U.S. patent application number 13/618471 was filed with the patent office on 2013-03-21 for managing resources for projects.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAP AG. The applicant listed for this patent is Stefan EHRLER, Matthias Fell, Torsten Lang, Ralf Wiedemann. Invention is credited to Stefan EHRLER, Matthias Fell, Torsten Lang, Ralf Wiedemann.
Application Number | 20130073328 13/618471 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33552355 |
Filed Date | 2013-03-21 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130073328 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
EHRLER; Stefan ; et
al. |
March 21, 2013 |
MANAGING RESOURCES FOR PROJECTS
Abstract
Project management is made easier and more effective by enabling
a planner to define project roles for tasks of a project and then,
separately search for actual resources that match the project
roles.
Inventors: |
EHRLER; Stefan; (Biblis,
DE) ; Fell; Matthias; (Wiesloch, DE) ; Lang;
Torsten; (Biblis, DE) ; Wiedemann; Ralf;
(Schwetzingen, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
EHRLER; Stefan
Fell; Matthias
Lang; Torsten
Wiedemann; Ralf |
Biblis
Wiesloch
Biblis
Schwetzingen |
|
DE
DE
DE
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
SAP AG
|
Family ID: |
33552355 |
Appl. No.: |
13/618471 |
Filed: |
September 14, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10611311 |
Jul 1, 2003 |
8335705 |
|
|
13618471 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.17 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/063118 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101; G06Q 10/1097 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.17 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20120101
G06Q010/06 |
Claims
1.-7. (canceled)
8. A machine-based method comprising enabling a project planner to
identify a person to participate in a project that has time
constraints on its completion, and in response to the identifying
of the person, scheduling assignments for the person that are
consistent with the time constraints of the project, the
assignments being selectively either tentative assignments or
committed assignments.
9. The machine-based method of claim 8 in which the scheduled
assignments comprise assignments of specific time periods.
10. The machine-based method of claim 8 also including searching
scheduled assignments to identify people available for assignment,
the searching being arranged to treat people as unavailable at
times when they are subject to scheduled fixed assignments.
11. The method of claim 10 in which the searching is also arranged
to treat people as unavailable at times when they are subject to
scheduled tentative assignments.
12. The method of claim 10 in which scheduled assignments for a
person may exceed 100% of the working time of the person.
13. The method of claim 12 in which the scheduled assignments may
exceed 100% of the working time of the person.
14. A machine-based method comprising maintaining a database of
information about human resources of an enterprise including
assignments of human resources to roles in projects being conducted
by the enterprise, the database being managed by a workforce
management application, and when assignments of human resources to
roles in projects are made or changed in a project resource
planning application that is distinct from the workforce management
application, updating the human resources database to incorporate
the information about the assignments.
15. The method of claim 14 in which the assignments comprise
utilization and availability information with respect to the human
resources of the enterprise.
16. The method of claim 14 also including receiving requests from
users through the project resource planning application for
information about availability and utilization of human resources,
and based on the requests, automatically querying the human
resources database.
17. The method of claim 14 also including making available, online
to users within the enterprise, information about tasks of projects
for which human resources have not been scheduled, and receiving
requests to schedule the users for the tasks.
18. A machine-based method comprising maintaining a common database
of information about availability of resources of an enterprise for
participation on projects of the enterprise, enabling project
planners to search the database for resources for possible
assignment to projects and to assign resources to projects,
providing information about resources assigned to the projects from
the common database to a groupware application to enable the
groupware application to schedule the resources and alert the
resources of the scheduling, and providing updated information
about scheduling of the resources from the groupware back to the
common database, and updating the common database based on the
updated information.
19. The method of claim 18 in which enabling project planners to
search the database includes receiving requests at an interface of
a project resource planning application, and providing the requests
to the common database of information.
20. The method of claim 18 in which the groupware application
comprises Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes.
21. The method of claim 18 in which the assignments to projects are
expressed as calendar tasks in the groupware application.
22. The method of claim 18 in which the resources comprise human
resources.
23. The method of claim 18 in which the updated information about
scheduling is entered by a user of the groupware application.
24. A machine-based method comprising maintaining information about
a project of an enterprise, the information including assignments
of human resources to roles associated with the project, and
providing online reports of all roles and assignments of human
resources to all roles for the project.
25. The method of claim 24 also including accumulating information
about assignments of human resources to roles associated with
multiple projects, and enabling a user to obtain online analyses of
utilization and availability of human resources across the multiple
projects.
26. A machine-based method comprising receiving from a project
planner, with respect to a project, identifications of project
roles to be performed for a project, the project roles identifying
attributes of human resources useful for performing at least a
portion of the project, without limiting the identification to
specific human resources.
27. The method of claim 26 in which the attributes comprise
qualifying attributes that define qualifications of suitable human
resources.
28. The method of claim 26 in which the attributes comprise
capacitive attributes that define time constraints on suitable
human resources.
29. The method of claim 26 in which the attributes for the project
roles are defined by the project planner in connection with
planning the project.
30. The method of claim 26 in which the project roles are defined
as generic project roles and the project planner selects the
project roles for the project from the generic project roles.
31. The method of claim 30 also comprising associating tasks of the
project with respective ones of the identified project roles.
32. The method of claim 31 also including enabling the project
planner to identify specific human resources for at least some of
the project roles in a manner that is independent of the
identification of the project roles or the associating of tasks
with roles.
33. The method of claim 26 also including enabling the project
planner to identify specific human resources for at least some of
the project roles in a manner that is independent of the
identification of the project roles.
34. A machine-based method comprising presenting to a project
planner a list of project roles needed for completing a project of
an enterprise, and enabling the project planner to enabling a
project planner to assign tasks of the project to respective ones
of the project roles without necessarily having specific human
resources identified for each of the project roles.
35.-41. (canceled)
42. Apparatus comprising means for enabling a project planner to
identify a person to participate in a project that has time
constraints on its completion, and means for scheduling, in
response to the identifying of the person, assignments for the
person that are consistent with the time constraints of the
project, the assignments being selectively either tentative
assignments or committed assignments.
43. Apparatus comprising a stored database of information about
human resources of an enterprise including assignments of human
resources to roles in projects being conducted by the enterprise,
the database being managed by a workforce management application,
and a project resource planning application that is distinct from
the workforce management application, that is configured to respond
to assignments of human resources to roles in projects being made
or changed, by updating the human resources database to incorporate
the information about the assignments.
44. A medium bearing instructions to cause a machine to maintain a
common database of information about availability of resources of
an enterprise for participation on projects of the enterprise,
enable project planners to search the database for resources for
possible assignment to projects and to assign resources to
projects, provide information about resources assigned to the
projects from the common database to a groupware application to
enable the groupware application to schedule the resources and
alert the resources of the scheduling, and provide updated
information about scheduling of the resources from the groupware
back to the common database, and updating the common database based
on the updated information.
45. A medium bearing instructions to cause a machine to maintain
information about a project of an enterprise, the information
including assignments of human resources to roles associated with
the project, and provide online reports of all roles and
assignments of human resources to all roles for the project.
47. (canceled)
Description
[0001] This description relates to managing resources for
projects.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In executing projects, a company or other organization or
enterprise must manage, for example, available human resources.
