Schedule adjustment system and schedule adjustment method

Abstract

To easily make schedule adjustment for meetings without overlapping with existing schedules of high priority while allowing an overlap with existing schedules of low priority.SOLUTION: A schedule adjustment device regards, as must-attend schedules, existing schedules obtained by excluding existing schedules including an exclusion keyword in information on the existing schedules, or existing schedules individually designated by an adjustment initiator, out of existing schedules of a participant, from must-attend schedules, and determines, as an unoccupied schedule of the participant, a schedule which does not include any must-attend schedule, refers, in response to an access from an adjustment partner, to schedule information of the participant managed by an external system to extract, as candidate schedules, unoccupied schedules of the participant that satisfy adjustment conditions, displays a schedule adjustment screen showing the extracted candidate schedules on a second terminal device used by the adjustment partner, decides a meeting schedule from among the candidate schedules in accordance with selection operation of the adjustment partner, and registers the schedule in the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to System, and scheduling Method methods.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, scheduling meetings in business involves a number of procedures such as checking the schedules of each participant and securing a venue, so it is a very cumbersome and time-consuming task.

[0003] Regarding checking the schedules of participants, these days, many business people manage their schedules using calendar tools provided on the Internet, so it is conceivable to refer to such calendar tools.

[0004] Related to calendar tools, for example, Patent Document 1 describes "a member of a system for distributing and sharing schedule information via the Internet, including steps of registering for membership by a plurality of applicants who apply for distribution of schedule information and a plurality of users who use the distributed schedule information, steps executed by a scheduler for schedule management, including a step of publicly distributing the schedule information to the users by the applicant, a step of registering, by the user, a target for which distribution of the publicly distributed schedule information is desired, and a step of synchronizing and presetting, based on the registered desired distribution targets of the users, the schedule information related thereto in the calendars of all user terminals."

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The technology described in Patent Document 1 allows a plurality of users who are members of the system to share schedule information with each other, so it can be used for scheduling meetings. However, even if the system is used, the schedules of participants in meetings such as meetings can be updated and changed at any time. In addition, when non-members of the system are included in the participants of the meeting, it is necessary to individually check the schedules of the non-members. Therefore, it is difficult to adjust the meeting schedule without overlapping the existing schedules of each participant, that is, without double booking, with the meeting schedule.

[0007] Also, conventionally, the meeting schedule is determined from the available schedules of the participants. However, even though some participants must participate in a meeting during schedule adjustment (high priority), there are existing schedules with lower priority than the meeting (for example, meetings that can be absent depending on the situation, meetings where only close colleagues within the company participate and schedule changes are easy, schedules reserved as one's own working hours, etc.). Therefore, it may not be possible to determine the schedule of the meeting with high priority.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and aims to facilitate the adjustment of the meeting schedule without double booking with the existing schedules with high priority while allowing double booking for the existing schedules with low priority.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0009] This application includes a plurality of means for solving at least a part of the above problems. For example, they are as follows.

[0010] In order to solve the above problems, a schedule adjustment device according to an aspect of the present invention includes an adjustment condition setting unit that sets adjustment conditions related to a meeting, and a schedule adjustment unit that adjusts the meeting schedule based on the adjustment conditions. The adjustment condition setting unit sets the adjustment conditions including the designation of participants and exclusion keywords in response to an input from an adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment unit excludes, from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by an external system, the existing schedules in which the exclusion keywords are included in the information related to the existing schedules from the must-attend schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determines a schedule in which no must-attend schedule exists as the free schedule of the participant. When the adjustee accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustee, the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system is referred to, and the free schedules of the participants that satisfy the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules, and a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on a second terminal device used by the adjustee. A meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustee on the schedule adjustment screen, and the determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system.

[0011] The scheduling device according to another aspect of the present invention includes an adjustment condition setting unit that sets adjustment conditions related to a meeting, and a schedule adjustment unit that adjusts the meeting schedule based on the adjustment conditions. The adjustment condition setting unit sets the adjustment conditions including designations of participants and exclusions to be scheduled in response to an input from the adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment unit excludes the existing schedule designated by the adjustment starter as the exclusion schedule from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by the external system from the must-attend schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determines a schedule without the must-attend schedules as the free schedule of the participant. When the adjustee accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustee, the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system is referred to, the free schedules of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules, and a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on a second terminal device used by the adjustee. A meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustee on the schedule adjustment screen, and the determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system.

