Schedule adjustment system and schedule adjustment method

Abstract

To assign meeting participation to potential meeting participants on an organizer side in consideration of situations of team classification and existing events of the potential participants and, at the same time, adjust schedules without double booking.SOLUTION: In a schedule adjustment device, a schedule adjustment unit divides potential participants into teams on the basis of an assignment formula, extracts, as first potential schedules for each of the teams, common available schedules satisfying adjustment conditions among all potential participants constituting the team, determines at least one schedule that is a first potential schedule of the team to be a second potential schedule, determines a meeting schedule from the second potential schedule in accordance with selections of adjustment counterparts, and assigns, to the team for which the meeting schedule is extracted as the first potential schedule, an event of the meeting schedule according to an order of the assignment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a schedule adjustment device, a schedule adjustment method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, arranging the date of a business meeting has been a very tedious and time-consuming task, as it requires numerous steps such as checking the schedules of each participant and reserving a venue.

[0003] Regarding confirmation of the schedules of the participants, since many business people nowadays manage their schedules using calendar tools provided on the Internet, it is conceivable to refer to the calendar tools.

[0004] Regarding calendar tools, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a schedule information sharing method including a step of registering a plurality of applicants who are members of a system for distributing and sharing schedule information via the Internet and who apply for distribution of schedule information, and a plurality of users who will use the distributed schedule information, and the following steps executed by a scheduler that manages schedules, wherein the applicants disclose and distribute the schedule information to the users, the users register targets to which they wish to receive the disclosed schedule information, and, based on the registered targets of the users' desired distribution, synchronize and preset the schedule information related to these targets in the calendars of all user terminals. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-219831 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The technology described in Patent Document 1 can be used to arrange meeting dates because multiple users who are members of the system can share schedule information with each other. However, even if the system is used, the schedules of meeting participants can be updated and changed from moment to moment, so it is difficult to arrange a meeting date without the meeting time overlapping with each participant's existing plans, i.e., without double booking.

[0007] Also, for example, in the case of a company that holds many meetings such as business negotiations and job interviews every day, participation in business negotiations and other meetings is often distributed and assigned to multiple staff members or teams, taking into consideration the workload and schedule of each staff member (staff member or team). Therefore, it is desirable to be able to simultaneously allocate meeting participation to each staff member and adjust schedules. However, with conventional schedule adjustment tools, it is not possible to simultaneously allocate meeting participation taking into consideration team divisions and the workload of each staff member (the status of other scheduled meetings) and adjust schedules without double bookings.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of the current situation, and aims to allocate participation in a meeting to potential participants (such as employees of the hosting company in charge of business negotiations, job interviews, etc.) on the hosting company's side, taking into consideration the division of the potential participants into teams and the situation of existing schedules, while at the same time adjusting the schedule without double bookings. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present application includes a number of means for solving at least part of the above problems, examples of which are as follows.

[0010] In order to solve the above problem, a schedule adjustment device according to one aspect of the present invention includes an adjustment condition setting unit that sets an adjustment condition template that can be repeatedly used for adjusting the schedule of different meetings, and a schedule adjustment unit that adjusts the meeting schedule based on the adjustment condition template, and the adjustment condition setting unit registers adjustment conditions including participant candidates for the meeting and an allocation method including an allocation formula and an allocation order in the adjustment condition template based on an input from a coordination initiator, and the schedule adjustment unit classifies the participant candidates into teams based on the allocation formula in response to an access by a coordination partner based on access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template. The schedule information of the candidate participants managed by a calendar tool is referenced, and for each team, a common available date that satisfies the coordination conditions of all of the candidate participant participants constituting the team is extracted as a first candidate date, the date that is the first candidate date of at least one of the teams is determined to be a second candidate date, the second candidate date is presented to a terminal device used by the coordination partner, the meeting date is determined from the presented second candidate dates in accordance with the selection of the coordination partner, and the determined meeting date is assigned to the team for which it has been extracted as the first candidate date in accordance with the assignment order.

[0011] The adjustment condition setting unit can register the adjustment conditions including a judgment unit period and an allocation upper limit number in the adjustment condition template based on input from the adjustment initiator, and the schedule adjustment unit can exclude all schedules in the judgment unit period in which the number of judgment target schedules of the participant candidate in the judgment unit period is equal to or greater than the allocation upper limit number from the first candidate schedule of the team to which the participant candidate belongs, the number of judgment target schedules in the judgment unit period being equal to or greater than the allocation upper limit number.

[0012] The adjustment condition setting unit can register the adjustment conditions including a judgment unit period in the adjustment condition template based on input from the adjustment initiator, and the schedule adjustment unit can count the number of judgment target schedules of the participant candidate in the judgment unit period that includes the determined meeting schedule, regard the maximum number of judgment target schedules of the participant candidate belonging to the team as the number of judgment target schedules of the team to which the participant candidate belongs, and assign the meeting schedule to the team with the smallest number of judgment target schedules in the judgment unit period that includes the determined meeting schedule, among the teams for which the determined meeting schedule has been extracted as the first candidate schedule.

[0013] The adjustment condition setting unit can set a meeting schedule determined using the same adjustment condition template as the evaluation target schedule.

[0014] The adjustment condition setting unit can register the adjustment conditions, including the specification of a judgment keyword, in the adjustment condition template in response to input by the adjustment initiator, and can designate as the judgment target schedule those existing plans of the candidate participant in the schedule information whose information about the existing plan includes the judgment keyword.

[0015] The adjustment condition setting unit can allow the adjustment initiator to select a daily unit, a monthly unit, or a monthly unit as the determination unit period.

[0016] The adjustment condition setting unit can allow the adjustment initiator to select, as the allocation upper limit number, one of a uniform allocation upper limit number for the team, an allocation upper limit number for each team, a uniform allocation upper limit number for the candidate participants, or an allocation upper limit number for each candidate participant.

[0017] The schedule adjustment unit can divide the participant candidates into the teams each consisting of one participant candidate or two or more participant candidates based on the allocation formula.

[0018] The schedule adjustment unit can register the meeting schedule in the schedule information of the participant candidates constituting the team to which the meeting schedule has been assigned.

[0019] The schedule adjustment unit can notify the potential participants constituting the team to which the meeting schedule has been assigned of the meeting schedule.

[0020] A schedule adjustment method according to another aspect of the present invention includes an adjustment condition setting step of setting an adjustment condition template that can be repeatedly used for adjusting the schedule of different meetings, and a schedule adjustment step of adjusting the meeting schedule based on the adjustment condition template, in which the adjustment condition setting step registers adjustment conditions including participant candidates for the meeting and an allocation method including an allocation formula and an allocation order in the adjustment condition template based on an input from an adjustment initiator, and the schedule adjustment step classifies the participant candidates into teams based on the allocation formula in response to an access by a person to be adjusted based on access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template. Then, the schedule information of the candidate participants managed by a calendar tool is referenced, and for each team, a common available date that satisfies the coordination conditions of all of the candidate participant participants constituting the team is extracted as a first candidate date, the date that is the first candidate date of at least one of the teams is determined to be a second candidate date, the second candidate date is presented to a terminal device used by the coordination partner, the meeting date is determined from the presented second candidate dates in accordance with the selection of the coordination partner, and the determined meeting date is assigned to the team for which it has been extracted as the first candidate date in accordance with the assignment order.

[0021] A program according to still another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an adjustment condition setting unit that sets an adjustment condition template that can be repeatedly used for adjusting the schedule of different meetings, and a schedule adjustment unit that adjusts the meeting schedule based on the adjustment condition template, the adjustment condition setting unit registers adjustment conditions including candidate participants for the meeting and an allocation method including an allocation formula and an allocation order in the adjustment condition template based on an input from an adjustment initiator, and the schedule adjustment unit divides the candidate participants into teams based on the allocation formula in response to an access by a person to be adjusted based on access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template. The calendar tool divides the candidate participant schedules into groups, refers to schedule information of the candidate participant schedules managed by a calendar tool, extracts, for each team, a common available date that satisfies the coordination conditions of all of the candidate participant schedules constituting the team as a first candidate date, determines the date that is the first candidate date of at least one of the teams as a second candidate date, presents the second candidate date to a terminal device used by the coordination partner, determines the meeting date from the presented second candidate dates in accordance with a selection by the coordination partner, and allocates the determined meeting date to the team for which it has been extracted as the first candidate date in accordance with the allocation order. Effect of the Invention

[0022] According to the present invention, it is possible to allocate participation in a meeting to potential participants on the organizer's side while taking into consideration the grouping of the potential participants and the status of existing events on the schedule, and at the same time, to adjust the schedule without double bookings.

[0023] Problems, configurations and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a schedule adjustment system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing examples of member information, user information, adjustment condition template information, and schedule adjustment information. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process for member registration and user registration. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the adjustment condition template creation process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the adjustment condition template list screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of the template management information input screen. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a date and time information input screen. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a first display example of the participant information input screen. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a second display example of the participant information input screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third display example of the participant information input screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a fourth display example of the participant information input screen. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a fifth display example of the participant information input screen. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of the assignment formula editing screen. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a schedule adjustment process (using a template). [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of the adjustment condition template list screen. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a display example of the comment confirmation screen. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for dividing teams according to an allocation formula and determining a second candidate schedule. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for dividing teams according to an allocation formula and determining second candidate schedules. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a display of the schedule selection screen. [Figure 20]FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a display of the schedule confirmation screen. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a display example of a reserver information input screen. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining an example of an allocation method. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining an example of an allocation method. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining an example of an allocation method. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining an example of an allocation method. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a display example of the schedule notification screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all drawings for describing an embodiment, the same components are generally given the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof will be omitted. In the following embodiments, the components (including element steps, etc.) are not necessarily essential, except when specifically indicated, or when it is clearly considered essential in principle. In addition, when it is said that "consists of A," "consists of A," "has A," or "includes A," it does not exclude other elements, except when it is specifically indicated that only that element is included. Similarly, in the following embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc. of components, etc., it includes those that are substantially similar to or similar to the shape, etc., except when it is specifically indicated, or when it is clearly considered not to be the case in principle.

[0026] <Schedule Adjustment System 10 According to an Embodiment of the Present Invention> FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a schedule adjustment system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] The schedule adjustment system 10 is for supporting the adjustment of meeting schedules. The schedule adjustment system 10 includes a schedule adjustment device 20, a business management system 30, and terminal devices 40A, 40M, and 40X, which are connected via a network 11.

[0028] The network 11 is a two-way communication network such as the Internet or a mobile phone communication network.

[0029] The schedule adjustment device 20 assists in adjusting schedules with other parties participating in the meeting, and allocates participation in the meeting to potential participants on the meeting organizer's side. Note that while FIG. 1 shows only one other party, X, as an example of a coordination partner, there are multiple parties. Participants on the meeting organizer's side are assumed to be the coordination initiator A and members of the organization (such as a company, a corporate member described later) to which the coordination initiator A belongs (including the member manager M (described later in detail)). Note that in this specification, a "participant" of a meeting is defined as a participant on the organizer's side among those who actually participate in the meeting, and unless otherwise specified, the coordination partner X who participates in the meeting is not included in the "participant" (is not referred to as a "participant").

[0030] The business management system 30 includes a calendar tool 31 as a Web application, and is a system for improving business efficiency through information sharing, schedule management, etc., and refers to a system that is widely provided to general consumers, sole proprietors, corporations, etc., with or without payment. For example, Google Calendar (trademark) or Microsoft Outlook (trademark) can be adopted as the calendar tool 31. The calendar tool 31 holds schedule information 311 in which the action plans of the user of the calendar tool 31 and the reservation status of meeting venues available to the user are registered. In other words, the business management system 30 manages the schedule information 311 in which the action plans of the user of the calendar tool 31 and the reservation status of meeting venues available to the user are registered.

