Scheduling resources from a multi-skill multi-level human resource pool

• US 8,407,073 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2010
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bagheri, Saeed, Chaar, Jarir K., Chee, Yi-Min, Oppenheim, Daniel V., Ratakonda, Krishna C., Zhou, Nianjun
• Primary Examiner(s): Choi, Peter
• Assistant Examiner(s): Garcia-Guerra, Darlene
• Application Number:
  US12/868,027
• Publication Number:
  US 20120053977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.13, 705/7.11, 705/7.12, 705/7.14
• US Class Current: 705/7.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063112 Skill-based matching of a person or a group to a task

Abstract

Each work item from a group of work items is categorized as either complex or intense, and a unique work requirement statement is derived for each work item based on whether it is complex or intense. A unique resource value statement is assigned to different human resources. Past performances of the human resources are analyzed against completed work items in order to adjust the unique resource value statement, thus creating updated human resource value statements. An optimized work requirement statement is created by recalculating the unique work requirement statement for each work item based on the updated human resource value statements. A schedule for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas is formulated based on the optimized requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas, wherein the enterprise activity environment is a software factory that utilizes pooled human resources to produce software application development and maintenance, and wherein the computer implemented method comprises:

a processor categorizing each work item from a group of work items as either complex or intense, wherein completion time for executing a complex work item is based on skill sets of available human resources matching required skill sets for the complex work item, and wherein completion time for executing an intense work item is based on a quantity of available human resources regardless of their skill levels;

the processor deriving a unique work requirement statement for said each work item based on whether each work item is complex or intense, wherein the unique work requirement statement for a complex work item is skill-set dependent, and wherein the unique work requirement statement for an intense work item is skill-set neutral;

the processor assigning a unique resource value statement to each human resource from multiple human resources, wherein the unique resource value statement describes all skills held by each human resource based on a knowledge set and a proficiency level set of each human resource;

the processor analyzing past performances of the human resources against completed work items in order to adjust the unique resource value statement, thereby creating updated human resource value statements for the human resources;

the processor creating an optimized work requirement statement by recalculating the unique work requirement statement for each work item based on the updated human resource value statements for the human resources and on a current availability of the skill sets of available human resources that match the required skill sets for the complex work item;

the processor formulating a schedule for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas based on the optimized work requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items; and

utilizing said schedule for automated allocation of human resources and said scheduling of work items when creating a customized deliverable unit of software in the software factory, wherein the customized deliverable unit of software is created by assembling work packets in an assembly line in the software factory, wherein each work packet constitutes a contractual agreement that governs a relationship among a design center, a software factory governance board, a software factory operations unit, and the assembly line in the software factory, wherein the design center breaks a software project into major functional areas, wherein the software factory governance board determines whether or not to allow the software factory to accept the software project, wherein the software factory operations unit dispatches the software project to the assembly line, wherein the assembly line receives and executes work packets that are specified by the design center to create the customized deliverable unit of software, wherein said each work packet further comprises exit criteria, and wherein the exit criteria comprises a checklist for returning said each work packet from the assembly line to the software factory operations unit and for returning the customized deliverable unit of software from a customer to the software factory.

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

the processor, in response to the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements remaining unchanged until execution of the group of work items is completed, storing the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements in a database; and

the processor utilizing the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements to formulate another schedule for automated allocation of human resources and scheduling of work items as applied to a new group of work items.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising

the processor assigning a skill level to each skill set of a human resource from the pooled human resources;

and

the processor formulating the schedule for executing the group of work items based on the optimized work requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the enterprise activity environment is a physical factory, and wherein the group of work items produces a physical tangible product.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

the processor prioritizing the work items; and

the processor adjusting allocation of human resources to the work items based on work item prioritization.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

the processor determining an availability of multi-level human resources, wherein the multi-level human resources are categorized according to their respective skill levels; and

the processor adjusting allocation of human resources to the work items based on a determined availability of the multi-level human resources.

7. A computer program product for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas, wherein the enterprise activity environment is a software factory that utilizes pooled human resources to produce software application development and maintenance, and wherein the computer program product comprises:

a computer readable storage media;

first program instructions to categorize each work item from a group of work items as either complex or intense, wherein completion time for executing a complex work item is based on skill sets of available human resources matching required skill sets for the complex work item, and wherein completion time for executing an intense work item is based on a quantity of available human resources regardless of their skill levels;

second program instructions to derive a unique work requirement statement for said each work item based on whether each work item is complex or intense, wherein the unique work requirement statement for a complex work item is skill-set dependent, and wherein the unique work requirement statement for an intense work item is skill-set neutral;

third program instructions to assign a unique resource value statement to each human resource from multiple human resources, wherein the unique resource value statement describes all skills held by each human resource based on a knowledge set and a proficiency level set of each human resource;

fourth program instructions to analyze past performances of the human resources against completed work items in order to adjust the unique resource value statement, thereby creating updated human resource value statements for the human resources;

fifth program instructions to create an optimized work requirement statement by recalculating the unique work requirement statement for each work item based on the updated human resource value statements for the human resources and on a current availability of the skill sets of available human resources that match the required skill sets for the complex work item;