[0012] The adjustment condition setting unit can set the adjustment conditions including designations of lead and lag times in response to an input from the adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment unit can determine a schedule without the must-attend schedules and excluding the lead and lag times corresponding to the must-attend schedules as the free schedule of the participant.

[0013] The adjustment condition setting unit can set the existing schedule designated by the adjustment starter as the exclusion schedule from the list display of the existing schedules of the participants.

[0014] The schedule adjustment unit determines a second candidate schedule according to the input of the adjustment starter on the schedule editing screen, issues the access information, and when the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information, refers to the schedule information of the participants, extracts a third candidate schedule that is the free schedule of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions and is within the range of the second candidate schedule, displays the schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted third candidate schedule on the second terminal device, determines a meeting schedule from the third candidate schedule according to the selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, and can register the determined meeting schedule in the schedule information of the participants managed by the external system.

[0015] The schedule adjustment unit can refer to the schedule information of the participants managed by the external system, extract the free schedule of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions as the first candidate schedule, and display the schedule editing screen for editing the extracted first candidate schedule on the first terminal device used by the adjustment starter.

[0016] The adjustment condition setting unit can set the existing schedule of the participants specified by the adjustment starter on the schedule editing screen as the excluded schedule.

[0017] The adjustment condition setting unit displays a template creation screen for creating an adjustment condition template on the first terminal device used by the adjustment starter, and can register the adjustment condition template that can be repeatedly used for schedule adjustment of different meetings and the access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template according to the designation of the adjustment starter on the template creation screen.

[0018] The participant can be the adjustment starter himself / herself or a member belonging to the organization to which the adjustment starter belongs.

[0019] When a plurality of the participants are specified as the adjustment conditions, the schedule adjustment unit can, in response to the adjustment partner accessing based on the access information, refer to the schedule information of all the participants managed by the external system, and extract common free schedules of all the participants that satisfy the adjustment conditions as the candidate schedules.

[0020] When a plurality of the participants are specified as the adjustment conditions, the schedule adjustment unit can, in response to the adjustment partner accessing based on the access information, refer to the schedule information of all the participants managed by the external system, and extract at least one free schedule of all the participants that satisfies the adjustment conditions as the candidate schedules.

[0021] The adjustment condition setting unit can set the adjustment conditions including the venue used for the meeting in response to the input of the adjustment starter. When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information, the schedule adjustment unit refers to the schedule information of each of the participants and the venue managed by the external system, extracts a common free schedule between the free schedules of the participants that satisfy the adjustment conditions and the free schedule of the venue where there is no existing schedule of the venue as the candidate schedule, causes the second terminal device to display a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedule, determines the meeting schedule from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, and can register the determined meeting schedule in the schedule information of each of the participants and the venue managed by the external system.

[0022] The schedule adjustment method according to still another aspect of the present invention includes an adjustment condition setting step of setting adjustment conditions related to a meeting, and a schedule adjustment step of adjusting the meeting schedule based on the adjustment conditions. The adjustment condition setting step sets the adjustment conditions including the designation of participants and exclusion keywords in response to the input of the adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment step excludes, from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by an external system, the existing schedules in which the exclusion keywords are included in the information related to the existing schedules from the must-attend schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determines a schedule without the must-attend schedules as the free schedule of the participant. When the adjustee accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustee, referring to the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system, the free schedules of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules, and a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on a second terminal device used by the adjustee. A meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustee on the schedule adjustment screen, and the determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system.

[0023] A program according to still another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an adjustment condition setting unit that sets adjustment conditions related to a meeting, and a schedule adjustment unit that adjusts a meeting schedule based on the adjustment conditions. The adjustment condition setting unit sets the adjustment conditions including designation of participants and exclusion keywords in response to an input from an adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment unit excludes, from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by an external system, the existing schedules in which the exclusion keyword is included in the information related to the existing schedules from the must-attend schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determines a schedule in which no must-attend schedule exists as a free schedule of the participants. When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustment partner, the free schedules of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules by referring to the schedule information of the participants managed by the external system, and a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on a second terminal device used by the adjustment partner. A meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, and the determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participants managed by the external system.