Project management software, such as Microsoft Project, can aid a
manager of a company in defining a project and the tasks to be
done. The manager must also identify and engage human resources
needed to complete the defined tasks. Individuals in an enterprise
often maintain calendars, task lists, and electronic communications
using programs like Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.
SUMMARY
[0003] In general, in one aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes (a) searching a database for
information about resources that may be used for participation in
projects, the database containing time periods during which each of
the resources is available and amounts of participation for which
the resources can be used for the projects, (b) the searching
comprising matching proposed amounts of participation and proposed
time periods with the time periods and amounts of participation
stored in the database, and (c) identifying resources based on the
matching.
[0004] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. The resources include people. The time
periods during which each of the resources is available comprise
availability. The amounts of participation for which the resources
can be used comprise utilization. The database also contains
information about qualifications of the resources for participation
in the projects, and the searching also comprises matching proposed
qualifications with qualifications stored in the database. The
planner selects resources to be used for the projects, the
selection being made from among the resources identified on the
basis of the matching. Communications are made with resources about
the selection using a groupware program.
[0005] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes enabling a project planner to
identify a person to participate in a project that has time
constraints on its completion, and in response to the identifying
of the person, scheduling assignments for the person that are
consistent with the time constraints of the project, the
assignments being selectively either tentative assignments or
committed assignments.
[0006] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. The scheduled assignments comprise
assignments of specific time periods. Scheduled assignments are
searched to identify people available for assignment, the searching
being arranged to treat people as unavailable at times when they
are subject to scheduled fixed assignments. The searching is also
arranged to treat people as unavailable at times when they are
subject to scheduled tentative assignments. Scheduled assignments
for a person may exceed 100% of the working time of the person. The
scheduled assignments may exceed 100% of the working time of the
person.
[0007] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes (a) maintaining a database of
information about human resources of an enterprise including
assignments of human resources to roles in projects being conducted
by the enterprise, the database being managed by a workforce
management application, and (b) when assignments of human resources
to roles in projects are made or changed in a project resource
planning application that is distinct from the workforce management
application, updating the human resources database to incorporate
the information about the assignments.
[0008] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. The assignments comprise utilization and
availability information with respect to the human resources of the
enterprise. Requests are received from users through the project
resource planning application for information about availability
and utilization of human resources, and based on the requests, the
human resources database is automatically queried. Information is
made available, online to users within the enterprise, about tasks
of projects for which human resources have not been scheduled, and
requests are received to schedule the users for the tasks.
[0009] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes (a) maintaining a common
database of information about availability of resources of an
enterprise for participation on projects of the enterprise, (b)
enabling project planners to search the database for resources for
possible assignment to projects and to assign resources to
projects, (c) providing information about resources assigned to the
projects from the common database to a groupware application to
enable the groupware application to schedule the resources and
alert the resources of the scheduling, (d) providing updated
information about scheduling of the resources from the groupware
back to the common database, and updating the common database based
on the updated information.
[0010] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. Enabling project planners to search the
database includes receiving requests from the project planners at
an interface of a project resource planning application, and
providing the requests to the common database of information. The
groupware application comprises Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes.
The assignments to projects are expressed as calendar tasks in the
groupware application. The resources comprise human resources. The
updated information about scheduling is entered by a user of the
groupware application.
[0011] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes maintaining information about a
project of an enterprise, the information including assignments of
human resources to roles associated with the project, and providing
online reports of all roles and assignments of human resources to
all roles for the project.
[0012] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. Information is accumulated about
assignments of human resources to roles associated with multiple
projects, and a user is enabled to obtain online analyses of
utilization and availability of human resources across the multiple
projects.
[0013] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes receiving from a project
planner, with respect to a project, identifications of project
roles to be performed for a project, the project roles identifying
attributes of human resources useful for performing at least a
portion of the project, without limiting the identification to
specific human resources.
[0014] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. The attributes comprise qualifying
attributes that define qualifications of suitable human resources.
The attributes comprise capacitive attributes that define time
constraints on suitable human resources. The attributes for the
project roles are defined by the project planner in connection with
planning the project. The project roles are defined as generic
project roles and the project planner selects the project roles for
the project from the generic project roles. Tasks of the project
are associated with respective ones of the identified project
roles. The project planner is enabled to identify specific human
resources for at least some of the project roles in a manner that
is independent of the identification of the project roles or the
associating of tasks with roles.
[0015] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes presenting to a project planner
a list of project roles needed for completing a project of an
enterprise, and enabling the project planner to assign tasks of the
project to respective ones of the project roles without necessarily
having specific human resources identified for each of the project
roles.
[0016] In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
machine-based method that includes enabling a project manager to
search a database for specific human resources that match defined
attributes of project roles associated with a project of an
enterprise.
[0017] Implementations of the invention may include one or more of
the following features. The attributes comprise qualifying
attributes that define qualifications of suitable human resources.
The attributes comprise capacitive attributes that define time
constraints on suitable human resources. The capacitive attributes
include availability or utilization. The project manager is enabled
to identify the importance of respective attributes. The importance
can be identified as mandatory or optional for qualification
requirements.
[0018] Other features and advantages of the invention will be
apparent from the description and from the claims.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0019] FIGS. 1 through 5 and 9 through 13 are block diagrams.
[0020] FIGS. 6 through 8, 16 through 28, and 30 are screen shots of
a user interface.
[0021] FIGS. 15 and 29 are tables.
[0022] FIG. 14 is a flow diagram.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] A typical large, geographically dispersed company 2 (FIG. 1;
see also FIG. 11) has many employees (and consultants and agents)
16 through 28 who have a variety of skills and qualifications,
along with different levels of experience and areas of expertise 40
through 52. The term "employees" includes any human resource that
may be capable of and available to work on projects, whether an
employee, a consultant, an agent, or a person having some other
legal relationship with a company. By a company, we mean to include
any kind of enterprise that uses resources, especially human
resources, to perform projects. We sometimes use the word
enterprise interchangeable with company. Skills include, for
example, the abilities of an employee, for example, technical
writing, while qualifications include, for example, a degree in a
technical field. Experience is a representation of, for example,
how much work an employee has done in a given area, while expertise
is a representation of, for example, which areas an employee has
specialized in, either while with a company or before, and does not
necessarily correlate with formal qualifications. By "resources" we
mean to include human resources and other, non-human resources.
[0024] These four factors--skills, qualifications, experience and
expertise--are all attributes that qualify a resource (e.g., an
employee) to do a particular job, and may be called qualifying
attributes. As shown in the figure, a variety of different
qualifying attributes are represented by each of the employees; for
example, skill a may involve technical writing and be shared by
employees 16, 22, and 26, while skill b may relate to facility with
Microsoft Excel and be shared by employees 18, 20, and 26.
[0025] From time to time, a company undertakes certain projects
related to its business (FIGS. 2) 100, 102, 104, and 106, including
projects that are internal to the company and projects commissioned
by others such as customers. A typical project may be staffed by a
set of employees who play various roles 118 through 126, depending
on their qualifying attributes. Examples of these roles are project
leader and consultant. A project role is a generalized
representation of a set of qualifying attributes without an
association to any specific individual who has that set of
qualifications or is assigned to that role. Project roles may be of
various types. Each project role may be defined specially with
respect to a particular project or my be based on pre-defined
project roles.