[0031] In this embodiment, the business management system 30 is described as an external system independent of the schedule adjustment device 20, but the business management system 30 may exist in the same device as the schedule adjustment device 20. Also, the calendar tool 31 may be included in the schedule adjustment device 20. In other words, it is sufficient that the calendar tool 31 that manages the schedule information 311 exists on a certain system, and the schedule adjustment device 20 can refer to the schedule information 311 from the calendar tool 31.

[0032] The terminal device 40A used by the adjustment initiator A is a general computer such as a personal computer or a smartphone that can be connected to the schedule adjustment device 20 via the network 11. Similarly, the terminal device 40M used by the member manager M and the terminal device 40X used by the adjustment partner X are general computers.

[0033] In this embodiment, the coordination partner X who participates in the meeting operates the terminal device 40X, but in reality, a representative (such as a secretary) of the coordination partner X may operate the terminal device 40X.

[0034] The adjustment initiator A is an employee or the like of a company or the like who has completed member registration and user registration (registration of information necessary to enable the schedule adjustment function in the schedule adjustment device 20 to be in a state in which it can be used) with the schedule adjustment device 20. Hereinafter, a company or the like who has completed member registration with the schedule adjustment device 20 will be referred to as a corporate member. Also, among the members who belong to a corporate member (company or the like), a member who has a user account who has completed user registration with the schedule adjustment device 20 will be defined as a user. It is essential that the adjustment initiator A is a user. Therefore, hereinafter, the adjustment initiator A may be referred to as a user A. Note that member registration and user registration with the schedule adjustment device 20 can be performed by individuals, not just by companies or the like. In that case, an individual who has completed member registration will be referred to as an individual member. An individual member and a user can be regarded as the same thing.

[0035] The member manager M is a member of the same organization that is a corporate member as the adjustment initiator A, and manages the member account as a corporate member. The adjustment initiator A and the member manager M may be different persons, or may be the same person.

[0036] Members other than the member manager M and the adjustment initiator A who belong to the same corporate member as the adjustment initiator A may be users, but this is not essential.

[0037] It is assumed that members belonging to a corporate member of the schedule adjustment device 20 manage their own schedules using a calendar tool 31 provided by the business management system 30. It is also assumed that corporate members of the schedule adjustment device 20 manage the reservation status of conference rooms, reception rooms, spare rooms, etc. that are available to members as meeting venues using the calendar tool 31 provided by the business management system 30.

[0038] Therefore, in this case, the calendar tool 31 is assumed to hold schedule information 311 in which the plans of coordination initiators A, etc. who may be participants on the hosting side of the meeting, and the reservation status of meeting venues that can be used by coordination initiators A, etc. are registered.

[0039] The adjustment partner X may be, but is not required to be, a user of the schedule adjustment device 20. The adjustment partner X may use the calendar tool 31, but is not required to be. The adjustment partner X may use a calendar tool provided by a vendor different from the calendar tool 31 used by the adjustment initiator A.

[0040] The schedule adjustment device 20 includes functional blocks of a processing unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 23. The schedule adjustment device 20 includes a general computer such as a server computer including a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memory such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), a storage such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, an output device such as a display, and a communication module such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) (none of which are shown).

[0041] The processing unit 21 is realized by a computer processor. The processing unit 21 has the functional blocks of an authentication unit 211, an adjustment condition setting unit 212, and a schedule adjustment unit 213. These functional blocks are realized by the computer processor executing a predetermined program loaded into memory. However, some or all of these functional blocks may be realized as hardware using an integrated circuit or the like.

[0042] For example, authentication unit 211 accepts member registration by member administrator M using terminal device 40M and creates member information 221. Furthermore, for example, if member administrator M logs in as a member administrator after generating member information 221, authentication unit 211 authenticates the member administrator in response to the login by member administrator M as a member administrator. Furthermore, authentication unit 211 creates user information 222 if predetermined conditions are met in response to usage registration at the time of the first login by a user, for example, by adjustment initiator A using terminal device 40A.

[0043] Furthermore, the authentication unit 211 accesses the business management system 30 via the network 11, and performs authentication processing using an administrator authority account included in the member information 221 held by the storage unit 22 and a user account included in the user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment initiator A (user A) (both in FIG. 2), according to a protocol such as OAuth. However, it is sufficient to use the administrator authority account and the user account for the first authentication processing, and for the second and subsequent authentication processing, it is possible to use the administrator authentication information (access token, etc.) and user authentication information (access token, etc.) (both in FIG. 2) sent from the business management system 30 when the first authentication processing is completed.

[0044] The adjustment condition setting unit 212 displays a series of adjustment condition template creation screens (FIGS. 6 to 13) for creating an adjustment condition template (hereinafter referred to as an adjustment condition template) consisting of a plurality of items necessary for adjusting the schedule of a meeting on the terminal device 40A of the adjustment initiator A, and creates the adjustment condition template in response to an input from the adjustment initiator A on the adjustment condition template creation screen. Then, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 stores the created adjustment condition template in the storage unit 22 as adjustment condition template information 223 associated with user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment initiator A. Here, the adjustment conditions include one or more participant candidates on the organizer's side, an allocation method, an allocation upper limit setting, etc. Details of the adjustment conditions will be described later.

[0045] Furthermore, when the coordination partner X uses the terminal device 40X to access a reservation acceptance URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for accessing a series of reservation acceptance screens (FIGS. 16 and 19 to 21) set by the coordination initiator A to make a reservation to attend the meeting, the schedule coordination unit 213 performs the following process at that time. The reservation acceptance URL corresponds to the access information of the present invention. The act of the coordination partner X confirming the meeting date via the series of reservation acceptance screens is also called "reservation" or "attendance reservation."

[0046] That is, the schedule adjustment unit 213 divides the participant candidates on the organizer side into teams according to an allocation calculation formula (described in detail later) set by the adjustment initiator A. Here, a team may be composed of not only a plurality of participant candidates, but also one participant candidate. Furthermore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the schedule information of the participant candidates, and extracts a common free date that satisfies the adjustment conditions of all the participant candidates constituting the team as a first candidate date for each team. Then, the schedule adjustment unit 213 sets the date that is the first candidate date for at least one team as a second candidate date. Furthermore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40X to display a schedule selection screen as a reservation reception screen that presents the second candidate date.

[0047] Furthermore, in response to the coordination partner X selecting and confirming the meeting date from the second candidate dates displayed on the date selection screen, the schedule adjustment unit 213 allocates the confirmed meeting date to the team of the participant candidates based on the participant candidates, allocation method, and allocation upper limit setting, and confirms all of the participant candidates constituting the allocated team as participants of the meeting on the organizer's side. Furthermore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 creates schedule adjustment information 224, associates it with the coordination initiator A, stores it in the storage unit 22, and registers information on the meeting date, the participants on the organizer's side, and the coordination partner X, etc.

[0048] In addition, even in the short time until the coordination partner X selects one of the second candidate dates displayed on the date selection screen and confirms it as the meeting date, for example, another coordination partner may make a reservation on the date selected by the coordination partner X. Therefore, even just before the coordination partner X confirms the meeting date, the schedule adjustment unit 213 finally checks whether the selected date is a common free date that satisfies the coordination conditions of all the participant candidates constituting at least one team. Then, if the selected date is no longer a common free date that satisfies the coordination conditions of all the participant candidates constituting the team in all the teams, for example, a message such as "The selected date has been booked. Please select a date again" may be displayed on the terminal device 40X, and the operation may be returned to the date selection screen. This can prevent a date that none of the teams can participate in from being confirmed as the meeting date.

[0049] Furthermore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 registers the plans regarding the confirmed meeting schedule in the schedule information 311 of the participants on the organizer's side (all of the participant candidates who make up the assigned team).

[0050] Then, the schedule adjustment unit 213 notifies the coordination partner X that the meeting schedule has been finalized by displaying a schedule notification screen on the terminal device 40X used by the coordination partner X. The schedule adjustment unit 213 also notifies the coordination partner X and the coordination initiator A, who is the organizer, etc., that the meeting schedule has been finalized by using email or the like.

[0051] The storage unit 22 is realized by a computer memory and storage. The storage unit 22 holds member information 221, user information 222, adjustment condition template information 223, and schedule adjustment information 224. Note that the storage unit 22 may store information, data, and the like other than the various information described above.

[0052] The communication unit 23 is realized by a communication module of a computer. The communication unit 23 is connected to the business management system 30, the terminal devices 40A, 40M, 40X, etc. via the network 11 to communicate various data and information.

[0053] Some or all of the above-mentioned functional blocks constituting the schedule adjustment device 20 may be realized by hardware such as integrated circuits. Also, the schedule adjustment device 20 may be realized by multiple computers, in which case the above-mentioned functional blocks may be distributed among the multiple computers.

[0054] Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of member information 221, user information 222, adjustment condition template information 223, and schedule adjustment information (fixed information) 224 stored in the storage unit 22.

[0055] The member information 221 consists of information about corporate members who have completed member registration in the schedule adjustment device 20. The member information 221 also includes information about corporate members that is added when the corporate member registers for use in the schedule adjustment device 20. Specifically, the member information 221 includes a member account, an administrator authority account, administrator authentication information, basic information, member information, and venue information.

[0056] The member account is information that enables a member manager M, etc. of a corporate member (company, etc.) to log in to the schedule adjustment device 20. The administrator authority account is information that enables a member manager M, etc. of a corporate member (company, etc.) to access the business management system 30 with administrator authority. Note that it is desirable for the member account to be the same as the administrator authority account (e.g., the email address of the member manager M, etc.), but they may be different. If the member account and the administrator authority account are the same, registration of the administrator authority account to the member information 221 can be omitted.

[0057] The administrator authentication information is an access token or the like obtained from the business management system 30 as a successful result of the authentication process when the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 uses an administrator authority account to perform authentication process on the business management system 30 for the first time. After obtaining the administrator authentication information, the authentication unit 211 can perform authentication process on the business management system 30 more quickly using the administrator authentication information without using an administrator authority account.

[0058] The basic information is the name of the corporate member (company name, etc.), etc. The basic information is recorded at the time of member registration and can be changed after member registration. The member information is a list of the names of members belonging to companies, etc. that are corporate members, and the user accounts through which those members can access the business management system 30. The member information is obtained and recorded from the business management system 30, on the assumption that members of corporate members who may be participants on the hosting side of the meeting are already using the calendar tool 31.

[0059] The venue information is a list of names of venues such as conference rooms, reception rooms, spare rooms, etc. that corporate members can use for meetings, as well as venue identification IDs in the business management system, etc. The venue information is obtained and recorded from the business management system 30, on the premise that the venue schedules required for scheduling are already managed by the calendar tool 31.

[0060] Note that the member information and venue information can be obtained in part or in whole from the business management system 30 only when the business management system 30 is accessed with an account with administrator privileges; for example, the information cannot be obtained when an account without administrator privileges is used instead of an account with administrator privileges, or when the business management system 30 is accessed as a user account with an account that has the same privileges as an account with administrator privileges (however, depending on the type of business management system 30, some of the information may be obtained).

[0061] The user information 222 consists of information about users who are members of a corporate member and have completed registration to use the schedule adjustment device 20. The user information 222 is created when each member of a corporate member logs in to the schedule adjustment device 20 for the first time, and the authentication process with the business management system 30 is successful, and it is confirmed that the member is included in the member information of the member information 221, and is associated with the member information 221.

[0062] The user information 222 includes a user account, user authentication information, and user basic information.

[0063] The user account is information for a user such as the adjustment initiator A to log in to the schedule adjustment device 20. It is preferable that the user account is the same as the account for the user to access the business management system 30, but it may be different. The following description will be given on the assumption that the user account is the same as the account for accessing the business management system 30.