[0024] The scheduling method according to still another aspect of the present invention includes an adjustment condition setting step of setting adjustment conditions related to a meeting, and a schedule adjustment step of adjusting the meeting schedule based on the adjustment conditions. The adjustment condition setting step sets the adjustment conditions including participants and designations of schedules to be excluded in response to an input from an adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment step excludes, from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by an external system, the existing schedules designated as the schedules to be excluded by the adjustment starter from the schedules that are mandatory for participation, regards the remaining existing schedules as the schedules that are mandatory for participation, and determines a schedule without the schedules that are mandatory for participation as the free schedule of the participant. When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustment partner, the external system refers to the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system, extracts the free schedules of the participants that satisfy the adjustment conditions as candidate schedules, displays a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules on a second terminal device used by the adjustment partner, determines a meeting schedule from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, and registers the determined meeting schedule in the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system.

[0025] A program according to still another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as an adjustment condition setting unit that sets adjustment conditions related to a meeting, and a schedule adjustment unit that adjusts a meeting schedule based on the adjustment conditions. The adjustment condition setting unit sets the adjustment conditions including designation of participants and exclusions in response to an input from an adjustment starter. The schedule adjustment unit excludes, from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by an external system, the existing schedules designated by the adjustment starter as the exclusions from the must-attend schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determines a schedule with no must-attend schedules as a free schedule of the participant. When the adjustment partner accesses based on access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustment partner, the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system is referred to, free schedules of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules, a schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on a second terminal device used by the adjustment partner, a meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, and the determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participant managed by the external system.

Advantages of the Invention

[0026] According to the present invention, it is possible to easily adjust the meeting schedule without double-booking with existing schedules having a high priority while allowing double-booking for existing schedules having a low priority.

[0027] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0028]

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MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0029] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings for explaining an embodiment, the same members are generally denoted by the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted. Further, in the following embodiments, it goes without saying that the constituent elements (including element steps, etc.) are not necessarily essential except when specifically indicated and when it is considered to be clearly essential in principle. Further, when it is said that "comprising A", "consisting of A", "having A", or "including A", it goes without saying that other elements are not excluded except when it is specifically indicated that only that element is involved. Similarly, in the following embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc. of constituent elements, etc., it is assumed to include those that are substantially approximate or similar to the shape, etc. except when specifically indicated and when it is considered to be clearly otherwise in principle.

[0030] <Schedule adjustment system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention> FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a schedule adjustment system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] The schedule adjustment system 10 is for assisting in the schedule adjustment of meetings. The schedule adjustment system 10 includes a schedule adjustment device 20, an external system 30, and terminal devices 40A, 40M, and 40X connected via a network 11.

[0032] The network 11 is a two-way communication network typified by the Internet, a mobile phone communication network, or the like.

[0033] The schedule adjustment device 20 adjusts the schedule of a meeting with the coordination partner X in response to a request from the coordination initiator A. The meeting is expected to be attended by the coordination initiator A, members B, C, D, etc. (including the member manager M of the organization to which the coordination initiator A belongs) of the organization (such as a company; a corporate member, described later) to which the coordination initiator A belongs, and the coordination partner X. However, in this specification, the "participants" of the meeting are defined as the coordination initiator A and the members of the organization to which the coordination initiator A belongs among the people who actually participate in the meeting, and the coordination partner X who participates in the meeting is not included in the "participants" (is not referred to as a "participant").

[0034] The external system 30 refers to a system that widely provides a calendar tool 31 as a Web application to general consumers, corporations, etc., for a fee or free of charge. 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 external 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.

[0035] 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. The terminal device 40A corresponds to the first terminal device of the present invention, and the terminal device 40X corresponds to the second terminal device of the present invention.

[0036] In this embodiment, it is assumed that the adjustment partner X participating in the meeting operates the terminal device 40X. However, in practice, an agent (such as a secretary) of the adjustment partner X may operate the terminal device 40X. Further, the adjustment starter A may select a plurality of participants from among the members belonging to the same organization (corporate members described later) as himself / herself, and the adjustment starter A may represent the plurality of participants to perform the schedule adjustment.

[0037] Furthermore, in FIG. 1, only the adjustment partner X is illustrated as the adjustment partner participating in the meeting, but there may be a plurality of adjustment partners.

[0038] The adjustment starter A is a member of an enterprise or the like that has completed the membership registration and usage registration (registration of information necessary to enable the use of the schedule adjustment function in the schedule adjustment device 20) with the schedule adjustment device 20. Hereinafter, an enterprise or the like that has completed the membership registration with the schedule adjustment device 20 is referred to as a corporate member. Also, among the members belonging to a corporate member (enterprise or the like), a member having a user account of the schedule adjustment device 20 is defined as a user. It is essential that the adjustment starter A is a user. Therefore, hereinafter, the adjustment starter A may be referred to as user A. Note that the usage registration with the schedule adjustment device 20 can be performed not only by an enterprise or the like but also by an individual. In that case, an individual who has completed the usage registration is referred to as an individual member. An individual member and a user can be regarded as the same.