[0026] The projects are made up of separate tasks to be completed
108 through 116, each of which will correspond to one project role
118 through 126 that has appropriate qualifying attributes 128
through 136 for that task. For example, the task of data analysis
may be performed by the project role of analyst 122, which may
later be assigned to an employee 18, if the employee has qualifying
attributes 136 that form a suitable match with that role, such as
the skill 42 of working with Microsoft Excel, which is a necessary
qualifying attribute 136 for filling the role of analyst.
[0027] While a manager needs to know employees' qualifying
attributes to assign an appropriate set of employees for a project,
other information forms part of the decision-making as well. For
example, cost plays a role in project planning: for some project
tasks, an experienced employee may be unnecessarily costly. Also,
if an employee is used in too many projects, the company may have
to pay overtime, while under-using other employees. The measure of
the proportion of time an employee is working during a given time
period can be characterized as his utilization. In addition,
whatever the utilization of employees, some projects require the
employees to be free at specific times. This measure of
availability can be determinative in assigning employees to tasks.
Utilization and availability are measures of an employee's work
capacity, and thus these criteria can be called capacitive
attributes 53 through 64.
[0028] Managers 10, 12, 14, 15 are in charge of managing projects
and allocating resources--both people and materials--to projects.
Some managers are charged with managing only employees, others
manage both employees and projects, while other managers 15 manage
projects or tasks using employees whom they do not directly
supervise. Managers (which we sometimes call project planners or
project managers or planners) know the tasks 108, 110 that are
necessary to complete a project 100, the roles (and in turn which
qualifying attributes 132, 134) that employees must have to be
competent to perform the tasks, and how much time and material
resources should be allocated to a given task within a project.
[0029] However, managers in the company may not know about all of
the resources available to them to perform tasks because of the
size and geographical span of the company. The employees may work
in different offices 4, 6, 8, or from their homes 9. To manage
resources efficiently, a manager not only needs to know the
financial constraints on a project and the project roles necessary
to its completion, but also needs a mechanism by which to identify
resources that have the appropriate qualifying attributes and
capacitive attributes to fill the roles and perform the tasks.
[0030] In managing projects and resources, managers typically are
aided by software running on workstations and servers. As shown in
FIG. 3, each office of the company 4 typically has a local area
network (LAN) 300 connecting individual workstations 302, 304 to a
common server 306. Each work station has software installed on it
308, 310, and contains whatever data the user has created or uses
314, 316. Offices (both those with multiple employees and home
offices 6) are connected by a wide-area network (WAN) 320, which
can be, for example, the internet. At a home office 6, the
workstation also runs software and stores data.
[0031] The process of identifying appropriate resources for
projects and tasks of projects is made simpler by project resource
planning (PRP) software 402 (FIG. 4A) that enables managers to
define and plan projects and tasks in terms of roles needed to
perform them, and then separately and possibly at other times to
find employees who have the appropriate qualifying attributes and
capacitive attributes to fill the roles and perform the tasks. The
PRP software may run on one or more of the servers and/or one or
more of the workstations.
Overview of Defining Projects and Searching
[0032] The PRP software gives managers the tools to define the
needs of a project and make it easier to look for the resources
that will satisfy those needs. Working through a user interface 410
(FIG. 4A), the manager defines (for storage in a database 406) the
tasks that make up a project, the project roles necessary to the
project, the qualifying attributes and capacitive attributes that
each role should have, and which of the tasks are to be completed
by each role. (Alternatively, the manager may use pre-defined roles
that are already associated with sets of appropriate attributes and
are suitable for defining the roles needed for the tasks.) A search
engine uses the database information to identify, in another
database 412 of employee information, qualified resources who are
available at the specified times or during the critical time
periods. As information about tasks and assignments changes as the
project progresses, the database 412 (which is maintained
centrally) is updated. When tasks and assignments change in the
central system, employees are notified through a standard
commercial groupware program 414 (such as Microsoft
Exchange/Outlook or Lotus Domino/Notes) with which they are already
familiar.
[0033] The project roles are defined and entered without having to
choose a specific person who possesses the required attributes. The
project planner need not have someone specific in mind when setting
the needs of a project. Conversely, the manager can use the search
engine to run searches based on qualifying or capacitive attributes
without having created a project, or before creating the project,
in order to have an idea of the available resources. As indicated
in FIG. 18, during searching, the attributes (qualification
requirements) associated with a role can be marked as "mandatory"
or "optional," as the project manager wishes, for purposes of
searching. FIG. 19 shows an example of displayed search results.
FIG. 20 shows search results with utilization analysis separated by
hard booking (committed) and soft booking (tentative)
[0034] Once the necessary project roles have been determined, the
PRP software allows the project manager to assign the defined tasks
to abstract resources, that is, to project roles. The assignments
are then stored in database 406. For example, the project role of
consultant may be assigned the task of doing a cost-benefit
analysis (taking 7 hours), to be presented at a one-hour meeting on
Nov. 5, 2008. This assignment is stored before the project manager
has decided who will fill the role of consultant. This means that
the full project can be planned before any people are assigned to a
task, which allows for more comprehensive planning at an early
stage. It also means that once assignments are made, employees will
know exactly what tasks the assignment entails. It is also possible
to assign tasks after project roles have been filled by specific
resources.
[0035] The PRP software also allows the user to search the database
of employees by capacitive attributes. Using capacitive attribute
searches in conjunction with qualifying attribute searches allows
the project manager to determine assignments through analysis of
both data sets.
Assigning Tasks to Resources Temporarily and Overbooking
[0036] When assigning tasks to resources, the project manager may
not be certain that the task will be accepted by the resource, or
he may wish to assign someone temporarily, pending more
information. The PRP software gives an option of marking selections
as tentative assignments, rather than as default committed
assignment. When others access the database 412, they will be
informed of the status of that assignment. A project manager can
elect to search the availability and utilization categories in the
database 412 only based on fixed (i.e., committed) assignments of
resources, or using both tentative and committed assignments.
[0037] The PRP software allows an employee to be over-booked, that
is, scheduled for time commitments that represent more than 100%
utilization, whether the assignments that cause them to be
over-booked are tentative or committed. This is at the discretion
of the project manager.
WFM Core
[0038] The database 412 may, in some implementations, be a work
force management (WFM) core, such as the one available from SAP AG
of Walldorf, Germany. When a resource is assigned to a role by the
PRP software, the WFM core is updated, so that all utilization and
availability data is current. Through the PRP program, it is
possible to search the WFM database 412, thus checking availability
and utilization with respect to all resources within the
organization that are tracked in the WFM database. PRP software
then allows for the tentative or committed assignments to be made
for a given resource. These assignments can be changed at any time
during a project without losing the information associated with the
project role. This is true even if a role is unfilled for a period
of time.
Company Portal Posting
[0039] At the option of the project manager, vacant project roles
may be published or posted in a company portal 420 that is
accessible to all employees. This allows available employees to
sign up for available project roles, or allows their supervisors to
do so for them.
Groupware Link
[0040] The PRP software is set up for integration with groupware
applications 414, for example, the Microsoft Exchange and Lotus
Domino servers and through them the client-related software:
Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes. The SAP add-on CRM (Customer
Relationship Management) or a similar CRM system 416, contains
groupware adaptors 418, such as CRM middleware. The PRP software
provides the integration between the groupware and the WFM core
412. Employees are thus informed of the assignments that have been
made in the WFM core through their office groupware. Any changes in
tasks or assignments made by those involved in the project are
recorded in the WFM core through the groupware integration and will
be visible in the PRP application.
