Apparatus, system and method for selecting an item from pool

Abstract

An apparatus, system and method selects a candidate from a pool of candidates to fill a use for a candidate. The system and method can be applied to identify a product optimally suited for a particular use or to select a person to fill a position based on the skills held by the candidate, the skills desired for the position and the priority of the skills for the position. A scoring method determines a temporary use-specific adjusted score that is calculated based on user-selected functions which reflect real life effects on desireability of a candidate due to over- and under-target scores on given characteristics or parameters.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for selecting a candidate for a position from a pool of candidates, comprising the steps of: 
 a) establishing a database, said database having a record for each candidate in a pool and a record for a use for a product to be filled by a candidate, wherein each candidate record includes one or more product characteristics and each record for a use includes one or more product characteristics relevant to the use;    b) assigning a target score for one or more characteristics for a given use based on the importance of the characteristic for that use;    c) for a candidate and for a characteristic, assigning an actual score representing the degree to which the candidate possesses the characteristic;    d) selecting a first function for calculating an adjusted score for a candidate's characteristic when a candidate's score is below the target score;    e) using said first function, calculating an adjusted score for a candidate whose actual score is below the target score.    
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 f) selecting a second function for calculating an adjusted score for a candidate's characteristic when a candidate's score is above the target score;    e) using said second function, calculating an adjusted score for a candidate whose actual score is above the target score.    
     
     
         3 . A method according to  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 f) selecting a weighting factor for a characteristic based upon the importance of the characteristic for the use;    g) calculating a weighted adjusted score for a candidate for a characteristic by multiplying the weighting factor by the candidate's adjusted score for that characteristic.    
     
     
         4 . A system for selecting a candidate for a position from a pool of candidates comprising: 
 a) means for assigning a target score for one or more characteristics relevant to a particular use;    b) means for assigning an actual score for a candidate representing the degree to which the candidate possesses the characteristic;    c) means for adjusting the candidate's actual score for a characteristic when the actual score does not match the target score.    
     
     
         5 . An apparatus for selecting candidates for a position from a pool of candidates comprising: 
 a) a memory for storing a database including: 
 i) candidate records, each said candidate record identifying a candidate, a characteristic possessed by the candidate, and an actual score representing the degree to which that characteristic is possessed by the candidate;  
 ii) a use record, said use record identifying a product use and characteristics relevant to the use; and  
   b) a data adjusting system for calculating and storing in said memory an adjusted score using a user-selected function for a candidate's actual score that does not match the target score.