[0064] The user authentication information is an access token or the like obtained from the business management system 30 as a successful result of the authentication process when the authentication unit 211 uses a user account to perform authentication processing on the business management system 30 for the first time. After obtaining the user authentication information, the authentication unit 211 can perform authentication processing on the business management system 30 more quickly by using the user authentication information without using a user account.

[0065] The user basic information is the user's name, etc., and is read and recorded from the member information of the membership information 221 based on the user account when the user first logs in to the schedule adjustment device 20. The user basic information recorded in the user information 222 may be edited by the user himself / herself.

[0066] The adjustment condition template information 223 is created in association with the user information 222. The adjustment condition template information 223 includes a template ID for uniquely identifying the adjustment condition template information 223 that may exist multiple times, adjustment conditions set by the user according to the purpose of the meeting (including participant candidates, allocation method, allocation upper limit setting, etc.), a URL for accepting reservations, behavior information when the schedule is confirmed, and screen display information (title, explanation, etc. of the reservation acceptance screen).

[0067] Note that the adjustment condition template information 223 is created by a user and is therefore associated with the user information 222, but for example, the adjustment condition template information 223 may be associated with the membership information 221 so that the adjustment condition template information 223 can be shared between users who belong to the corporate membership corresponding to the membership information 221. Also, an adjustment condition template created by a certain user may be made available to other users.

[0068] When the coordination partner X selects a meeting date and completes a reservation for a meeting, schedule adjustment information 224 is created for each reservation by coordination partner X in association with user information 222 corresponding to each user and adjustment condition template information 223. Note that, in order to enable a user other than the user who created the adjustment condition template to adjust schedules using the adjustment condition template, the schedule adjustment information 224 may be directly associated with the membership information 221 of the corporate member to which the user belongs.

[0069] The schedule adjustment information 224 records the template ID, the confirmed meeting date and time, participants, information of the adjustment partner X (name, email address, timing of sending notification email, etc.), the schedule ID in the calendar tool 31 of the confirmed meeting schedule, etc.

[0070] <Member registration and user registration processing by schedule adjustment system 10> Next, FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process performed by the schedule adjustment system 10 for member registration and user registration.

[0071] It is assumed that the calendar tool 31 provided by the business management system 30 is used to manage the schedules of members of the corporate member to which the coordination initiator A and the member manager M belong, and the schedules of venues that the members can use for meetings. It is also assumed that the business management system 30 already manages the member information and venue information recorded in the member information 221. The business management system 30, as a specification, supplies at least one of the member information and venue information recorded in the member information 221 to the schedule coordination device 20 in response to a request from the schedule coordination device 20 accessed using an administrator account (or administrator authentication information).

[0072] First, when the member manager M uses the terminal device 40M to apply for member registration to the schedule adjustment device 20 via the network 11 (step S1), the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 creates member information 221 and records it in the storage unit 22 (step S11). However, the created member information 221 here includes only the member account and basic information, and does not include the administrator authority account, administrator authentication information, member information, or venue information.

[0073] Next, the member administrator M inputs an administrator authority account for the business management system 30 and requests authentication processing from the schedule adjustment device 20 (step S2), and then the authentication unit 211 performs authentication processing for the business management system 30 using the administrator authority account (step S12).

[0074] As a modified example, steps S1 and S11 may be executed after steps S2 and S12.

[0075] Then, as a result of the successful authentication process in step S12, administrator authentication information (access token, etc.) is sent from the business management system 30 to the schedule adjustment device 20, and then the authentication unit 211 registers the administrator authority account and the administrator authentication information in the member information 221 created and recorded in step S11 (step S13). Note that the authentication process can use, for example, OAuth, and by having the member manager M temporarily input a password to the business management system 30 without going through the authentication unit 211, the administrator authority account input by the member manager M is authenticated by the business management system 30. The authentication process for other persons such as the adjustment initiator A is similar.

[0076] Next, the authentication unit 211 connects to the business management system 30 using the administrator authentication information of the member information 221, and acquires the member information and venue information of the corporate member to which the member manager M belongs, which are managed by the business management system 30 (step S14). Next, the authentication unit 211 registers the member information and venue information acquired in step S14 in the member information 221 created and recorded in step S11 (step S15).

[0077] After that, when the adjustment initiator A logs in to the schedule adjustment device 20 for the first time via the network 11 using his / her own user account using the terminal device 40A and applies for user registration (step S31), the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 checks the existence of the member information 221 in which member information including the user account of the adjustment initiator A is registered, and acquires the name (user basic information) of the adjustment initiator A from the member information (step S16). Next, the authentication unit 211 performs authentication processing on the business management system 30 using the user account of the adjustment initiator A (step S17).

[0078] Then, as a result of the successful authentication process in step S17, user authentication information (access token, etc.) is sent from the business management system 30 to the schedule adjustment device 20, and then the authentication unit 211 creates user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment initiator A, associates it with the member information 221 confirmed in step S16, and records it in the storage unit 22, and registers the user account of the adjustment initiator A, the user authentication information, and the user basic information acquired in step S16 in the user information 222 (step S18). With this, the member registration and user registration process is completed.

[0079] According to the member registration and the processing at the time of user registration described above, the member information 221 of the corporate member to which the coordination initiator A belongs is associated with the user information 222 of the coordination initiator A. From this point on, even if the member manager M is not logged in to the schedule adjustment device 20, as long as the user, coordination initiator A, is logged in to the schedule adjustment device 20, the schedule adjustment unit 213 of the schedule adjustment device 20 can refer to and update, for example, via a WebAPI (Application Programming Interface), the schedule information 311 stored in the business management system 30, in which the schedules of the coordination initiator A and members belonging to the same corporate member as the coordination initiator A are registered, and the schedule information 311 in which the schedules of meeting venues (such as conference rooms) available for use by the coordination initiator A and members belonging to the same corporate member as the coordination initiator A are registered.

[0080] In the above-mentioned member registration and user registration processes, it is assumed that the member information 221 of the corporate member exists, and user information of a user belonging to the corporate member is generated. As a modified example, when the organization to which the user belongs is not a corporate member and the member information 221 does not exist, an individual logs into the schedule adjustment device 20 and creates user information 222, and then the individual performs a new authentication process on the business management system 30 using an administrator account, whereby the individual is regarded as a corporate member, the individual's user account is regarded as a member account, and member information 221 associated with the individual is generated based on the individual's user information 222. In this case, the individual who has become a corporate member has an administrator account, and is therefore able to obtain the member information and venue information of the organization to which the individual belongs from the business management system 30.

[0081] In addition, in this embodiment, the member information and venue information obtained from the business management system 30 are registered in the member information 221 stored in the memory unit 22, but the member information and venue information may not be registered in the member information 221, and may be obtained from the business management system 30 each time it is necessary to refer to the member information and venue information.

[0082] In the present embodiment, the member information and the venue information are acquired using an administrator account on the business management system 30. However, if it is difficult to use the administrator account on the business management system 30 from the viewpoint of security, the member information and the venue information may be registered directly in the schedule adjustment device 20 without using the administrator account on the business management system 30. For example, the member manager M or the user of the corporate member may directly register the member information and the venue information in the schedule adjustment device 20 by uploading data such as an Excel (trademark) file in which the member information and the venue information are recorded to the schedule adjustment device 20, or by directly inputting the data into a screen for user registration displayed on the terminal device 40M or the terminal device 40A by the schedule adjustment device 20. Also, instead of using an administrator account, the member manager M's user account authority or the user account authority of the user belonging to the corporate member may be used to acquire only the member information and the venue information that can be acquired from the business management system 30 from the business management system 30, and register it in the schedule adjustment device 20.

[0083] In addition, to deal with cases where editing (addition, change, and deletion) is required for the member information or venue information registered in the member information 221, the member manager M may be able to edit the member information or venue information by logging in to the schedule adjustment device 20 using a member account and displaying a member information editing screen or venue information editing screen (neither shown) on the terminal device 40M by performing a specified operation.

[0084] The member information registered by the member manager M in the schedule adjustment device 20 can include information on outsiders (external partners, employees of affiliated companies, etc.) who do not belong to the same organization as the coordination initiator A and the member manager M. In some calendar tools, if an outsider included in the member information uses the same type of calendar tool as the organization to which the coordination initiator A belongs, and if a special calendar sharing setting is set with the coordination initiator A or the organization to which the coordination initiator A belongs, it becomes possible to refer to and update the schedule information 311 of the outsider using the authentication information of the coordination initiator A and an ID for identifying the outsider in the business management system 30.

[0085] In other words, the outsider can be treated in the same way as a meeting participant who belongs to the same organization as the coordination initiator A. Even if an outsider is included in the member information registered by the member manager M in the schedule adjustment device 20, if the authentication information of the coordination initiator A cannot refer to the schedule information 311 that manages the schedule of the outsider, it is treated as an error and the outsider cannot be treated as a participant. In this embodiment, the explanation will be given assuming that the outsider included in the member information registered by the member manager M in the schedule adjustment device 20 has a special calendar sharing setting with the coordination initiator A or the organization to which the coordination initiator A belongs, and can be treated as a participant designated by the coordination initiator A, as "a member who belongs to the same organization as the coordination initiator A."

[0086] Instead of using an administrator account on the business management system 30 to obtain member information from the business management system 30, for example, an individual member may become a corporate member administrator as a corporate member, aggregate multiple users including other users who have registered separately as users, and form member information 221 and user information 222 by regarding the aggregated multiple users as users belonging to the corporate member that the individual member manages, and further form the information of the aggregated multiple users as member information of the corporate member. As a method of aggregating users, for example, a user who has registered as an individual member may send an invitation notice to other users who have registered to use the schedule adjustment device 20 as those who belong to the same organization as the user, or may send an invitation notice to those who are not registered to the schedule adjustment device 20 and have them newly register to use the schedule adjustment device 20, thereby forming a set of users by creating an invitation relationship between the users.

[0087] <Process for creating a template for adjustment conditions by the schedule adjustment system 10> Next, FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of an adjustment condition template creation process by the schedule adjustment system 10. In FIG.

[0088] A user such as the adjustment initiator A can create an adjustment condition template according to the purpose of the meeting, for example, for the first interview for new graduates, the second interview for new graduates, the final interview for new graduates, new business negotiations, etc.

[0089] First, the adjustment initiator A uses the terminal device 40A to log in to the schedule adjustment device 20 via the network 11 (step S101). Next, the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 performs authentication processing on the business management system 30 using the user account (or user authentication information) included in the user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment initiator A held in the memory unit 22 (step S121).

[0090] Next, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 of the schedule adjustment device 20 causes the terminal device 40A to display a selection screen (not shown) for selecting either "use template" or "custom adjustment" as the schedule adjustment method (step S122). Here, "use template" is a method of schedule adjustment using an adjustment condition template that can be repeatedly used for multiple meetings with different dates. "Custom adjustment" is a method of schedule adjustment by setting adjustment conditions for each meeting. Below, a detailed explanation will be given of the case where the adjustment initiator A selects "use template", and an explanation of the case where "custom adjustment" is selected will be omitted.

[0091] Next, on the selection screen, adjustment initiator A selects “Use template” as the schedule adjustment method (step S102). Next, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 of the schedule adjustment device 20 refers to the adjustment condition template information 223 associated with the user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment initiator A, and causes the terminal device 40A to display an adjustment condition template list screen 1000 (FIG. 5) showing a list of adjustment condition templates that have been created so far and are usable by the adjustment initiator A (step S123).

[0092] 5 shows an example of a display of an adjustment condition template list screen 1000 displayed on the terminal device 40A. The adjustment condition template list screen 1000 is provided with a "Create new" button 1001 for instructing a transition to a template management information input screen 1200 (FIG. 6) where an adjustment condition template can be newly created, and a template list 1002 showing a list of adjustment condition templates available to the adjustment initiator A. The template list 1002 displays a management name, a classification, a description, and a reservation acceptance URL for each template. Furthermore, the template list 1002 is provided with an "Edit" button 1003 for instructing a transition to a screen (not shown) where an adjustment condition template that has already been created can be edited, and a "Copy URL" button 1004 for instructing a copy of the reservation acceptance URL.