sixth program instructions to formulate a schedule for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas based on the optimized work requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items; and

seventh program instructions to utilize said schedule for automated allocation of human resources and said scheduling of work items when creating a customized deliverable unit of software in the software factory, wherein the customized deliverable unit of software is created by assembling work packets in an assembly line in the software factory, wherein each work packet constitutes a contractual agreement that governs a relationship among a design center, a software factory governance board, a software factory operations unit, and the assembly line in the software factory, wherein the design center breaks a software project into major functional areas, wherein the software factory governance board determines whether or not to allow the software factory to accept the software project, wherein the software factory operations unit dispatches the software project to the assembly line, wherein the assembly line receives and executes work packets that are specified by the design center to create the customized deliverable unit of software, wherein said each work packet further comprises exit criteria, and wherein the exit criteria comprises a checklist for returning said each work packet from the assembly line to the software factory operations unit and for returning the customized deliverable unit of software from a customer to the software factory, and wherein

the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to, in response to the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements remaining unchanged until execution of the group of work items is completed, store the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements in a database; and

ninth program instructions to utilize the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements to formulate another schedule for automated allocation of human resources and scheduling of work items as applied to a new group of work items, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

9. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the computer program product further comprises:

eighth program instructions to assign a skill level to each skill set of a human resource from the pooled human resources; and

ninth program instructions to formulate the schedule for executing the group of work items based on the optimized work requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

10. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the enterprise activity environment is a physical factory, and wherein the group of work items produces a physical tangible product.

11. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to prioritize the work items; and

ninth program instructions to adjust allocation of human resources to the work items based on work item prioritization, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

12. The computer program product of claim 7, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to determine an availability of multi-level human resources, wherein the multi-level human resources are categorized according to their respective skill levels; and

ninth program instructions to adjust allocation of human resources to the work items based on a determined availability of the multi-level human resources, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media.

13. A computer system comprising:

a central processing unit (CPU), a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage media;

first program instructions to categorize each work item from a group of work items as either complex or intense, wherein completion time for executing a complex work item is based on skill sets of available human resources matching required skill sets for the complex work item, and wherein completion time for executing an intense work item is based on a quantity of available human resources regardless of their skill levels;

second program instructions to derive a unique work requirement statement for said each work item based on whether each work item is complex or intense, wherein the unique work requirement statement for a complex work item is skill-set dependent, and wherein the unique work requirement statement for an intense work item is skill-set neutral;

third program instructions to assign a unique resource value statement to each human resource from multiple human resources, wherein the unique resource value statement describes all skills held by each human resource based on a knowledge set and a proficiency level set of each human resource;

fourth program instructions to analyze past performances of the human resources against completed work items in order to adjust the unique resource value statement, thereby creating updated human resource value statements for the human resources;

fifth program instructions to create an optimized work requirement statement by recalculating the unique work requirement statement for each work item based on the updated human resource value statements for the human resources and on a current availability of the skill sets of available human resources that match the required skill sets for the complex work item;

sixth program instructions to formulate a schedule for automated allocation of human resources to functional areas of an enterprise activity environment and scheduling of work items to the functional areas based on the optimized work requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items; and

seventh program instructions to utilize said schedule for automated allocation of human resources and said scheduling of work items when creating a customized deliverable unit of software in the software factory, wherein the customized deliverable unit of software is created by assembling work packets in an assembly line in the software factory, wherein each work packet constitutes a contractual agreement that governs a relationship among a design center, a software factory governance board, a software factory operations unit, and the assembly line in the software factory, wherein the design center breaks a software project into major functional areas, wherein the software factory governance board determines whether or not to allow the software factory to accept the software project, wherein the software factory operations unit dispatches the software project to the assembly line, wherein the assembly line receives and executes work packets that are specified by the design center to create the customized deliverable unit of software, wherein said each work packet further comprises exit criteria, and wherein the exit criteria comprises a checklist for returning said each work packet from the assembly line to the software factory operations unit and for returning the customized deliverable unit of software from a customer to the software factory, and wherein

the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

14. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to, in response to the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements remaining unchanged until execution of the group of work items is completed, store the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements in a database; and

ninth program instructions to utilize the optimized work requirement statement and the updated human resource value statements to formulate another schedule for automated allocation of human resources and scheduling of work items as applied to a new group of work items, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

15. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the computer system further comprises:

eighth program instructions to assign a skill level to each skill set of a human resource from the pooled human resources; and

ninth program instructions to formulate the schedule for executing the group of work items based on the optimized work requirement statement for each work item in the group of work items, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

16. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the enterprise activity environment is a physical factory, and wherein the group of work items produces a physical tangible product.

17. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to prioritize the work items; and

ninth program instructions to adjust allocation of human resources to the work items based on work item prioritization, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

18. The computer system of claim 13, further comprising:

eighth program instructions to determine an availability of multi-level human resources, wherein the multi-level human resources are categorized according to their respective skill levels; and

ninth program instructions to adjust allocation of human resources to the work items based on a determined availability of the multi-level human resources, and wherein

the eighth and ninth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage media for execution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.