[0039] Members B, C, D, etc. belonging to the same corporate member as the adjustment starter A may or may not be users.

[0040] It is assumed that the members belonging to the corporate member of the schedule adjustment device 20 manage their own schedules using the calendar tool 31 provided by the external system 30. Also, it is assumed that the corporate member of the schedule adjustment device 20 manages the reservation status of meeting rooms, reception rooms, preparation rooms, etc. available to the members as the meeting venue using the calendar tool 31 provided by the external system 30.

[0041] Therefore, in the present case, it is assumed that the calendar tool 31 holds schedule information 311 in which the schedules of the adjustment starters A etc. who can be participants in the meeting and the reservation status of the meeting venues available to the adjustment starters A etc. are registered respectively.

[0042] Note that the adjustment partner X may or may not be a user of the schedule adjustment device 20. Also, the adjustment partner X may or may not be using the calendar tool 31. Further, the adjustment partner X may be using a calendar tool provided by a vendor different from the calendar tool 31 used by the adjustment starter A.

[0043] 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 is composed of 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), an input device such as a keyboard, a mouse, 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).

[0044] The processing unit 21 is realized by a processor of a computer. The processing unit 21 has 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 processor of the computer executing a predetermined program loaded into the memory. However, some or all of these functional blocks may be realized as hardware by an integrated circuit or the like.

[0045] The authentication unit 211 receives membership registration by, for example, a membership administrator M using the terminal device 40M and creates membership information 221. Further, the authentication unit 211 creates user information 222, for example, by an adjustment starter A using the terminal device 40A, in response to the first login by the user, when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

[0046] Furthermore, the authentication unit 211 accesses the external system 30 via the network 11 and performs authentication processing using, for example, the administrator authority account included in the membership information 221 held by the storage unit 22 or the user account included in the user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment starter A (user A) in accordance with a protocol such as OAuth (both are shown in FIG. 2). However, the administrator authority account and the user account only need to be used for the first authentication process, and for the second and subsequent authentication processes, the administrator authentication information (access token, etc.) and user authentication information (access token, etc.) (both are shown in FIG. 2) transmitted from the external system 30 when the first authentication process is completed can be used.

[0047] The adjustment condition setting unit 212 displays a condition setting screen for setting adjustment conditions consisting of a plurality of items necessary for meeting schedule adjustment on the terminal device 40A, sets the adjustment conditions according to the input from the adjustment starter A for the condition setting screen, and registers them in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A held by the storage unit 22. The items of the adjustment conditions will be described later.

[0048] The schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants in the meeting (which may or may not include the adjustment starter A) managed by the external system 30, and extracts the free schedules of the participants who satisfy the set adjustment conditions as the first candidate schedules.

[0049] Here, the free schedule of the participant in the present embodiment is a schedule that can be determined that a new meeting schedule may be added as a result of considering whether the existing schedule of the participant existing in the schedule information 311 is a mandatory participation schedule.

[0050] As a method for determining the addition of free schedules, when neither the method of specifying exclusion keywords (details will be described later; hereinafter referred to as the first addition determination method) nor the method of specifying exclusion schedules (details will be described later; hereinafter referred to as the second addition determination method) is adopted, all existing schedules of the participants are regarded as mandatory participation schedules, and a schedule in which the participant's mandatory participation schedule does not exist is determined as the participant's free schedule.

[0051] Also, when at least one of the first addition determination method and the second addition determination method is specified, a part of the existing schedules of the participants is excluded from the mandatory participation schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the participant's mandatory participation schedules, and a schedule in which the participant's mandatory participation schedule does not exist is determined as the participant's free schedule.

[0052] Specifically, when the first addition determination method is adopted and the second addition determination method is not adopted, the existing schedules of the participants whose subject contains the exclusion keyword specified by the adjustment starter A are excluded from the mandatory participation schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the participant's mandatory participation schedules, and a schedule in which the participant's mandatory participation schedule does not exist is determined as the participant's free schedule.

[0053] When the second addition determination method is adopted and the first addition determination method is not adopted, the existing schedules of the participants specified in the exclusion schedule by the adjustment starter A are excluded from the mandatory participation schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the participant's mandatory participation schedules, and a schedule in which the participant's mandatory participation schedule does not exist is determined as the participant's free schedule.