[0041] Through the PRP software, reports on individual projects can
be obtained. The reports show, for example, an overview of all
project roles and resource assignments for a project. The PRP
program may also be integrated with business analysis software 422,
such as SAP's BW (Business Information Warehouse) program. Through
BW, it is possible for employee utilization and availability data
across all projects to be analyzed. After the data is analyzed, a
general report (encompassing multiple projects) can be prepared in
the PRP program.
[0042] The PRP software uses the services of an application server
program 424 (for example SAPs application server) running on at
least one of the servers in the corporation and thus accessible
through LANs and WANs to at least some, perhaps all, of the
company's workstations. The application server provides a range of
functions for data management, and can be enhanced by add-on
software programs. Add-on programs can be organized in suites, such
as the add-on Collaboration Project Suite.
[0043] The WFM add-on program 408/412 contains a database of human
resource information and software to access it. The database keeps
track of the qualifying attributes and capacitive attributes of
employees. The PRP software interacts with this database and
extracts information in ways that are most convenient for resource
allocation planning. PRP allows the user to search through
resources based on criteria of qualifications, experience,
availability and utilization.
[0044] The, the human capital management (HCM) Extension Set 430,
includes "expert finding" capabilities.
Project Life Cycles
[0045] As shown in FIG. 7, the CRM program 416 specifies a typical
sales cycle for a project. The life cycle of a project--apart from
the sales or service life cycle--runs in parallel, e.g., within the
CRM and will go through a process of becoming more concrete
throughout the cycle.
[0046] As shown in FIGS. 4B and 14, projects in companies have life
cycles that include phases. For example, a beginning phase may be
an engagement phase, when the company is trying to bring in a
client. The company will make estimates of what services it can
provide a client and how much that will cost. In the offer phase,
the company and client negotiate on these matters. During these
phases, plans are not yet complete, yet feasibility and cost
estimates must be made.
[0047] Early in the engagement phase, projects are defined as
either planned or created. A planned project is one for which the
resource needs and phases have been mapped out. A created project
is one whose details are not entirely certain yet. Only the outline
or existence of the project has been created. The capacitive
attribute check as well as tentative employee-scheduling
information for a project can take place during these initial
client negotiations. The roles and tasks or requirements of the
project can be roughly specified during this offer phase.
[0048] The projects become more concrete throughout the project
life cycle. For example, the project will be refined in the offer
phase, because pricing is necessary for the offer. When a client
accepts an offer, an order is generated, which results in the
project becoming concrete (and being designated as released); after
that, the resources are committed and definite customer meetings
are fixed.
[0049] The project is exposed to constant changes during the
fulfillment phase of the project. Positions may be newly assigned
(for example, as a result of a failure in planning). The project
may be under-assigned or over-assigned. New tasks may be added or
dropped. Assignments may be changed. During the fulfillment phase,
overhead and costs (travel costs, expenses) for the project or for
the individual tasks are recorded (and designated time and
expense). The project progress is tracked. When project tasks are
completed, they are reported as such.
Types of Projects
[0050] Projects can be classified in different categories including
professional service projects (such as consulting) and
spot-consulting projects (short projects that only require the
performance of one task for completion).
[0051] As shown in FIG. 5, consulting projects are accompanied by a
list of project roles, structured sets of tasks (project tasks) and
their relationships. They can be defined by a set of phases of the
projects. The project tasks can be defined through
event-relationships as predecessor and successor.
[0052] The project types can be chosen by the project planner
during project creation in a customizing feature (or, depending on
the language, in a text table) of the user interface 410. A set of
predefined project types, e.g., development-projects, consulting
projects, and spot-consulting projects (mini-consulting project
with overhead<10-20 days) may be supplied with the project
resource software, stored on the database 406.
Controlling of the User Interface
[0053] The project types 406 help control the user interface 410,
so that certain interface elements can be hidden or shown based on
settings for the project type. This simplifies the interface and
hides those functions that are unnecessary to a given project type.
For example, for a professional service project, a complex search
for suitable resources may not be necessary if the resources are
manually assigned to the project. However, for a consulting
project, a complex search function for suitable and available
resources in database 412 is useful. For a spot-consulting project,
phases, checklists, and collaboration typically are not
necessary.
[0054] The user can customize settings for each project type. For
example, resource searches in database 412 can be made active or
inactive. Also, the time units that are entered and measured can be
specified as workdays, hours, etc. The user can elect to hide
phases of a project (in which case a dummy phase is generated in
the background and is not seen on the interface). Checklists can be
designated as being active or inactive, as can collaborations. The
available project role types are dependent on the project type.
Identification and Management of Projects
[0055] Every project has a 24-digit external project number, which
is the external key for the project. Internally, the project is
uniquely identified through a generic unique identifier (GUID).
Besides its external project number, every project is also
associated with a 40-character short text, which represents the
name of the project. The project can be defined through any free
text.
[0056] The data concerning a project is stored as a project file in
the database 406. The project file may be reached through the user
interface 410 using the identifiers.
Project Role--Responsible Party
[0057] A project role called ordering party (also called the
responsible person or project planner) exists for every project,
regardless of project type, and will be displayed to all users.
[0058] The ordering party can be designated as either an attribute
of the project or as a separate project role in the project. The
ordering party is the user who is in charge of locating and
assigning resources to the project. A responsible organization unit
is also assigned. The responsibility for the project can thus be
fixed in the organizational structure of the project. Typically,
the manager of the organization unit is the responsible person.
However, the responsible person need not be assigned to the
responsible organization unit. It is necessary for at least one of
these categories (responsible person or responsible organizational
unit) to be designated.
[0059] A priority value can be used to state the importance of the
project. Different priority categories can be chosen by the user in
the customizing feature (or in a text table) of the user
interface.
Project Roles
[0060] The set of project roles for a project describe all the
resources (e.g., people) for the project, e.g., the project
team.
[0061] The types of project roles that can be used in the
definition of a project are specified as project role types using
the customizing feature (or, depending on the language, in a text
table). The project role types that are defined within the
customizing feature are dependent on the particular project type
and can thus be different for different project types. In
consulting projects, for example, one typically defines the project
role types as project leader and consultant. In development
projects, the necessary project role types are usually project
leader, developer, architect, etc.
[0062] The number of project role types could be limited by
customizing and may coincide with a management description of all
possible project roles for all project types. The business
management descriptions are defined within the customizing feature.
In consulting projects, for example, the number of possible project
role types is fewer than ten. It is expected that the project
planner will think about the management early in the project life
cycle, before projects are defined, so that the necessary project
role types are available. Linking of the project roles to
information maintained in the CRM 416 add-on allows the project
roles to be priced.
[0063] Various project role types may be defined for a variety of
project types, as different project roles are associated with
different project types. For example, the role of project leader
appears in all project types, whereas consultant appears only in
consulting projects.
[0064] Other attributes can also be selected in the customizing
feature. Among these are required qualifying attribute
requirements, such as descriptions of generic qualitative
requirements (from a qualifying attribute catalog) of the project
role type. Also there are authorization options, which allow the
user to set limits on what project roles are authorized to do. The
project leader, for example, has administrative authorizations for
the project and can change entries through PRP.
[0065] Project roles are also identified as either relevant for
resource planning or not, based on whether the role has any
concrete commitments. If not, the role is marked as irrelevant,
since no human resource requirement is created in the WFM core for
these project roles.
