner(s): MAI, THIEN T
• Application Number:
  US10/708,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20050033619A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,831 Days
• Field of Search: 235/380, 235/383, 235/384, 235/385, 235/375, 235/377, 235/472.02
• US Class Current: 235/377
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/105 Human resources
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/04 Payment circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/28 Pre-payment schemes, e.g. "pay before"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/327 Short range or proximity payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3278 RFID or NFC payments by means of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/388 using mutual authentication without cards, e.g. challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/14 Vascular patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/40 Spoof detection, e.g. liveness detection
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/29 the pass containing active electronic elements, e.g. smartcards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 : Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 : Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 : Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3231 : Biological data, e.g. fingerprint, voice or retina network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using biometrical features in a packet data network H04L63/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3273 : for mutual authentication network architectures or network communication protocols for achieving mutual authentication in a packet data network H04L63/0869

Abstract

A system and method for using RFID technology to track resource performance and task completion is disclosed. In one exemplary embodiment, a fob and an RFID reader may engage in mutual authentication. Where the RFID reader and the fob successfully mutually authenticate, the fob may transmit to the RFID reader information identifying the resource'"'"'s performance tracking account to which the fob is associated. The RFID reader may receive and forward the information to facilitate performance tracking. In one exemplary embodiment, the RFID reader may forward the information to a point of interaction terminal for transaction completion. In another exemplary embodiment, the fob completes tasks via a computer interface. In still another exemplary embodiment, the fob resource and/or a manager access a resource engine, wherein the resource engine may be used to automatically grade, track, score, and assign resources based on resource skills and skill sets.

Claims

1. A method for facilitating performance tracking comprising:

creating a project task, associated with a resource, using a user interface, the project task having a predetermined completion time;

assigning the project task to an application assigned to at least one application category, the at least one application category associated with a level of skill to perform the project task;

using a transponder, presented by the resource, to communicate a transponder identifier to a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader via a radio frequency signal;

communicating the transponder identifier from the reader to a resource engine;

associating the transponder identifier with a first time value and a resource identifier corresponding to the resource;

using the transponder to communicate the transponder identifier to the reader for a second time;

communicating the transponder identifier from the reader to the resource engine for a second time;

associating the transponder identifier with a second time value and the resource identifier corresponding to the resource;

computing a task work time representing a time period that the resource was in a work environment, based at least on the first time value and the second time value;

associating the resource identifier and the task work time with the project task in the resource engine; and

comparing the predetermined completion time with the task work time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising tracking of at least one performance variable using the resource engine, wherein performance variable comprises at least one of a resource, a task, an application, and a skill.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the tracking of the at least one performance variable is based at least on the task work time.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a plurality of subtasks for completing the project task;

assigning at least one subtask of the plurality of subtasks to a second application, the second application being associated with a second application category and the second application category requiring a second level of skill;

assigning a second resource to the second application based on the second application category, the second resource having a minimum skill level required by the second application category.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying a rating of the project task based on the comparing.

6. A transponder-reader performance tracking system comprising:

a user interface operable to allow a user to create a project task, associated with a resource, the project task having a predetermined completion time;

a transponder, associated with the resource, operable to communicate a transponder identifier to a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader via a radio frequency signal;

a resource engine operable to;

assign the project task to an application assigned to at least one application category, the at least one application category associated with a level of skill to perform the project task;

receive the transponder identifier communicated by the reader, the resource engine further operable to associate the transponder identifier with a first time value and a resource identifier corresponding to the resource,

associate the transponder identifier with a second time value and the resource identifier corresponding to the resource,

compute a task work time representing a time period that the resource was in a work environment, based at least on the first time value and the second time value,

associate the resource identifier and the task work time with the project task, and

compare the predetermined completion time with the task work time.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the resource engine is further configured to track at least one performance variable using the user interface, and wherein performance variable comprises at least one of a resource, a task, an application, and a skill.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the resource engine tracks the at least one performance variable based at least on the task work time.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the resource engine is further operable to:

determine a plurality of subtasks for completing the project task;

assign at least one subtask of the plurality of subtasks to a second application, the second application being associated with a second application category and the second application category requiring a second level of skill; and

assign a second resource to the second application based on the second application category, the second resource having a minimum skill level required by the second application category.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the resource engine is further operable to modify a rating of the project task based on the comparing.