[0093] Returning to Fig. 4, when the adjustment initiator A operates the "Create new" button 1001 on the adjustment condition template list screen 1000 displayed on the terminal device 40A (step S103), the adjustment condition setting unit 212 then causes the terminal device 40A to display a template management information input screen 1200 (Fig. 6) as an adjustment condition template creation screen (step S124).

[0094] 6 shows a display example of a template management information input screen 1200. The template management information input screen 1200 is provided with an input field 1201 for inputting a template management name, an input field 1202 for inputting a template classification, and an input field 1203 for inputting the template's purpose, description, etc., as management information for adjustment initiator A and users of the corporate member to which adjustment initiator A belongs to manage templates.

[0095] In addition, the template management information input screen 1200 is provided with an input field 1204 for inputting a screen title, an input field 1205 for inputting a reservation reception URL, an input field 1206 for inputting comments to the adjustment partner X, and check boxes 1207 for selecting items that the adjustment partner X is requested to input, as information for the reservation reception screen that accepts reservations from the adjustment partner X.

[0096] Furthermore, the template management information input screen 1200 is provided with an input field 1208 for inputting a subject when registering the determined meeting schedule as a schedule in the calendar tool 31 as the information to be registered, a check box 1209 for selecting whether or not to make the determined meeting schedule private when registering it as a schedule in the calendar tool 31, and a "Next" button 1210 for instructing the user to move to the next displayed date and time information input screen 1300 (Figure 7).

[0097] The reservation acceptance URL needs to be determined by the adjustment initiator A or the like and input in the input field 1205, but it may also be automatically generated by the adjustment condition setting unit 212 and reflected in the input field 1205. Note that the reservation acceptance URL needs to enable the schedule adjustment unit 213 to uniquely identify the adjustment condition template information 223 corresponding to the reservation acceptance URL in response to the adjustment partner X's access based on the reservation acceptance URL. Therefore, when creating the adjustment condition template, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 confirms that the determined reservation acceptance URL is unique within the schedule adjustment device 20.

[0098] In addition, since the same coordination condition template can be used to accept reservations for different meetings from multiple coordination partners, it is desirable to be able to easily identify which coordination partner each reserved meeting is reserved for. For this reason, the input field 1208 for the subject of the scheduled event to be registered can include information about coordination partner X (company name, name, etc.) that is requested and input by coordination partner X using checkbox 1207. This makes it easy to identify which coordination partner the event is with just by looking at the subject of the scheduled event registered in calendar tool 31.

[0099] Returning to Fig. 4, when the adjustment initiator A inputs management information, reservation reception screen information, and information to be registered on the template management information input screen 1200 displayed on the terminal device 40A, for example as shown in Fig. 6, and operates the "Next" button 1210 (step S104), the adjustment condition setting unit 212 then causes the terminal device 40A to display a date and time information input screen 1300 (Fig. 7) as an adjustment condition template creation screen (step S125).

[0100] Fig. 7 shows an example of a date and time information input screen 1300. The date and time information input screen 1300 is provided with a selection input field 1301 for inputting the duration of the meeting, a selection input field 1302 for inputting the available time before and after the meeting, a selection input field 1303 for inputting the extraction period of the candidate dates, a selection input field 1304 for specifying the calculation method of the extraction period, a selection input field 1305 for inputting the available meeting time slots for each day of the week, and a "Next" button 1306 for instructing to move to the next displayed participant information input screen 1400 (Fig. 8).

[0101] Here, the reserved time before and after the meeting refers to time for travel to the venue, preparation work, dismantling work, rest, etc., and is provided to ensure a margin of time for the reserved time before and after the meeting date booked using the adjustment condition template information 223 and an existing plan registered in the schedule information 311. In other words, the candidate schedule presented to adjustment partner X using the adjustment condition template information 223 is calculated with a margin of time between the existing plan and the reserved time before and after the meeting date.

[0102] In addition, since the coordination condition template can be used repeatedly for multiple meetings on different dates, the extraction period for candidate dates can be set to a certain period based on the time when coordination partner X accesses the reservation reception screen using the reservation reception URL.

[0103] Therefore, the candidate dates presented to the adjustment partner X using the adjustment condition template information 223 are available dates of the potential participant that satisfy the extraction period and available meeting time slots of the candidate dates, and are dates that have free time before and after existing plans on the candidate participant's schedule information 311, and are dates in which the required time for the meeting can be secured within the consecutive time slots of the candidate dates.

[0104] Returning to Fig. 4, when the adjustment initiator A inputs the duration of the meeting or the like as date and time information on the date and time information input screen 1300 displayed on the terminal device 40A as shown in Fig. 7, for example, and operates the "Next" button 1306 (step S105), the adjustment condition setting unit 212 then causes the terminal device 40A to display a participant information input screen 1400 (Fig. 8) as an adjustment condition template creation screen (step S126).

[0105] 8 shows a first display example of the participant information input screen 1400. The participant information input screen 1400 is provided with a selection input field 1401 for selecting and specifying one or more participant candidates (which may or may not include the coordination initiator A) on the organizer side from a member list based on the member information of the member information 221.

[0106] Moreover, the participant information input screen 1400 is provided with a radio button 1403 for selecting an assigned participant, which is one of the allocation methods. Here, the assigned participants can be selected from "assign all" which assigns all participant candidates as participants, "automatic assignment (assign one person)" which assigns one of the participant candidates as a participant, and "automatic assignment (uses an advanced allocation formula)".

[0107] When "Allocate all" is selected by radio button 1403 as the allocated participants, the participant information input screen 1400 further includes a check box 1404 for selecting whether or not to set an allocation upper limit per unit period as an allocation upper limit setting for meetings for participant candidates, a radio button 1405 for selecting a judgment unit period when counting the number of judgment target schedules, an input field 1406 for inputting the value of the allocation upper limit number in the judgment unit period, a radio button 1407 for selecting the judgment target schedule, and a "Register" button 1409 for registering the information inputted to the series of adjustment condition template creation screens as adjustment condition template information 223. Note that the input items for the judgment unit period, the allocation upper limit number, and the judgment target schedule are provided only when the check box 1404 is checked and the allocation upper limit number per unit period is specified.

[0108] The unit period for judgment when counting the number of schedules to be judged can be selected from daily units, with one calendar day as the judgment unit period, weekly units, with the seven days from Sunday to Saturday as the judgment unit period, and monthly units, with one month starting from the first day of a calendar month as the judgment unit period. In the case of weekly or monthly units, the starting day of the week or date may be specified. In addition, the judgment unit period may be specified to any number of days, weeks, months, etc., such as three days, two weeks, six months, etc.

[0109] The schedule to be judged refers to the definition of the judgment unit period and existing schedules to be counted for each participant candidate to compare with the upper allocation limit as an index for measuring the workload status of each participant candidate. When selecting the definition of the schedule to be judged, it is possible to select "judge the upper limit based on the number of schedules booked from this adjustment condition template" or "judge the upper limit based on the number of existing schedules with a keyword included in the subject." If the latter is selected, an input field 1408 is provided for inputting the judgment keyword.

[0110] The allocation upper limit is an upper limit value that prevents each participant candidate from accepting more than a certain number of meeting reservations for each specified judgment unit period. By limiting the number of meetings for each participant candidate within a certain period within a certain range, it is possible to prevent the workload of each participant candidate from becoming excessive.

[0111] For example, if the judgment unit period is one week, the allocation upper limit is three, and "judge upper limit based on the number of existing plans with the keyword (business negotiation) in the subject" is selected as the definition of the schedule to be judged, the schedule adjustment unit 213 will refer to the schedule information 311 of the participant candidate and count the number of existing plans with (business negotiation) in the subject for each week, and if there is a week with three or more existing plans, it will treat all of the schedules in that week as "schedules that are not free" for the participant candidate. In other words, all of the schedules in that week will be schedules to which meetings cannot be assigned to the participant candidate.

[0112] Also, for example, when the judgment unit period is one week, the allocation upper limit number is three, and "judge upper limit by the number of schedules reserved from this adjustment condition template" is selected as the definition of the judgment target schedule, the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the schedule adjustment information 224 stored in the storage unit 22, counts the number of schedule adjustment information 224 in which the participant candidate is a participant and the template ID of the same adjustment condition template is recorded for each week, and if there is a week in which the number is three or more, treats all schedules of the corresponding week as "schedules that are not free schedules" for the corresponding participant candidate. In other words, all schedules of the corresponding week become schedules for which a meeting cannot be assigned to the corresponding participant candidate. Note that in addition to referring to the schedule adjustment information 224, it may also refer to the schedule information 311 using the schedule ID recorded in the schedule adjustment information 224, confirm that a meeting that was previously confirmed via the same adjustment condition template still exists in the schedule information 311 of the corresponding participant candidate without changing the date and time, and count the number of existing schedules whose existence was confirmed in the schedule information 311 as the number of judgment target schedules.

[0113] Regarding upper limit judgment, if a team of participant candidates is composed of two or more people, the number of judgment target schedules is counted for each participant candidate constituting the team, and the maximum value within the team is regarded as the number of judgment target schedules for the team. In other words, for example, if three people, A, B, and C, are specified as participant candidates and A, B, and C form one team, and the number of judgment target schedules in a certain judgment unit period is 3 for A, 1 for B, and 4 for C, the number of judgment target schedules for the team in the judgment unit period will be the maximum value among the three people, and will be regarded as "4", the same as C, which is the maximum value within the team.

[0114] Next, Fig. 9 shows a second display example of the participant information input screen 1400. The second display example corresponds to a case where "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocated participants in the first display example (Fig. 8), and "Random" is selected by a radio button 1410 (described later) for selecting the allocation order. Among the display objects in the second display example, those in common with the display objects in the first display example (Fig. 8) are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0115] The second display example is mostly similar to the first display example. However, in the second display example, because "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participants, a radio button 1410 for selecting the allocation order is additionally provided as one item of the allocation method in addition to the first display example (FIG. 8). Similarly, when "Automatic allocation (use advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participants (described in detail later), the radio button 1410 is additionally provided.

[0116] The allocation order can be selected using radio button 1410 from among "random," which uses a random variable to allocate participation in the meeting to teams of potential participant candidates; "priority," which allocates participation in the meeting to teams of potential participant candidates according to the priority order set by adjustment initiator A; and "equal allocation," which allocates participation in the meeting to teams of potential participant candidates in order of the smallest number of schedules to be evaluated in the evaluation unit period.

[0117] The difference between the selectable allocation order "random" and "equal allocation" is that, for example, assuming that the ratio of free dates in the schedule information 311 is similar for all participant candidates and the upper allocation limit is also the same for all teams of participant candidates, when "random" is selected, the same results will be obtained in the long term as when "equal allocation" is selected, but due to the nature of random variables, bias in allocation may occur in the short term. On the other hand, when "equal allocation" is selected, allocation can be made evenly or close to evenly for each judgment unit period.

[0118] Furthermore, when "priority order" is selected as the allocation order, the allocation priority order for each participant candidate or each team is specified by changing the arrangement order of each participant candidate or each team by operating the cursor or the like.

[0119] Specifically, when "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocated participant and "Priority order" is selected as the allocation order, it becomes possible to rearrange the participant candidates in the participant candidate selection input field 1401 by using the cursor, etc., and the order specified in the selection input field 1401 becomes the allocation priority order.