[0066] The attributes of the project roles, which are stored as
customizing information, are expressed as suggested values that can
be changed or modified during project management or resource
planning. For the qualifying attribute requirements, certain
general qualifying attributes should be defined. For operative
project management, the qualifying attribute requirements are
specified more precisely. The authorizations can be changed while
defining the project.
The User Interface
[0067] In the user interface, a user has an overview of all project
roles for each project, all assignments of resources to roles
(including their start and end dates), and overhead, both planned
overhead and already covered overhead (see FIG. 15). The name of
the project role is initially taken from the project role type as
the suggested value, but can be modified, so that it is clearly
visible in the overview. The name of the assigned employee is also
shown on the overview, along with a time period for the work, and
the overhead.
[0068] The client can set which columns are visible by customizing
the interface.
[0069] The assignment of an employee to a project role can be
directly recorded by a project planner without using the search
function. The user can assign project roles directly in an overview
screen of the user interface, e.g., if the project role assignment
has already been arranged outside the system. Deletion and copying
of project roles is likewise possible directly through the overview
screen.
[0070] Each project role is associated with a series of attributes
that are not directly displayed in the overview screen. To access
these, navigation into the project details is necessary. The
additional attributes are project role type, project role,
overhead, description (describing the project role in terms of
tasks or qualifying attribute requirements), and preference for a
particular candidate. The preference option does not produce an
actual assignment, but serves only as a filter criterion, so that
the desired candidate is always added or included with the search
results. Resources are identified as either internal or external to
the company
[0071] In the user interface, the required qualifying attributes
for a project role may be selected from a qualifying attribute
catalog. The qualifying attribute requirements can be marked as
mandatory or optional. The qualification catalog distinguishes
between qualification groups and qualifications. Qualification
groups are an organizational tool that structures the qualifying
attribute catalog; they cannot be used as concrete qualifying
attribute requirements for the project role.
[0072] It can be specified that the project roles only be filled by
employees who hold a certain job or is part of one/some
organizations within the company.
[0073] A project role can be assigned to one or more tasks even
though no specific person holds the project role for the task
assignment. The project assignment planning can be performed after
the task assignments are made. When assigning tasks or project
roles, the user can specify the time period or time interval for
the task and the overhead. When the two are being split between
different employees, this can be specified.
[0074] Employees who have responsible roles in a project can be
assigned directly to a project role without using a search
function. For example, the project leader will typically be
assigned outside the system, and then his name can be entered into
the system.
[0075] A single project role can be assigned to multiple people,
but only in disjunctive time intervals. No more than one employee
can be assigned to one project role at a time. If several people
are assigned at the same time, multiple identical project roles are
created by copying.
[0076] Project roles can also be assigned to any employees who
represent responsible units, including organization units, even
though no resource planning is necessary for those employees or
units. For example, a representative of an outside firm responsible
for a task can be entered into a project role.
[0077] It may also be possible to do capacitive planning at the
level of organization units. In this case, rough planning of the
capacities available in the organization units could be
supported.
[0078] The system is not entirely dependent on the data that has
been entered into WFM. As shown in FIG. 10, if the company wants to
work with an individual who hasn't been entered into the system
(usually an external business partner), that person can be assigned
to a project role. To do this, basic data about the business
partner can be entered in a separate dialog box, for example, the
name, e-mail address, user-ID, address, country, and telephone
number of the new business partner.
[0079] A project structure template can be stored that contains
information about phases, checklists, tasks, and project roles for
a given type of project. The template includes associated project
roles and can include individual project role assignments. For
example, the decision maker roles are often constant across various
projects, because these are people with a high degree of
responsibility (such as the manager of a certain division). These
people can be therefore individually identified in the
template.
Search to Assign People to Roles
[0080] To assign project roles (e.g., project leader) to specific
employees, the search function of the user interface can be used.
The search function adopts all the data, for example, attributes,
necessary for the search from the project role as the search
criteria. The search criteria can also be changed within the
dialogs of the search function without affecting the attributes of
the project role. Additional search criteria are the maximum number
of matches to be shown and project experience (which is a measure
of experience with, for example, particular customers, particular
projects, or relevant industries). Among the criteria that can be
manually specified are the name of a desired candidate, if there is
a specific employee desired for the job, certain parts of the
organization to which the search is to be restricted, qualifying
attributes, and capacitive attributes (including
regularly-scheduled meetings), and whether more than one person can
fill the project role (at different times), or whether it must be
filled by only one employee throughout.
Expert Finder
[0081] Other information may be provided by the candidates for a
task. The types of information can be set through customizing, and
include, for example, use of an expert finder such as the SAP
Expert Finder. The search function for qualitative and capacitive
attributes can be used in conjunction with the WFM core. The expert
finder supports a standard process for expert searches in the
entire company, which can be modified to meet the requirements of
the company. With the integration of the expert finder into the
search function, both free text search and the search for
unstructured data (for example, from an LDAP (lightweight directory
access protocol) directory, or HR data, jobs/positions, previous
employer data, etc.) are supported.
[0082] With the expert finder, employees can specify their area of
knowledge in an expert profile which is custom made for them. These
expert profiles are stored in XML-documents.
[0083] Initially the expert profile types, the search scenarios,
and the search screens in the application are depicted.
[0084] Because employees are involved in many different areas of
activities (e.g., as secretary, account manager, marketing
specialist), they possess knowledge in different fields. The
elements of the expert profile of an employee are distinguished
from those of other employees, which is reflected in the fact that
in the expert profile of a secretary, for example, elements other
than those in the expert profile of a manager can be offered. FIG.
8 shows an expert profile.
[0085] Every employee edits his personal expert profile. Master
data can be read into the expert profile automatically through an
LDAP interface. The employee then fills the offered fields. As soon
as the employee saves the inputs, the expert profile is released
for search or forwarded to the supervisor for release.
[0086] Use of Workflow Add On
[0087] By using a work flow application, such as the SAP-workflow
add-on, the expert profile of an employee can be verified by his
supervisor and then integrated. The expert profile is available for
search in the expert finder only when it has been released. For
this, the expert profiles make use of a status management, which
controls not only the release by the supervisor, but also enables
the employee to block his expert profile from the search at
anytime.
[0088] After a search is performed, a list of candidates is
displayed, which the search function has identified from the search
criteria. The list contains details such as the names of the
candidates, although for users who are not fully authorized to
access such information, names are withheld. The name of the person
responsible for the candidate (which is usually the manager of the
organization unit to which the candidate belongs) is also provided.
The candidate name is displayed as a link, and a mailto function
(e-mail) is available. The e-mail address is determined from the
employee's data. Other details in the list include telephone
contact(s) to the responsible person, the name of the candidate's
organization unit, and a match value (a measure, expressed as a
percentage, of how closely the candidate's qualifying attributes
match the searched-for qualifying attributes). If the project role
has already been assigned to tasks that have qualifying attribute
requirements themselves, these are also considered for the profile
comparison. The availability attributes are also considered (for
example, a measure (by percent) of the available versus demanded
time of the candidate).
