Resource scheduling and monitoring

Abstract

A resource scheduling system includes a set of resources and associated resource attributes, a representation of resource demands, and a scheduling module for generating a schedule of resource utilization. The representation of resource demands and availability may include information about time slots, calendars, and shifts. A slot is a representation of a demand for one or more individual item. A calendar is a representation of dates when resources are needed. Each shift represents a set of time intervals of resource demands. Additionally, the system keeps track of individual resource availability and preferences and attempts to create a resource utilization schedule that satisfies all constraints generated based on the time slots, calendars, shifts, and resource schedules.

1 . A computer-implemented resource scheduling system comprising: 
 a set of resources and associated attributes;    at least one calendar representing dates for resource utilization;    at least one slot representing demand for one or more individual resource items;    a set of resource constraints generated based on the at least one calendar and the at least one slot; and    a scheduling module for generating a schedule of resource utilization that satisfies at least a subset of the resource constraints.    
     
     
         2 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 at least one shift representing a recurring demand for a pattern of resource allocation.    
     
     
         3 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 2 , wherein the scheduling module assigns individual resources to instances of demand for resources represented by the slots and shifts.  
     
     
         4 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 at least one constraint.    
     
     
         5 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 4 , further comprising: 
 user interface for generating the at least one additional constraint.    
     
     
         6 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 5 , wherein the user interface presents a range of choices for each constraint condition.  
     
     
         7 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one resource of the set of resources has an associated set of time intervals during which said resource is available to be scheduled.  
     
     
         8 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein individual resource items, calendar sets and slots are represented as objects.  
     
     
         9 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 8 , wherein each object is capable of being switched between active and inactive status.  
     
     
         10 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 8 , wherein at least one attribute associated with at least one object is of a numeric type and wherein the scheduling module calculates accumulated totals of said attribute in a schedule involving the at least one object.  
     
     
         11 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 8 , further comprising: 
 a user interface for creating and specifying objects.    
     
     
         12 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein the scheduling module assigns individual resources to instances of demand for resources represented by the slots.  
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein the scheduling module generates diagnostic information.  
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 13 , wherein the diagnostic information comprises at least one of the following: information about conflicts between resource demands, information about resource shortages, information about unavailability of a schedule that satisfies all the resource constraints.  
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 11 , wherein the diagnostic information comprises at least one of the following: information about resource utilization, information about patterns of demand, and information about resource availability.  
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a user interface for editing the at least one calendar.    
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 an automatic calendar generator that generates a new calendar based on the at least one calendar.    
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a user interface for graphically displaying a match between demand for an individual resource and availability of the resource, using rectangular array to display time intervals divided among a plurality of classes.    
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of classes comprise one or more of the following classes: time intervals for which the resource is both available and in demand, time intervals for which said resource is available and not in demand, and time intervals for which the resource is neither available nor in demand.  
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one resource constraint is an optimization constraint.  
     
     
         21 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein at least one resource constraint is a conditional constraint.  
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein the scheduling module rewrites negative constraints as positive constraints.  
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 22 , wherein the scheduling module uses constraint propagation for generating the schedule of resource utilization.  
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 23 , wherein the scheduling module generates a list of requirement slots and assigns resources to a subset of the requirement slots.  
     
     
         25 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , wherein the scheduling module generates a partial schedule satisfying a subset of the resource constraints.  
     
     
         26 . The computer-implemented system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 user interface for designating a generated schedule as accepted and generating a permanent record of the generated schedule.    
     
     
         27 . A computer-implemented method for resource utilization scheduling, said method comprising: 
 recording information about a set of resource items;    associating attributes with the set of resource items;    recording demand information about the set of resource items;    generating constraints based on the demand information; and    generating a schedule of resource utilization based on the generated constraints.    
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 27 , wherein generating constraints based on the demand information further comprises: 
 providing a user interface for generating constraints.    
     
     
         29 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 28 , wherein providing the user interface for generating constraints further comprises: 
 describing constraints in a natural language; and    allowing for modification of constraint clauses expressed in the natural language.    
     
     
         30 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 27 , wherein the demand information comprises slot information representing individual resource demands for at least one time slot.  
     
     
         31 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 27 , wherein at least one resource attribute comprises schedule information representing resource demands for a set of time intervals for which an associated resource item is available to be scheduled.  
     
     
         32 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 27 , wherein generating the resource schedule further comprises: 
 propagating the constraints using constraint back propagation.    
     
     
         33 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 27 , wherein generating the resource schedule further comprises: 
 generating a list of resource slots; and    assigning the resources to appropriate slots in the list of the resource slots.