[0120] In addition, if "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant and "Priority" is selected as the allocation order, it becomes possible to rearrange the teams by using the cursor or the like in display field 1421 (described below) which displays the allocation formula, and the order of the teams specified in display field 1421 becomes the allocation priority order.

[0121] If “Automatic allocation (assign one person)” is selected as the participant allocation option, a radio button 1413 is added to the participant information input screen 1400 to select “All participants” or “Per participant candidate” as the unit for setting the maximum number of participants to be allocated.

[0122] When "Uniformly for all" is selected using radio button 1413 as the unit for setting the allocation upper limit, input field 1406 provided in the first display example (FIG. 8) continues to be displayed, and the number entered in input field 1406 becomes the allocation upper limit that is applied uniformly to all potential participants.

[0123] Next, Fig. 10 shows a third display example of the participant information input screen 1400. The third display example is a display example corresponding to the case where "priority order" is selected as the allocation order in the second display example (Fig. 9). Note that among the display objects in the third display example, those in common with the display objects in the first display example (Fig. 8) and the second display example (Fig. 9) are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

[0124] The third display example is mostly similar to the second display example. However, as shown in the third display example, when "per participant candidate" is selected as the unit for setting the allocation upper limit, a "set upper limit for each participant candidate" button 1416 is provided to instruct a transition to a screen (not shown) where the value of the allocation upper limit for each participant candidate can be input. Also, in the third display example, as in the first display example (FIG. 8), an input field 1408 for inputting the judgment keyword is provided because "judge upper limit based on the number of existing schedules with a keyword in the subject" is selected as the definition of the schedule to be judged.

[0125] Next, Fig. 11 shows a fourth display example of the participant information input screen 1400. The fourth display example is a display example corresponding to the case where "equal allocation" is selected as the allocation order in the second display example (Fig. 9). Note that among the display objects in the fourth display example, those that are common to the display objects in the first to third display examples (Figs. 8 to 10) are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted as appropriate.

[0126] The fourth display example is mostly similar to the second display example. However, when "equal allocation" is selected as the allocation order, some items related to the quota upper limit setting are used to determine the quota upper limit number and are also used to determine the equalization of allocation, so the display order, display control, and display contents of the input items related to the quota upper limit setting change from when "random" or "priority order" is selected as the allocation order.

[0127] Specifically, the input items of the judgment unit period and the judgment target schedule are used to determine the upper limit of allocation and at the same time, are used to determine equalization of allocation, so when "equal allocation" is selected as the allocation order, these items are always provided regardless of whether or not check box 1404 is checked. Therefore, the two items of the judgment unit period and the judgment target schedule are placed above check box 1404.

[0128] Moreover, the only item that is additionally displayed in response to checking the check box 1404 is the item for the upper limit number of allocations, which is not used to determine the equalization of allocations. Therefore, only this item is arranged below the check box 1404.

[0129] Furthermore, the radio button 1407 for selecting the definition of the judgment target schedule is an item used in judging the equalization of allocation, so the wording "judge upper limit" included in the options is changed to "equalize." However, this change in wording is merely to make it easier for operators such as adjustment initiator A to understand, and the definition of the judgment target schedule remains the same as that described above.

[0130] Next, Fig. 12 shows a fifth display example of the participant information input screen 1400. The fifth display example is a display example corresponding to the case where "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocated participant in the second display example (Fig. 9). Note that among the display objects in the fifth display example, those that are common to the display objects in the first to fourth display examples (Figs. 8 to 11) are given the same reference numerals and their explanations are omitted as appropriate.

[0131] The fifth display example is mostly similar to the second display example (FIG. 9). However, the fifth display example has a display field 1421 for displaying the allocation formula as one item of the allocation method, and an "Edit" button 1422 for instructing a transition to an allocation formula editing screen 1500 (FIG. 13) where the allocation formula can be edited. When "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant, the unit for setting the allocation upper limit is the team unit, so the wording of the radio button 1413 for selecting the unit for setting the allocation upper limit is "Uniform for all teams" and "By team". When "Uniform for all teams" is selected as the unit for setting the allocation upper limit, an input field 1406 is provided as in the second display example (FIG. 9), and the allocation upper limit number input in the input field 1406 becomes the allocation upper limit number that is uniformly applied to all teams. On the other hand, when “by team” is selected as the unit for setting the allocation upper limit (not shown), a “set upper limit by team” button (not shown) is provided to instruct the user to move to a screen (not shown) where the value of the allocation upper limit for each team can be input, similar to button 1416 in the third display example (FIG. 10).

[0132] In addition, when "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant, the allocation upper limit number is set as a team unit, so the options for the setting unit of the allocation upper limit number in the fifth display example are "uniform for all teams" and "by team", but since the number of judgment target schedules for each judgment unit period to be compared with the allocation upper limit number is counted for each participant candidate (details will be described later), the setting unit of the allocation upper limit number may be a participant candidate unit. Therefore, even if "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant, the options for the setting unit of the allocation upper limit number may be "uniform for all teams" and "by participant candidate" as in the third display example (FIG. 10) (in addition, when "by participant candidate" is selected as the setting unit of the allocation upper limit number, a "set upper limit number for each participant candidate" button 1416 is provided as in the third display example (FIG. 10)).

[0133] Return to FIG. 4. In the participant information input screen 1400 displayed on the terminal device 40A, the adjustment initiator A inputs some of the input items in the participant information input screen 1400 (step S106). Specifically, the organizer's participant candidates are input in the selection input field 1401 of the participant information input screen 1400, and the assigned participant, which is one item of the assignment method, is selected by the radio button 1403. Here, it is assumed that "Automatic assignment (use of advanced assignment formula)" is selected as the assigned participant. Next, in the participant information input screen 1400, the adjustment initiator A operates the "Edit" button 1422 to instruct the display of the assignment formula editing screen 1500 (FIG. 13) (step S107), and then the adjustment condition setting unit 212 causes the terminal device 40A to display the assignment formula editing screen 1500 (FIG. 13) as an adjustment condition template creation screen (step S127).

[0134] 13 shows a display example of an allocation formula editing screen 1500. The allocation formula editing screen 1500 is provided with a display field 1501 for displaying participant candidates entered in the selection input field 1401 of the participant information input screen 1400 with symbols such as A, B, C, etc., assigned thereto, an input field 1502 for inputting and editing the allocation formula using the symbols assigned to the participant candidates, a display field 1503 for displaying rules relating to the allocation formula, a "Cancel" button 1504 for instructing cancellation of the editing of the allocation formula, and an "Edit Complete" button 1505 for instructing, upon completion of editing of the allocation formula, to move to the participant information input screen 1400 reflecting the edited allocation formula.

[0135] The allocation formula to be input and edited in the input field 1502 is a so-called logical formula, and is entered using the codes (A, B, C, etc.) assigned to the participant candidates, "and", "or", "space", and "parentheses ()" to divide the participant candidates into teams. Participant candidates who make up the same team are specified by combining the codes A, B, C, etc. with "and", and the teams are specified by separating them with "or". Specifically, for example, allocation formulas such as "(A and B) or C", "A or (A and B)", "(A and B) or (A and C)", "(A and B) or (C and D)", "(A and B) or (B and C) or (C and A)", "(A and B) or (A and C) or D", "(A and B) or (A and C) or (D and B) or (D and C)", "(A and B) or (A and C) or (D and E) or (D and F)" can be entered. That is, for multiple teams, each team is formed by determining the participant candidates that will make up each team. Note that, in the allocation formula, at least one team is formed from multiple participant candidates. Also, one participant candidate may belong to multiple different teams.

[0136] The allocation formula is a logical formula that allows free team division using "and", "or" and "parentheses ()" on the premise that one participant candidate may belong to multiple different teams, so that any conceivable team division pattern can be specified. In other words, the allocation formula can specify any team division that may occur in the field of business, such as "simple team division where all teams have the same number of members and each participant candidate belongs to only one team", "team division where all teams have different numbers of members", "team division where one team is formed by freely combining one boss and one subordinate from among one or more bosses and multiple subordinates", and "team division where at least one person is selected from each of three departments to form one team of three or more people".

[0137] In the case of the allocation calculation formula “(A and B) or C” shown in FIG. 13, participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into two teams: team (AB) consisting of participant candidates A and B, and team (C) consisting of only participant candidate C.

[0138] In addition, when "Assign all" or "Automatic assignment (assign one person)" is selected as the assigned participants on the participant information input screen 1400, the display field 1421 displaying the assignment formula and the "Edit" button 1422 for instructing the user to move to the assignment formula editing screen 1500 (FIG. 13) are not displayed, but the internal processing will automatically set the assignment formula.

[0139] For example, when three people, A, B, and C, are specified as participant candidates on the participant information input screen 1400, and "assign all" is selected as the assigned participant, the allocation formula "A and B and C" is assumed to be set, and the team division is performed. In this case, the participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into one team (ABC) consisting of all the participant candidates A, B, and C. Also, when three people, A, B, and C, are specified as participant candidates on the participant information input screen 1400, and "automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the assigned participant, the team division is performed assuming that the allocation formula "A or B or C" is set. In this case, the participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into three teams, (A), (B), and (C), consisting of only one participant candidate A, B, and C, respectively.

[0140] In other words, selecting "Allocate all" as the assigned participant on the participant information input screen 1400 instructs the setting of an allocation formula (e.g., "A and B and C") that connects all of the participant candidates with "and." Also, selecting "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" as the assigned participant on the participant information input screen 1400 instructs the setting of an allocation formula (e.g., "A or B or C") that connects all of the participant candidates with "or."

[0141] In this embodiment, the allocation formula editing screen 1500 (FIG. 13) is used to divide the participant candidates into teams, but the allocation formula may be used to divide the participants into teams. For example, an icon or the like representing each participant candidate may be displayed on a team division screen (not shown) instead of the allocation formula editing screen 1500, and each icon may be moved or duplicated by a cursor operation. Areas corresponding to each of a plurality of teams may be provided on the team division screen, and the participant candidates may be divided into a plurality of teams by moving the icon corresponding to the participant candidate to the team area. Also, for example, a selection input field for designating one or more participant candidates who will constitute the team may be provided in the area for each team provided on the team division screen.

[0142] Returning to Fig. 4, when the adjustment initiator A inputs and edits the allocation formula on the allocation formula editing screen 1500 displayed on the terminal device 40A and operates the "editing completed" button 1505 (step S108), the adjustment condition setting unit 212 then causes the terminal device 40A to display the participant information input screen 1400 reflecting the input and edited allocation formula (step S128).

[0143] It should be noted that if step S107 following step S106 is not executed, i.e., if in step S106, “Automatic allocation (use advanced allocation formula)” is not selected as the assigned participant on the participant information input screen 1400, but rather “Assign everyone” or “Automatic allocation (assign one person)” is selected, steps S127, S108, and S128 are omitted.

[0144] Next, on the participant information input screen 1400 displayed on the terminal device 40A, when the adjustment initiator A finishes inputting and selecting uninputted items of the participant information (step S109) and operates the "Register" button 1409 (step S110), the adjustment condition setting unit 212 generates new adjustment condition template information 223 in association with the user information 222 of the adjustment initiator A and stores it in the storage unit 22, and registers the various information inputted on the adjustment condition template creation screen in the adjustment condition template information 223 (step S129). With this, the adjustment condition template creation process is terminated.

[0145] The adjustment condition template creation process described above can be used repeatedly to adjust the schedule of different meetings, and can create an adjustment condition template consisting of adjustment conditions including potential participants, allocation method, and allocation upper limit settings, as well as a reservation acceptance URL, etc.

[0146] <Schedule adjustment process using adjustment condition template> Next, FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a schedule adjustment process that uses the adjustment condition template created by the adjustment condition template creation process shown in FIG.

[0147] The schedule adjustment process goes through steps S101, S121, S122, S102, and S123 similar to the adjustment condition template creation process shown in FIG.