[0089] For every candidate, one can navigate into a detailed view
using a link. The detailed view gives information about how the
match values and the degree of availability were derived, and
displays other information about the candidate. Besides general
details about the candidate, there is also a profile comparison
section, which compares the qualifying attributes of the candidate
to the required qualifying attributes associated with the project
role. If the project role has already been assigned to tasks and
the tasks in turn have qualifying attribute requirements, these are
considered for the profile comparison. The candidate's assignment
calendar is also displayed, as is a list of all projects the
candidate has been involved with so far, including the project
roles played in those projects.
[0090] From this screen, the user can adopt one or more candidates
as favorites for the project role, or can redo the search. The
initial search criteria are retained, but are extended or
restricted by the user.
[0091] One or more candidates can now be assigned to the project
role. Since a committed project assignment often depends on the
consent of people being assigned or those responsible for them, the
candidate list is initially shown as tentative. The tentative
reservation can be converted into a committed one after approval
has been obtained.
[0092] The candidate list for the project role remains until the
user deletes the candidate. Thus when changes in management occur,
for example, one can resort to the former candidate again and
again. The favorite list is retained in the PRP application
database 406 and is not part of the WFM core. The management of the
favorites list is left to the user himself.
[0093] A role assignment can be marked as tentative or committed.
Begin and end dates are also marked, as is the overhead (which is
measured in units customizable to the user, such as workdays). At
the time of assignment, there is an option to input free text
relating to a choice.
[0094] Within a project, people are planned under various parts of
the project in one workflow or work is distributed to people, i.e.,
time specifications are established for employees and business
partners. These allocations are managed centrally in the WFM core.
On the other side, the involved employees must be notified of their
assignments.
[0095] Groupware enables employees to handle email, assignments,
and tasks. By integrating resources with the calendar appointments,
multi-phase planning is possible, i.e., detailed planning
(assignments) can be adopted directly from the employees
themselves. Groupware integration ensures that changed assignments
(appointments and tasks) are synchronized with the WFM core.
Tasks as Part of a Project
[0096] As shown in FIG. 9, besides the project roles, there are
tasks to be completed in the project. Even without a reference to
project roles, project tasks can be defined in a consulting
project. The project task contains, like the project role, a time
definition, qualifying attribute requirements, and overhead
description. The project tasks can be structured hierarchically, in
a tree structure, i.e., a refinement of tasks can be done at any
time in the consulting project.
[0097] The task assignments can take place without people already
being assigned to the project roles. The planning of consulting
projects can thus be done anonymously. This is because during the
project assignment planning, not only the specifications in the
project role, but also those of the assigned tasks, are to be
considered.
[0098] The definition of project tasks within a consulting project
is not mandatory. The project roles can be used to find and
allocate suitable and available people in the project assignment
planning.
[0099] The project tasks are defined within a phase or a checklist
item of the project. The project tasks are defined by the
qualifying attribute requirements and overhead (which correlates
with capacitive attributes). The required variants for qualifying
attribute requirements are selected from a scale model. The
attributes can be marked as mandatory or optional. The qualifying
attribute catalog distinguishes between qualifications groups and
qualifying attributes, wherein the relevant scales must be set up
for the qualification groups.
[0100] A task can be assigned to one or more project roles.
Therefore, the sum of the overhead in the tasks and in the project
roles may not be equal. Yet these are merely alternate views or a
different distribution of the total overhead in the project.
Ideally the total overhead in the tasks corresponds exactly to the
sum of the overhead in the project roles. However, this status is
not a prerequisite to continued planning, as it is typically
fulfilled only in a fully planned project.
[0101] Based on the definition of project roles and project tasks,
human resources are required that reflect the attributes associated
with the project roles and the topic-oriented or process-oriented
attributes within the project that the project tasks describe. This
human resource requirement is stored abstractly. Both the human
resource requirements and the resources and assignments are
centrally stored.
[0102] The WFM core contains all availability information and
qualifying attributes of employees, including all assignments that
have been planned for the employee.
[0103] As shown in FIG. 12, a user is either directly allocated
with the organizational structure unit position through a link, or
is allocated as a business partner indirectly through a central
person to the position. The position can alternatively be linked
through a simulated link directly with the business partner. This
simulated link is used especially for analysis and analysis
methods. In this arrangement, the central person does not appear on
the interface.
[0104] The position of project planner need not necessarily have a
link, and thus also manage the disposition of his own resources.
When this link is not maintained, but the user has to execute the
task of project planning, an approval process is necessary with the
responsible person. The approval is not necessary if the planner is
also the manager of the organization unit and thus is also the
resource-responsible person. The position can be delegated from the
responsible person to the project planner. It is not necessary that
the position be present in the same organization structure for
which resource planning is done. The position resource planner has
a link with all organization units, for which the position is
competent in the sense of disposition of resources. The semantics
is inherited along the organization structure, i.e. the position is
likewise competent for all its subordinate organization units.
[0105] While creating a project, a current user is identified first
as a business partner. This business partner is used as the
suggested value for the responsible person, and the value can be
changed.
[0106] A project can be assigned to a responsible organization unit
that is specified while creating a project. For finding suitable
organization units, so-called workflow rules can be used. The user
may declare his organizational structure units (organization units
and positions) competent for certain areas.
[0107] Rules are defined by specifying competencies for certain
criteria (e.g., of the customer or business partner). The rule
definition is of the type "competencies," because the competencies
for certain criteria and the depiction in organizational structure
units are defined in the rules. For this, the customer may create
new competencies by filling at least some predefined container
elements. The relevant organizational structure units are position,
organization unit, and person.
[0108] Examples of competencies that concern the customers are the
role of the business partner (e.g. customer, goods receiver,
ordering party etc.), address (e.g. ZIP code, country), line of
industry, and marketing features.
[0109] The workload for a project is determined from the competence
of the user for these projects, based on his organizational
assignment. Each project has information stored on who the
competent people are--both the person working on the project and
the competent organization unit.
[0110] Through a link, the organizational allocation of the user is
identified and thus the position and organization unit also. With
these details, the relevant projects are selected and placed in the
workload.
User Interface
[0111] In the navigation of the PRP portal, certain elements can be
hidden, since they are unimportant for certain applications, e.g.,
checklist elements and acceptances. In addition, other elements can
be shown, such as a direct search option for resources (without any
project reference) and a search option for project vacancies.
[0112] Certain tabs can be hidden for certain project types through
customizing, e.g., collaborations, control plans, objects links,
organization structure, and qualifying attributes. The organization
and qualifications tabs are automatically hidden when there is no
data available for them.
[0113] Certain elements of the project structure may be hidden for
certain project types through customizing, e.g., checklists and
checklist points. For the structuring of tasks, phases are sensible
and not redundant, therefore, phases and tasks need not necessarily
be hidden.
[0114] In lists within the application, the displayed columns can
be personalized. It is possible to hide or show certain columns, so
the lists won't be too confusing. For this purpose, there is a
suitable dialog, which allows the user to select the columns to be
displayed.
Stopping Projects
[0115] A project can be rejected or cancelled in relation to a
specific employee without deleting the project. A project may also
be temporarily put on hold or stopped before it is completed. In an
already running project, individual phases or even tasks may be
rejected. In such cases, the human resources assigned to the
project must be released and the demands and assignments in WFM be
deleted with respect to the future. Past assignments are not
affected by deletions.
[0116] Typically, a running project is not simply rejected, but is
scheduled for a certain time and then perhaps rejected. In that
case, the resource allocations in the PRP program are archived in
the database 406 and therefore accessible later in the project as
well as after the project has been completed. The status of
"stopped" can also be withdrawn from an employee if the employee is
reinstated in his earlier project role.