[0148] Fig. 15 shows an example of the adjustment condition template list screen 1000 displayed on the terminal device 40A in step S123. The adjustment condition template list screen 1000 in Fig. 15 is obtained by adding an adjustment condition template with the management name "XX service new business negotiation" to the adjustment condition template list screen 1000 in Fig. 5 through the above-mentioned adjustment condition template creation process.

[0149] Return to Fig. 14. Next, on the adjustment condition template list screen 1000 (Fig. 15), the adjustment initiator A operates the "Copy URL" button 1004 of the adjustment condition template with the management name "XX service new business negotiation" to copy the reservation acceptance URL, pastes it into an e-mail or the like, and sends it to the terminal device 40X of the adjustment partner X (step S141). Note that instead of or in addition to sending the reservation acceptance URL to the adjustment partner X by e-mail or the like, the reservation acceptance URL may be made public on, for example, the organizer's homepage. After this, no further operations by the adjustment initiator A are required.

[0150] Next, when the adjustment partner X accesses the reservation acceptance URL using the terminal device 40X (step S151), the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40X to display the comment confirmation screen 1600 (FIG. 16) as a reservation acceptance screen (step S161).

[0151] 16 shows a display example of a comment confirmation screen 1600. The comment confirmation screen 1600 displays comments from the organizer and the like as information related to the meeting entered by coordination initiator A. The comment confirmation screen 1600 also has a checkbox 1601 to be checked when the comment from the organizer has been confirmed, and a "Go to schedule selection" button 1602 for instructing a transition to a schedule selection screen 1800 (FIG. 19) where a date to reserve can be selected.

[0152] In this embodiment, only the comments from the organizer to the adjustment partner X are displayed unilaterally on the comment confirmation screen 1600, but it may be possible to input comments from the adjustment partner X in response to comments from the organizer on the comment confirmation screen 1600. Also, when the adjustment initiator A creates an adjustment condition template, it may be possible to set whether or not to allow input of comments from the adjustment partner X.

[0153] Return to FIG. 14. Next, when the adjustment partner X checks the check box 1601 on the comment confirmation screen 1600 and operates the "Select Schedule" button 1602 (step S152), the schedule adjustment unit 213 reads out the adjustment conditions (required time for the meeting, available time before and after the meeting, extraction period for the candidate schedule, available time slot for the meeting, participant candidates, allocation method (including allocation formula), and allocation upper limit setting) from the adjustment condition template information 223 of the adjustment initiator A corresponding to the reservation acceptance URL, and divides the participant candidates into teams according to the allocation formula. In addition, the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the schedule information 311 of the participant candidates managed by the calendar tool 31, and extracts a common free date that satisfies the adjustment conditions (required time for the meeting, available time before and after the meeting, extraction period for the candidate schedule, available time slot for the meeting, and allocation upper limit setting) of all the participant candidates constituting the team as the first candidate date, and determines the date that is the first candidate date for at least one team as the second candidate date (step S162).

[0154] If an allocation upper limit number is set as the allocation upper limit setting (if the checkbox 1404 on the participant information input screen 1400 is checked), the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the participant candidate's schedule information 311 or schedule adjustment information 224, or both, and counts the number of schedules to be judged for each participant candidate for each judgment unit period. If the number of schedules to be judged for a certain participant candidate in a certain judgment period is equal to or greater than the allocation upper limit number, all of the schedules of the participant candidate in the corresponding judgment period are treated as "schedules that are not free." In other words, there is no free schedule common to all the participant candidates of the team to which the participant candidate belongs, and therefore there is no first candidate schedule for the team to which the participant candidate belongs in the corresponding judgment period.

[0155] The process of step S162 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

[0156] FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining an example of team division according to an allocation formula and a method of determining second candidate schedules when the upper limit number of allocations is not specified.

[0157] As shown in the figure, there are three potential participants: A, B, and C. The status of existing plans in the figure shows the status of existing plans registered in the schedule information 311 of each potential participant during the available meeting time slot on a certain day included in the extraction period of the candidate schedule.

[0158] As shown in the figure, it is assumed that participant candidate A has existing plans in time slots 4, 6, 7, and 8 (time slots indicated by diagonal lines in the figure), participant candidate B has existing plans in time slots 3, 5, 6, and 8, and participant candidate C has existing plans in time slots 2, 5, 7, and 8. For ease of explanation, the reserved time before and after the adjustment condition is set to 0 minutes.

[0159] For example, if "Assign all" is selected as the assigned participant in the allocation method, the allocation formula "A and B and C" is applied, and participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into one team, team (ABC). In this case, the only available date that participant candidates A, B, and C who make up team (ABC) have in common is time slot 1, so only time slot 1 becomes the first candidate date for team (ABC). And since there are no other teams, time slot 1, which is the first candidate date for team (ABC), becomes the second candidate date.

[0160] For example, if "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation method for participants, the allocation formula "A or B or C" is applied, and participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into three teams, team (A), (B), and (C). In this case, the available dates of participant candidate A who is part of team (A) are time slots 1, 2, 3, and 5, so time slots 1, 2, 3, and 5 become the first candidate dates for team (A). Also, the available dates of participant candidate B who is part of team (B) are time slots 1, 2, 4, and 7, so time slots 1, 2, 4, and 7 become the first candidate dates for team (B). Furthermore, the available dates of participant candidate C who is part of team (C) are time slots 1, 3, 4, and 6, so time slots 1, 3, 4, and 6 become the first candidate dates for team (C). Then, the time slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, which are the first candidate dates for at least one of the three teams (A), (B), and (C), become the second candidate dates.

[0161] Furthermore, for example, if "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation method for participants to be allocated, and the allocation formula is set to "(A and B) or C," participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into two teams, (AB) and (C). In this case, the common free dates for participant candidates A and B, who make up team (AB), are time slots 1 and 2, so time slots 1 and 2 become the first candidate dates for team (AB). Also, the free dates for participant candidate C, who makes up team (C), are time slots 1, 3, 4, and 6, so time slots 1, 3, 4, and 6 become the first candidate dates for team (C). And time slots 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, which are the first candidate dates for at least one of the two teams (AB) and (C), become the second candidate dates.

[0162] Next, Fig. 18 is a diagram for explaining an example of team division by the allocation formula and the method of determining the second candidate schedule when the allocation upper limit is specified. Specifically, the explanation will continue assuming that the judgment unit period is set to "days", the allocation upper limit is set to 3 for everyone or the whole team, and the judgment target schedule is set to "judge the upper limit based on the number of existing schedules with the keyword 'business negotiation' in the subject line".

[0163] Figure 18 is mostly similar to Figure 17, so a description of the similar content will be omitted. However, a time frame with "business negotiation" written in the time frame of an existing event indicates that an existing event with the keyword "business negotiation" in the subject (hereinafter referred to as the existing event "business negotiation") is registered.

[0164] In the example shown in the figure, participant candidate B already has three existing events with the keyword "business negotiation" in the subject line on that day, so the daily allocation limit of 3 has been reached. Therefore, the available dates on that day for team (A, B, C), (B), and (AB) to which participant candidate B belongs are treated as not existing, so the first candidate date on that day for team (A, B, C), (B), and (AB) to which participant candidate B belongs does not exist.

[0165] For example, if "Allocate all" is selected as the participant allocation in the allocation method, the allocation formula "A and B and C" is applied, and participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into one team, team (ABC). In this case, as mentioned above, there is no first candidate date for team (ABC), so there is no second candidate date either.

[0166] Also, for example, if "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant of the allocation method, the allocation formula "A or B or C" is applied, and participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into three teams, teams (A), (B), and (C). In this case, the first candidate schedule for team (A) is time slots 1, 2, 3, and 5, as in FIG. 17. Also, there is no first candidate schedule for team (B), as mentioned above. Furthermore, the first candidate schedule for team (C) is time slots 1, 3, 4, and 6, as in FIG. 17. And, the time slots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which are the first candidate schedules for at least one of the three teams (A), (B), and (C), become the second candidate schedules.

[0167] Furthermore, for example, if "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation method for participants to be allocated, and the allocation formula is set to "(A and B) or C," participant candidates A, B, and C are divided into two teams, (AB) and (C). In this case, as mentioned above, there is no first candidate date for team (AB). Also, the first candidate dates for team (C) are time slots 1, 3, 4, and 6, as in FIG. 17. And the time slots 1, 2, 4, and 6, which are the first candidate dates for at least one of the two teams (AB) and (C), become the second candidate dates.

[0168] Returning to Fig. 14, next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40X to sequentially display a schedule selection screen 1800 (Fig. 19) and a schedule confirmation screen 1900 (Fig. 20) as reservation acceptance screens in order to present the determined second candidate schedule to the adjustment partner X and allow him to select one (step S163).

[0169] 19 shows an example of the display of a schedule selection screen 1800. The schedule selection screen 1800 displays a calendar 1801 in a grid pattern with dates on the horizontal axis and times on the vertical axis, and a candidate schedule list 1803 in which second candidate dates are listed. The schedule selection screen 1800 also has an "Inconvenient" button 1804 that is operated if the second candidate schedule displayed on the schedule selection screen 1800 is inconvenient, and a "Next" button 1805 for confirming the selected meeting schedule.

[0170] On the calendar 1801, a candidate schedule frame 1802 representing the second candidate schedule is displayed in a different color, etc., so as to be distinguishable from the other frames. The coordination partner X can select the meeting date by selecting one of the candidate schedule frames 1802 on the calendar 1801 or one of the second candidate schedule frames in the candidate schedule list 1803.

[0171] When the adjustment partner X operates the "cannot make" button 1804, the schedule adjustment unit 213 interrupts the currently running schedule adjustment process and notifies the adjustment initiator A that the adjustment partner X has operated the "cannot make" button 1804. When the adjustment partner X selects a meeting date and operates the "next" button 1805, the schedule adjustment unit 213 displays on the terminal device 40X a schedule confirmation screen 1900 (FIG. 20) for the adjustment partner X to confirm the meeting date selected by himself / herself.

[0172] In this case, it is assumed that the adjustment partner X selects, for example, a candidate date of 16:00 to 17:00 on Monday, May 10 as the meeting date on the date selection screen 1800 (FIG. 19) and operates the “Next” button 1805.

[0173] 20 shows an example of a display of a schedule confirmation screen 1900. The schedule confirmation screen 1900 displays a calendar 1901 that displays dates on the horizontal axis and times on the vertical axis in a lattice pattern, and a meeting schedule 1903.

[0174] In the calendar 1901, a meeting schedule frame 1902 showing the meeting schedule selected by the coordination partner X himself is displayed in a different color or the like so as to be distinguishable from the other frames on the schedule selection screen 1800. In addition, the meeting schedule 1903 displays the meeting schedule selected by the coordination partner X.

[0175] The schedule confirmation screen 1900 also has a "Back" button 1904 for returning to the schedule selection screen 1800 (FIG. 19), and a "Next" button 1905 for moving to the reservation user information input screen 2000 (FIG. 21).

[0176] Returning to Fig. 14, when the adjustment partner X operates the "Next" button 1905 on the schedule confirmation screen 1900 (Fig. 20) displayed on the terminal device 40X (step S153), the schedule adjustment unit 213 then causes the terminal device 40X to display a reservation user information input screen 2000 (Fig. 21) as a reservation acceptance screen for allowing the adjustment partner X to input reservation user information (step S164).

[0177] 21 shows a display example of a reservation information input screen 2000. The reservation information input screen 2000 is provided with items for requesting input from the adjustment partner X set by the adjustment initiator A in the check box 1207 of the template management information input screen 1200, and in this display example, an input field 2001 for the adjustment partner X to input the company name (school name), an input field 2002 for inputting the name, and an input field 2003 for inputting an email address are provided. The reservation information input screen 2000 also has check boxes 2004 and 2005 for designating the timing of notification of a notification email informing the contents of the meeting, a "Back" button 2006 for returning to the schedule confirmation screen 1900, and a "Confirm" button 2007 for instructing to confirm the input on the reservation information input screen 2000 and to confirm a series of operations on the reservation reception screen.