[0117] When a project has been marked with the stopped status, the
elements of the project may be blocked from further change.
[0118] When WFM assignments are deleted, then, through the
groupware integration software, the future meetings and tasks in
the groupware for that assignment are deleted. Tasks and meetings
that are ongoing are restricted. In future searches, the employees'
newly calculated capacitive attributes will be shown. The resources
allocated to a cancelled project, like those allocated to a
completed project, are released for overall planning purposes. It
is not necessary, however, to get the resource allocations for the
status stopped over the entire period, since the resources have to
be planned once again anyway on resuming the project. A cancelled
project can be reset again in the old status. When this occurs, the
favorites that were specified remain selected.
[0119] A project role can be copied with all the dependent data,
including general attributes, qualifying attribute requirements,
and favorites. The copying facilitates maintenance when many
similar project roles will be defined. The copying function is
possible only within a project.
[0120] A copy role button is available in the role navigator
function of the user interface, separate from the create role
button. To use this function, the user selects a project role to be
copied and clicks on a role copying button, then the copied project
role is selected and its details are displayed on the right side
for further processing.
[0121] Favorites for one project role can be copied to one or
several other project role(s), including favorites that encompass
all the project roles.
[0122] Besides task assignments to the project roles, the reverse
maintenance of role assignments to tasks is also an option. Similar
to the task assignments, this view allows the user to look at what
tasks must be completed and assign them to project roles, rather
than looking at project roles and then choosing tasks. The data
that is shown in role assignments is the same as in the view for
task assignments.
[0123] The responsibility for a task is distinguished from the
execution or performance of the task. For an extensive task, only
one role can be responsible, but many roles can be assigned to work
on it. While non-responsible project roles may be assigned for only
part of the specified time-period of the project, responsible
project roles must be assigned throughout the time period of the
project.
[0124] The appropriate roles may be selected for project roles from
a drop-down list-box. A basic clarification is to be made, while
specifying a responsible role, whether the validity periods of the
project role must be checked. Only the project roles which cover
the period of the task may be suggested for the selection of the
responsible role.
[0125] In some implementations, the responsible role for a task is
simultaneously a processing project role. While specifying the
responsible role for the task, this is stored additionally as role
assignment of the task.
[0126] In the user interface, there is a tab for role assignment to
enable detail maintenance of each task. Within the tab, a set of
project roles for task processing can be specified in a list (table
view). In the list, the same data as in the task allocation can be
specified. This includes the start and end date of the project,
overhead, and a suggestion for the maximum possible allocation
period. New entries can be made in the list using the button that
says create role assignment. By means of a dropdown list box, a
valid project role should have been selected beforehand. In the
dropdown list box, the current resource assignment to the project
role is also displayed.
[0127] In other implementations, to be able to distinguish between
responsibility and execution, the performer and the responsible
person are entered manually.
[0128] The PRP software forces non-ambiguity about the transitivity
by requiring that a project role may be held by no more than one
person. Thus, at most one person can be assigned to one task. This
special case is controlled by customizing for the project type. The
assignment of a person to a task may be split time-wise, but with
the restriction to one person. The distribution of overhead is thus
always unambiguous, because the overhead is explicitly specified in
the task assignment of the project role. Thus, the work load can be
clearly determined.
[0129] In customizing project role types, the qualifying attribute
requirements can be defined so that these are inherited in the
application. The customizing view permits the input of qualifying
attribute requirements, i.e., the qualifying attributes are
available even in the customizing function.
[0130] Each project has a feature that contains all the project
elements required for resource planning and thus offers an overview
of the project. The evaluation contains no information about, e.g.,
checklists, checklist points, documents, etc. The evaluation is
displayed in a tree-like format, showing the relationships among
assignments and tasks in different ways. In the first branch, the
screen shows the phases that make up a project, the tasks that are
associated with each of the phases, the project roles to whom the
tasks are allocated, and finally, the employee or business partner
who will fill the project role. The second branch displays the
group of project roles that make up a project team, the employees
assigned to the respective roles, and the tasks assigned to each
employee. The third branch displays the project by showing all
involved employees, the project roles to which they have been
assigned, and the tasks assigned to those roles.
[0131] In the overview format, the business analysis software 422
can respond immediately. The analysis offers a three-fold overview
by showing all information relating to the project structure, the
project roles and their allocations, and the project team (assigned
employees) and their assignments. The overview indicates whether
and where action has to be taken by the user, e.g., when a task is
not completely covered through the role allocation, or a project
role is not assigned or not fully assigned.
[0132] Within the project, an overview shows all the resources
including their role assignments at one glance. Maintaining certain
attributes of resource assignment through a list is useful in the
change-management function because the maintenance of attributes
through the detail screen is cumbersome.
[0133] Dropdown menus are used to navigate the project overview.
Since all the resources allocated to the project are listed in the
overview list, one may close a role navigator leaving the entire
screen is available for the list. Then, the columns displayed will
be project role (name), beginning time for role, ending time for
role, overhead, tentative booking (checkbox), beginning of resource
allocation, end of resource allocation, and overhead of resource
allocation.
[0134] The assignment of an employee to a project role is marked
with an attribute that distinguishes between soft booking, which is
a tentative assignment and hard booking, which is a committed
assignment. The distinction is indicated in a checkbox in the user
interface, see FIG. 17. When not checked, the meeting is committed;
when checked, the assignment is marked as tentative. These
checkboxes are available in the resource allocation table and the
assignment overview table. Individual meetings can likewise be
marked as tentative or committed. The default setting is for
committed assignments and meetings, but this can be changed in
customizing or can be personalized by user parameters. When a
project assignment itself is marked as tentative, meetings may
still be marked as committed.
[0135] Utilization can be measured either by availability on the
basis of committed bookings or by availability on the basis of both
committed and tentative bookings. In this way, the project planner
can assess the degree of utilization of the employee. The user can
choose which method of utilization measurement he would like to
see, or can look at both. The options are marked as radio buttons
in the general search criteria menu of the resource search.
Typically, only some of the tentative bookings become committed.
This causes resources to be marked as utilized more than 100%.
[0136] The tentative and committed marks are shown in the groupware
programs used by employees. The groupware integration software
causes meetings that are marked as tentative to show up as, for
example, free time in the Microsoft Outlook. Meetings that are
marked as committed in the PRP software will show up as, for
example, busy time periods in Microsoft Outlook. In WFM, the flags
for the attributes "planned" and "booked" are set. The search
result displays the percentage rate of availability relative to the
requirements (the overhead required), and the percentage rate of
utilization in the period. The rate of utilization has sub-columns
that show total utilization (committed and tentative assignments
and meetings), how much of that utilization is tentative, and how
much is committed.
[0137] In the appointment calendar, the tentative and committed
meetings are displayed with the same color as in the date
navigator. Here, a corresponding tool tip for the cells also
exists.
[0138] Periodic tasks can be set in the task recurrence window.
These can be weekly (FIG. 21), monthly, or can have more
complicated descriptions, as allowed in the window.
[0139] The project role definition can also include periodic time
allotments, e.g. "the project leader is required only on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays, within the time from . . . to . . . ,
with the overhead of x days." This periodicity is formulated in the
project role definition, and not in the allocation between project
role and resource. The user interface for the definition of the
project role has such a periodic time definition. See FIGS. 16 and
22.