[0178] Returning to Fig. 14, when the other party X enters his / her own reservation information (company name (school name), name, email address) on the reservation information input screen 2000 and operates the "Confirm" button 2007 (step S154), the schedule adjustment unit 213 then performs a final confirmation that the meeting schedule that the other party X is trying to confirm can still be reserved at the current time (step S165).

[0179] Specifically, the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the schedule information 311 of the participant candidates managed by the calendar tool 31, and makes a final confirmation that the meeting schedule to be confirmed is a common available schedule that satisfies the adjustment conditions of all the participant candidates constituting at least one team. Note that, since the teams that can be assigned have already been identified in step S162, the final confirmation that the schedule is available may be limited to the teams that can be assigned.

[0180] For example, in all teams, if the meeting date that coordination partner X is trying to confirm is no longer a common available date that satisfies the coordination conditions of all the potential participants in the team, a message such as "The selected date has been booked. Please select a date again" may be displayed on the terminal device 40X, and the process may be returned to step S162, where coordination partner X may start over with his / her operation on the date selection screen 1800.

[0181] On the other hand, if it is confirmed that the meeting date to be confirmed is a common available date that satisfies the adjustment conditions of all the participant candidates constituting at least one team, the schedule adjustment unit 213 allocates participation in the meeting to the teams to which the meeting schedule can be allocated according to the allocation order of the allocation method included in the adjustment conditions.Then, the schedule adjustment unit 213 newly registers schedule adjustment information 224 as information that adjustment partner X has completed the reservation, in association with the user information 222 of adjustment initiator A and the adjustment condition template information 223 used (step S166).

[0182] The process of step S166 will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 22 to 25. As shown in each figure, three potential attendees are assumed to be A, B, and C. The status of existing plans in each figure shows the status of existing plans registered in the schedule information 311 of each potential attendee during a possible meeting time slot on a certain day included in the extraction period for the candidate dates at the time of step S166. The explanation will continue assuming that the status of the existing plans has not changed since step S162.

[0183] Fig. 22 is a diagram for explaining an example of teams that can be assigned to a meeting and the allocation method, corresponding to the case where the allocation order is random or prioritized and no upper limit number is set. Since the team division, the status of existing schedules of potential participants A, B, and C, and the settings regarding the upper limit number of allocations are the same as those in Fig. 17, the second candidate date presented to coordination partner X is also the same as that in Fig. 17. Therefore, the time slots marked with "X" will not be included in the second candidate date presented to coordination partner X, and will not be selected by coordination partner X as a meeting date.

[0184] If "Allocate all" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method, the only team that can be a participant is team (ABC), and only team (ABC) can be allocated. Therefore, for example, if coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule will be allocated to team (ABC).

[0185] If "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method and "Random" is selected as the allocation order, for example, when the coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 will be randomly assigned to one of the available teams (A), (B), or (C). Also, for example, when the coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 2 will be randomly assigned to one of the available teams (A) or (B).

[0186] If "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant for the allocation method, "By priority" is selected as the allocation order, and the order of priority is set to teams (C), (B), (A) from highest to lowest, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 will be assigned to team (C), which has the highest priority among the available teams (A), (B), and (C). Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 2 will be assigned to team (B), which has the highest priority among the available teams (A) and (B).

[0187] If "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant of the allocation method, the allocation formula "(A and B) or C" is set, and "Random" is selected as the allocation order, for example, when the coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule in time slot 1 is randomly assigned to one of the available teams (AB) or (C). Also, for example, when the coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting date, only team (AB) is available for allocation, so the meeting schedule in time slot 2 is assigned to team (AB).

[0188] If "Automatic allocation (use advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant for the allocation method, the allocation formula "(A and B) or C" is set, "By priority" is selected as the allocation order, and the allocation order is set to team (C), (AB) in descending order of priority, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting schedule, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 is assigned to team (C), which has the highest priority among the available teams (AB) and (C). Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting schedule, only team (AB) is available for allocation, so the meeting schedule for time slot 2 is assigned to team (AB).

[0189] Next, FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining an example of a team to which a meeting can be assigned and an allocation method in the case where the allocation order is random or priority, the allocation upper limit is set, the judgment unit period is "day unit", the allocation upper limit is "everyone" or "team" 3, and the judgment target schedule is "the upper limit is judged by the number of existing schedules with the keyword "business negotiation" in the subject". Since the team division, the status of the existing schedules of the participant candidates A, B, and C, and the settings regarding the allocation upper limit (judgment unit period, allocation upper limit, and judgment target schedule) are the same as in FIG. 18, the second candidate schedule presented to the adjustment partner X is also the same as in FIG. 18. Therefore, the time slots marked with "x" are not included in the second candidate schedule presented to the adjustment partner X, and the adjustment partner X will not select them as meeting schedules. Also, FIG. 23, like FIG. 18, shows a state in which there is one existing schedule "business negotiation" for the relevant day for the participant candidate A, three for the participant candidate B, and two for the participant candidate C.

[0190] In the case of Figure 23, participant candidate B already has three existing "business negotiation" events on that day, so the daily allocation limit of 3 has been reached. Therefore, no meeting events will be allocated to the teams (A, B, C), (B), and (AB) to which participant candidate B belongs.

[0191] If "Allocate all" is selected as the allocation participant of the allocation method, there is only one team of participant candidates, team (ABC). However, as shown in Fig. 18, the number of existing events "Business negotiation" of participant candidate B belonging to team (ABC) has reached the allocation upper limit of 3, so in step S162, time slots 1 to 8 of the day are not the first candidate schedule for team (ABC) and are not the second candidate schedule, so none of time slots 1 to 8 of the day will be selected as meeting schedules by coordination partner X.

[0192] If "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method and "Random" is selected as the allocation order, as described above, team (B) cannot be assigned, so for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 is randomly assigned to one of available teams (A) or (C). Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting date, team (A) is the only available team, so the meeting schedule for time slot 2 is assigned to team (A).

[0193] If "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method, "By priority" is selected as the allocation order, and the order of priority is set to teams (C), (B), and (A) from highest to lowest, as described above, since team (B) cannot be assigned, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting schedule, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 will be assigned to team (C), which has the highest priority among the available teams (A) and (C). Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting schedule, team (A) is the only available team, so the meeting schedule for time slot 2 will be assigned to team (A).

[0194] If "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method, the allocation formula "(A and B) or C" is set, and "Random" is selected as the allocation order, as described above, team (AB) cannot be assigned and team (C) is the only team that can be assigned, so for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting schedule, team (C) is assigned the meeting schedule for time slot 1. Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 3 as the meeting schedule, team (C) is assigned the meeting schedule for time slot 3, so team (C) is assigned the meeting schedule.

[0195] If "Automatic allocation (use advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participants for the allocation method, the allocation formula "(A and B) or C" is set, "By priority" is selected as the allocation order, and the allocation order is set to team (C), (AB) in descending order of priority, as described above, team (AB) cannot be assigned and team (C) is the only team that can be assigned, so for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting schedule, team (C) is assigned the meeting schedule for time slot 1. Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 3 as the meeting schedule, team (C) is the only team that can be assigned, so team (C) is assigned the meeting schedule for time slot 3.

[0196] Next, FIG. 24 is a diagram for explaining an example of a team and allocation method for allocating meetings, in which the allocation order is equal allocation, there is no allocation upper limit, the judgment unit period is "daily unit", and the judgment target schedule is "equalize the number of existing schedules with the keyword "business negotiation" in the subject". Since the team division, the status of existing schedules of the participant candidates A, B, and C, and the settings regarding the allocation upper limit are the same as those in FIG. 17, the second candidate schedule presented to the adjustment partner X is also the same as that in FIG. 17. Therefore, the time slot marked with "x" is not included in the second candidate schedule presented to the adjustment partner X, and the adjustment partner X will not select it as a meeting schedule. In addition to FIG. 17, FIG. 24 assumes that the existing schedule "business negotiation" on the day in question used for the judgment of equal allocation has one for the participant candidate A, three for the participant candidate B, and two for the participant candidate C.

[0197] If "Allocate all" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method, the only team of potential participants is team (ABC), and only team (ABC) can be allocated. Therefore, for example, if coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 will be allocated to team (ABC).

[0198] In the case where "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method, for example, when the coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 is assigned to team (A) among teams (A), (B), and (C) that do not have existing events in time slot 1. In other words, since the number of existing events "business meetings" on the relevant day is 1 for team (A), 3 for team (B), and 2 for team (C), in order to equalize the number of existing events "business meetings," the meeting schedule for time slot 1 is assigned to team (A), which has the smallest number of existing events "business meetings." Also, for example, when the coordination partner X selects time slot 4 as the meeting date, the meeting schedule for time slot 4 is assigned to team (C) among teams (B) and (C) that do not have existing events in time slot 4. In other words, since the number of existing scheduled “business meetings” on that day is 3 for team (B) and 2 for team (C), in order to equalize the number of existing scheduled “business meetings”, the meeting schedule for time slot 4 is assigned to team (C), which has the smallest number of existing scheduled “business meetings”.

[0199] In the case where "Automatic allocation (use advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant of the allocation method and the allocation formula "(A and B) or C" is set, for example, when the adjustment partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, out of teams (AB) and (C) that do not have existing events in time slot 1, the meeting date in time slot 1 is assigned to team (C). That is, on the relevant day, the number of existing events "business meetings" for team (AB) is 3 (the larger value of the number of existing events "business meetings" for the participant candidates A and B to which they belong) and team (C) is 2, so in order to equalize the number of existing events "business meetings", the meeting date in time slot 1 is assigned to team (C) with the smallest number of existing events "business meetings". Also, for example, when the adjustment partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting date, team (AB) is the only team that does not have existing events in time slot 2, so the meeting date in time slot 2 is assigned to team (AB).

[0200] Next, FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining an example of a team and allocation method for allocating meetings, in which the allocation order is equal allocation, an allocation upper limit is set, the judgment unit period is "day unit", the allocation upper limit is "uniform for all" or "uniform for team" 3, and the judgment target schedule is "equalize the number of existing schedules with the keyword "business negotiation" in the subject line". Since the team division, the status of existing schedules of participant candidates A, B, and C, and the settings regarding the allocation upper limit (judgment unit period, allocation upper limit, and judgment target schedule) are the same as in FIG. 18, the second candidate schedule presented to the adjustment partner X is also the same as in FIG. 18. Therefore, the time slot marked with "x" is not included in the second candidate schedule presented to the adjustment partner X, and the adjustment partner X will not select it as a meeting schedule. Also, FIG. 25, like FIG. 18, shows a state in which there is one existing schedule "business negotiation" for the relevant day for participant candidate A, three for participant candidate B, and two for participant candidate C.

[0201] In the case of FIG. 25, the number of existing events "business negotiation" for participant candidate B has reached the allocation upper limit of 3. Therefore, no meeting events will be allocated to the teams (A, B, C), (B), and (AB) to which participant candidate B belongs.

[0202] If "Allocate all" is selected as the allocation participant of the allocation method, there is only one team of participant candidates, team (ABC). However, as shown in Fig. 18, the number of existing events "Business negotiation" of participant candidate B belonging to team (ABC) has reached the allocation upper limit of 3, so in step S162, time slots 1 to 8 of the day are not the first candidate schedule for team (ABC) and are not the second candidate schedule, so none of time slots 1 to 8 of the day will be selected as meeting schedules by coordination partner X.