[0140] The meetings assigned to an employee through his project
role can also be set as periodic, e.g., "the consultant has a
customer appointment only on Wednesdays from 09:00-17:00 hrs within
the time from . . . to . . . ". The periodicities from the role are
adopted as suggested in the appointments, but can be changed or
redefined there. Appointments are depicted in WFM as refinement of
capacitive assignments. These sub-assignments support periodic
rules.
[0141] When changing or deleting periodic appointments, the user
can decide whether to change only the current appointment, only
future appointments, or all appointments in the series. The set
periodicities from the project role are part of the search function
and can be changed even there.
[0142] The direct resource search (without reference to a
particular project) appears in the top-level menu, through which
one navigates directly in the search screen (see FIG. 24). This
search supports only a selection of search criteria and a match
list. In the match list, making contact with the resources or the
people responsible for the resource through e-mail is supported. A
primary task for the consultant manager is to ensure good
utilization of resources. Since projects or assignments are often
postponed or rejected, it is necessary to search for suitable
alternative/vacancies in other projects for the available
(unutilized) resources.
[0143] There is an authorization check that enables the company to
control who may search all projects for project role openings. One
way this is accomplished is through naming certain employees
resource managers. This title gives employees access to data
concerning all projects. For this role, the relevant authorization
can be specified in the project itself, e.g. "only display".
[0144] When assigning project roles, the project manager is given
the option of marking the project role as a vacancy. Project
vacancies (once marked) are placed in a market place (e.g., through
portal 420), which can be viewed by available employees or the
responsible consulting managers in order to allocate their
resources to suitable projects. Appropriate authorization is
required to post vacancies and can also be required for viewing.
The project leader sets the project role to vacant, while the
resource manager, who is responsible for the optimal utilization of
his employees, has access to the information. The employee can
inform himself directly about the vacancies in projects from the
market place.
[0145] The function element should provide the following data: data
on the project, project number, project name, responsible role and
the responsible business partner (including e-mail), ordering party
and customer, data on project role (e.g. project vacancy), name of
the project role, time period, overhead, description of the project
role, qualifications, and task assignments.
[0146] Available projects can be searched by reference to a
specific employee (such as his name, qualifying attributes, or
capacitive attributes), the time period of the project, overhead,
the status of projects, project role, or by customer or the
ordering party.
[0147] When searching project vacancies by qualifying attributes,
the user can deactivate certain qualifying attributes for the
search using a check box.
[0148] The result list of the search enables the planner to
temporarily store some projects initially in the favorites.
[0149] In the favorites list, the planner can order more detailed
information on the project (through navigation), if he has
authorization and/or the planner establishes contact with the
relevant responsible person for the project. The list therefore
contains the names of the responsible person for a project and
support communication with the contacts (by e-mail or telephone).
See FIG. 28.
[0150] A resource search may also use as search criteria the
identity of the customer or ordering party. This option finds the
resources which have been allocated in a previous project for this
customer or ordering party. A match list generated by the resource
search can be adapted for display. Using a dropdown list above the
match list, different pre-set layouts can be selected. One layout
could be for a manager with a free resource, another for resource
suitability and availability. It is also possible for each user to
customize his settings, for example, by choosing which columns to
display. The number of lines in the match list can be set; thus on
the same screen, the details of an employee can also be displayed.
Each user's setting is then stored.
[0151] One of the standard settings for the search criteria used in
the resource search can specify that initially, suitable and
available resources should be searched from one's own organization
unit. This applies as a standard setting only when the user has not
entered any details in the organization structure for the
search.
[0152] In one alternative, the user's organization unit is
determined by analyzing the organizational allocation (user to
business partner to plan positions to organization unit, or a new
responsibility-relationship such as user to business partner to (".
. . is responsible for . . . ") to organization unit.
[0153] In another alternative, in the search criteria, the selected
organization units are stored in relation to the user, and are used
repeatedly as the presetting.
[0154] WFM relates in various ways to PRP. In the PRP software, an
employee can be assigned to a project role by capacity, e.g., 3
workdays in the period from Jan. 11, 2002 to Aug. 11, 2002. This
capacitive assignment is transferred in the PRP program to WFM to
enable a complete utilization study to be made of the resource. The
capacitive allocation must be taken into account in addition to the
committed assignments to study availability or utilization. This
allows the correct calculation of availability of the resource
because committed assignments are not to be seen as adding to the
capacitive allocations. Tentative and committed assignments are
also recorded.
[0155] While evaluating the assignments in WFM with regard to the
reduction of the availability of the resource, only the working
hours of the resource are used as reduction quota in the assignment
period, e.g., each day would have an input of 8 free hours, rather
than 24.
[0156] Spot-consulting means planning small projects.
Spot-consulting has no specified project structure. There is only
one management task, e.g., the project itself. Also, there are no
phases or tasks assigned to the project. There is an underlying
customer order of some type and the overhead is small (e.g., 1 to
10 consulting days). Typically, there is only one project role for
one employee or business partner.
[0157] For easy finding of free appointments for the resources, the
date navigator uses a display of many colors, so that the user does
not have to unnecessarily navigate through the calendar, but can
directly detect free days, where he can set appointments. In WFM,
different categories can exist for particular time specifications,
e.g., vacation days, sicknesses, working hours etc. The categories
from WFM are used in order to display this at least in the day view
of the appointment calendar. Whole-day categories (e.g. leave,
sickness etc.) are displayed in the week view as well.
[0158] To find an appointment for a group of employees, an
appointment search for a set of employees is required. For this,
the free/busy analysis that is available in groupware programs is
used. See FIG. 30. In order to find a common appointment for a
group of employees, such an analysis is performed for all the
members of the group. With the help of a relevant interface, it
should be possible to find an available appointment for a set of
persons and even fix an appointment directly. The availability data
of individuals can be read from WFM as time intervals.
[0159] The financial calculations of a project can take place at an
early stage including during the planning. The project may be
roughly calculated to prepare an offer to a customer even when no
person has been allocated yet. For fixed price projects, a budget
is necessary which requires a calculation on the basis of the
project role. In the area of professional service, the payment
rates or settlement rates (internal/external) are applied for the
project roles, in order to perform rough and simple calculations.
These payment rates or settlement rates are plan proceeds. The
program uses a settlement rate or payment rate (separated according
to internal/external) for the project role types in customizing. By
multiplying the planned overhead of all project roles with the
settlement rate, a sum can then be determined very easily, which,
e.g., can be used in an offer.
[0160] Certain project roles can be marked as not relevant for
invoicing in the project structuring itself, since these roles may
not be taken into consideration in the calculation of the project
overhead. Examples include a decision maker, a project responsible
person, etc.
[0161] Several appointments may be sent simultaneously for one
resource. In the overview of appointments in the appointments tab,
multiple sending is offered. Tasks and appointments can be sent for
several selected persons simultaneously. For this, checkboxes are
used, rather than single-select buttons.
[0162] The techniques described above can be implemented in
software, hardware, firmware, or a combination of them using a wide
variety of available platforms. FIG. 29 illustrates the conceptual
relationship between concepts used in the PRP and related concepts
of WFM and Groupware for two different possible implementations of
the PRP.
[0163] Other implementations are also within the scope of the
following claims.
* * * * *