[0203] If "Automatic allocation (assign one person)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method, as described above, team (B) cannot be assigned, so for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting date, out of teams (A) and (C) that can be assigned, the meeting schedule in time slot 1 is assigned to team (A). In other words, since the number of existing "business meetings" events on that day is 1 for team (A) and 2 for team (C), in order to equalize the number of existing "business meetings" events, the meeting schedule in time slot 1 is assigned to team (A), which has the smallest number of existing "business meetings" events. Also, for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 2 as the meeting date, team (A) is the only team that can be assigned, so the meeting schedule in time slot 2 is assigned to team (A).

[0204] If "Automatic allocation (using advanced allocation formula)" is selected as the allocation participant in the allocation method and the allocation formula "(A and B) or C" is set, as described above, team (AB) cannot be allocated, so for example, when coordination partner X selects time slot 1 as the meeting schedule, the meeting schedule for time slot 1 is allocated to team (C) that can be allocated. The same applies when time slots 3, 4, and 6 are selected.

[0205] Although not illustrated in Figures 24 and 25, it may happen that there are multiple teams with the smallest number of existing "business negotiation" events in the time frame selected by adjustment partner X as the meeting date. In that case, the state of equalization will not change no matter which team the meeting event is assigned to, so the meeting event can be assigned randomly to one of the multiple teams. Alternatively, the meeting event may be assigned according to a certain rule, such as the order of the selection input field 1401 of the participant candidates.

[0206] Returning to Fig. 14, the schedule adjustment unit 213 then registers the meeting schedule in the schedule information 311 of the participant candidate belonging to the team to which the meeting schedule has been assigned, which is managed by the calendar tool 31 (step S167). At this time, the schedule adjustment unit 213 acquires a schedule ID for identifying the schedule registered on the calendar tool 31 from the calendar tool 31, and additionally registers the schedule ID in the schedule adjustment information 224 registered in step S166.

[0207] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40X to display the schedule notification screen 2100 (FIG. 26) (step S168).

[0208] 26 shows a display example of a schedule notification screen 2100. The schedule notification screen 2100 displays the confirmed meeting schedule, comments from the organizer, and the like. The schedule notification screen 2100 also has a registration button 2101 for instructing the registration of the schedule in a specific type of calendar tool, and a registration button 2102 for instructing the registration of the schedule in a calendar tool using a certain default data format. The coordination partner X can register the confirmed meeting schedule as his / her own schedule in the calendar tool used by the coordination partner X by operating the registration button 2101 or the registration button 2102 depending on the type of calendar tool he / she is using.

[0209] In this embodiment, after determining the team to which the meeting schedule will be assigned, in step S166, the confirmed meeting information is registered in schedule adjustment information 224, and then in step S167, the meeting schedule is registered in schedule information 311 of the participant candidate belonging to the team to which the meeting schedule has been assigned. However, the order of registering information in schedule adjustment information 224 and registering the schedule in schedule information 311 may be reversed.

[0210] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 sends a notification email to the email address designated by the other party X, informing him of the details of the meeting, according to the notification timing selected by the other party X himself (step S169).

[0211] However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the coordination partner X receives the e-mail on the terminal device 40X, and an arrow is illustrated from the schedule adjustment device 20 to the terminal device 40X as step S169, but the coordination partner X may receive the notification e-mail from the schedule adjustment device 20 using an electronic device other than the terminal device 40X.

[0212] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 sends a notification email to the adjustment initiator A who created the adjustment condition template, informing him of the details of the meeting (step S170). Note that the notification email may be sent not only to the adjustment initiator A but also to the participant candidates to whom the meeting schedule is assigned. Alternatively, the notification email may be sent only to the participant candidates to whom the meeting schedule is assigned.

[0213] According to the schedule adjustment process described above, after creating an adjustment condition template, the adjustment initiator A only needs to select the adjustment condition template and send the reservation acceptance URL to the adjustment partner X, and reservations for new business negotiations, etc. can be automatically accepted, thereby significantly reducing the workload of the adjustment initiator A.

[0214] Furthermore, the schedule adjustment device can automatically adjust schedules while taking into consideration the available dates in the schedules of each participant candidate, thereby preventing double bookings (overlapping plans) in the schedules of each participant candidate.

[0215] Furthermore, according to the schedule adjustment process, multiple participant candidates can be divided into teams according to an allocation formula, and the schedule can be allocated randomly, in order of priority, or evenly within a unit period to teams that can participate in the schedule for which adjustment partner X has been confirmed.

[0216] Furthermore, using the status of existing schedules in a unit period as a criterion for judgment, control can be performed so that a certain number of meetings or more are not scheduled for a potential participant or a team of potential participant participants in a unit period.

[0217] In addition, since the adjustment condition template can be used repeatedly and the reservation acceptance URL corresponding to the adjustment condition template is fixed, it is possible to adjust the schedule without the trouble of sending the reservation acceptance URL to the adjustment party X, for example, by providing a link to the company's homepage or directing users to the reservation acceptance URL after filling out an inquiry form.

[0218] In addition, by including the reservation acceptance URL in a mass distribution email or the like, the reservation acceptance URL can be sent to multiple adjustment partners X at the same time.

[0219] The schedule adjustment device of this embodiment can typically prepare various operation screens as, for example, web pages and display them on the web browser of the terminal device. However, this is not limited to the above. For example, a dedicated application having various operation screens may be installed on the terminal device. In this case, the schedule adjustment device can display various operation screens in the dedicated application of the terminal device simply by transmitting some of the contents (data such as candidate schedules) to be displayed on the various operation screens to the terminal device. In other words, the schedule adjustment device of the present invention can include various aspects that can display screens on the terminal device.

[0220] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modifications, and various modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiment and modifications have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace a part of a modification with another modification, or to combine the modifications.

[0221] In addition, each of the above configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware, for example, by designing a part or all of them in an integrated circuit. In addition, each of the above configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as a program, table, file, etc. that realizes each function can be placed in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD, or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, or a DVD. In addition, the control lines and information lines are shown as those that are considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines are necessarily shown in the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all configurations are connected to each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0222] 10... schedule adjustment system, 11... network, 20... schedule adjustment device, 21... processing unit, 211... authentication unit, 212... adjustment condition setting unit, 213... schedule adjustment unit, 22... storage unit, 221... member information, 222... user information, 223... adjustment condition template information, 224... schedule adjustment information, 23... communication unit, 30... business management system, 31... calendar tool, 311... Schedule information, 40A, 40M, 40X... terminal device, 1000... adjustment condition template list screen, 1200... template management information input screen, 1300... date and time information input screen, 1400... participant information input screen, 1500... calculation formula editing screen, 1600... comment confirmation screen, 1800... schedule selection screen, 1900... schedule confirmation screen, 2000... reservation user information input screen, 2100... schedule notification screen

Claims

1. A schedule adjustment system in which a schedule adjustment device, a first terminal device used by a schedule initiator, and a second terminal device used by a schedule partner are connected via a network, and which adjusts meeting schedules based on adjustment conditions related to the meeting, the first terminal device displays an adjustment initiator operation screen for the adjustment initiator and receives input from the adjustment initiator; the second terminal device displays a control partner operation screen for the control partner and receives input from the control partner; The schedule adjustment device registering the coordination conditions, including the candidate participants for the meeting and an allocation method including an allocation formula and an allocation order, in an adjustment conditions template that can be repeatedly used for scheduling different meetings based on input from the coordination initiator using the first terminal device; In response to the adjustment partner accessing the second terminal device based on access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template, Dividing the potential participants into teams based on the allocation formula; Refer to the schedule information of the potential participants managed by a calendar tool; extracting, for each team, a common available date that satisfies the adjustment conditions of all of the participant candidates constituting the team as a first candidate date; determining a schedule that is a first candidate schedule for at least one of the teams as a second candidate schedule; presenting the second candidate schedule to the second terminal device; determining the meeting date from the presented second candidate dates in accordance with the selection of the coordination partner; Allocating the meeting schedule to the teams for which the determined meeting schedule has been extracted as the first candidate schedule in accordance with the allocation order. Scheduling system.

2. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 1, The schedule adjustment device registering the adjustment conditions including a determination unit period and an allocation upper limit number in the adjustment condition template based on an input from the adjustment initiator using the first terminal device; All schedules in the determination unit period in which the number of schedules to be determined of the participant candidate in the determination unit period is equal to or greater than the upper allocation limit number are excluded from the first candidate schedules of the team to which the participant candidate in the determination unit period in which the number of schedules to be determined is equal to or greater than the upper allocation limit number belongs. Scheduling system.

3. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 1, The schedule adjustment device registering the adjustment condition including a judgment unit period in the adjustment condition template based on an input from the adjustment initiator using the first terminal device; Counting the number of evaluation target schedules of the participant candidate in the evaluation unit period that includes the determined meeting schedule; The maximum value of the number of the judgment target schedules of the participant candidates belonging to the team is regarded as the number of the judgment target schedules of the team to which the participant candidate belongs; Among the teams for which the determined meeting schedule has been extracted as the first candidate schedule, the meeting schedule is assigned to the team with the smallest number of schedules to be judged in the judgment unit period that includes the determined meeting schedule. Scheduling system.

4. 4. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 2 or 3, The schedule adjustment device The meeting schedule determined using the same adjustment condition template is set as the target schedule. Scheduling system.

5. 4. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 2 or 3, The schedule adjustment device registering the adjustment conditions including the designation of a judgment keyword in the adjustment condition template in response to an input by the adjustment initiator using the first terminal device; Among the existing plans of the participant candidate in the schedule information, the existing plans whose information about the existing plans includes the judgment keyword are set as the judgment target plans. Scheduling system.

6. 4. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 2 or 3, The schedule adjustment device The adjustment initiator is allowed to select a day, a week, or a month as the determination unit period. Scheduling system.

7. 3. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 2, The schedule adjustment device The adjustment initiator is allowed to select, as the upper limit number of allocations, one of an upper limit number of allocations for the entire team, an upper limit number of allocations for each team, an upper limit number of allocations for the entire participant candidates, or an upper limit number of allocations for each participant candidate. Scheduling system.

8. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 1, The schedule adjustment device Based on the allocation formula, the potential participants are divided into teams each consisting of one or two or more potential participants. Scheduling system.

9. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 1, The schedule adjustment device The meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participant candidates who make up the team to which the meeting schedule is assigned. Scheduling system.

10. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 1, The schedule adjustment device Notifying the potential participants who make up the team to which the meeting schedule has been assigned of the meeting schedule. Scheduling system.

11. A schedule adjustment method using a schedule adjustment system in which a schedule adjustment device, a first terminal device used by a schedule initiator, and a second terminal device used by a schedule partner are connected via a network, and a meeting schedule is adjusted based on adjustment conditions related to the meeting, the first terminal device displays an adjustment initiator operation screen for the adjustment initiator and receives input from the adjustment initiator; the second terminal device displays a control partner operation screen for the control partner and receives input from the control partner; The schedule adjustment device registering the coordination conditions, including the candidate participants for the meeting and an allocation method including an allocation formula and an allocation order, in an adjustment conditions template that can be repeatedly used for scheduling different meetings, based on input from the coordination initiator using the first terminal device; In response to the adjustment partner accessing the second terminal device based on access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template, Dividing the potential participants into teams based on the allocation formula; Refer to the schedule information of the potential participants managed by a calendar tool; extracting, for each team, a common available date that satisfies the adjustment conditions of all of the participant candidates constituting the team as a first candidate date; determining a schedule that is a first candidate schedule for at least one of the teams as a second candidate schedule; presenting the second candidate schedule to the second terminal device; determining the meeting date from the presented second candidate dates in accordance with the selection of the coordination partner; Allocating the meeting schedule to the teams for which the determined meeting schedule has been extracted as the first candidate schedule in accordance with the allocation order. How to adjust the schedule.

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