[0054] When both the first and second addition determination methods are adopted, the existing schedules of the participants whose subject contains the exclusion keyword set by the adjustment starter A and the existing schedules of the participants specified in the exclusion schedule by the adjustment starter A are excluded from the mandatory participation schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the participant's mandatory participation schedules, and a schedule in which the participant's mandatory participation schedule does not exist is determined as the participant's free schedule.

[0055] Note that the exclusion keyword can be input by the adjustment starter A on the condition setting screen 500 (Fig. 6). As the exclusion keyword, for example, "※ Absence allowed", "※ Schedule change allowed", etc. are assumed. For corporate members such as companies, as an in-house rule, when an affiliate (the adjustment starter A, member administrator M, affiliates B, C, D, etc. in this embodiment) registers a schedule in the calendar tool 31, if the priority of the schedule is low and it may be absent depending on the situation, the exclusion keyword "※ Absence allowed" is included in the subject of the schedule and registered. Also, for example, when the schedule is only for in-house members with close relationships and the schedule can be easily changed, the exclusion keyword "※ Schedule change allowed" is included in the subject of the schedule and registered.

[0056] Note that as the exclusion keyword, in addition to words such as "※ Absence allowed" and "※ Schedule change allowed", specific symbols or characters may be adopted. Also, instead of or in addition to including the exclusion keyword in the subject of the schedule, for example, the exclusion keyword may be registered in other fields such as the remarks or description (memo) of the schedule. In this case, the first additional determination method may be to determine whether the exclusion keyword is included not only in the subject of the schedule but also in other fields such as the remarks or description (memo) of the schedule.

[0057] The exclusion schedule can be specified by the adjustment starter A on the exclusion schedule designation screen 550 (Fig. 7). Specifically, it will be described later with reference to Fig. 7.

[0058] After extracting the first candidate schedule, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40A to display a schedule editing screen for editing the first candidate schedule, and determines a second candidate schedule according to the editing operation from the adjustment starter A for the schedule editing screen. Also, the second candidate schedule is registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A. If the first candidate schedule is not edited by the adjustment starter A, the first candidate schedule and the second candidate schedule will be the same.

[0059] As a modification example, instead of determining the second candidate schedule by editing the first candidate schedule, extraction of the first candidate schedule may be omitted. For example, on the calendar on a predetermined screen displayed by the schedule adjustment unit 213 on the terminal device 40A, the adjustment starter A may select a date and time to determine the second candidate schedule.

[0060] In addition, the schedule adjustment unit 213 issues an adjustment URL (Uniform Resource Locator) for the adjustment partner X to access the schedule adjustment screen. However, there may be a case where the adjustment starter A designates the adjustment URL instead of the schedule adjustment unit 213 issuing it (details will be described later). The adjustment URL may be issued in text or as an image such as a QR code. The issued adjustment URL is transmitted to the adjustment partner X by the adjustment starter A using e-mail or the like. The adjustment URL corresponds to the access information of the present invention.

[0061] Furthermore, when the adjustment partner X accesses the adjustment URL using the terminal device 40X, at that time, the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers again to the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30 and extracts a third candidate schedule that is the free schedule of the participants satisfying the set adjustment conditions and is within the range of the second candidate schedule. Then, the schedule adjustment unit 213 displays a schedule adjustment screen representing the third candidate schedule on the terminal device 40X.

[0062] By extracting the third candidate schedule, even if there is a change in the participant's schedule between the issuance of the adjustment URL and the access by the adjustment partner X, the occurrence of double booking caused thereby can be suppressed.

[0063] Furthermore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 registers the meeting schedule selected by the adjustment partner X from among the third candidate schedules displayed on the schedule adjustment screen and confirmed on the schedule confirmation screen in the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30, and also registers it in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A held by the storage unit 22. Note that the schedules of the participants can be changed even within a short period of time from when the adjustment partner X selects a meeting schedule from among the third candidate schedules displayed on the schedule adjustment screen until it is confirmed on the schedule confirmation screen. Therefore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 may finally confirm that the selected meeting schedule is an available schedule of the participant that satisfies the adjustment conditions immediately before the meeting schedule is confirmed on the schedule confirmation screen. And if the selected meeting schedule is no longer an available schedule of the participant that satisfies the adjustment conditions, for example, a message such as "The specified time is already occupied. Please select again" may be displayed on the terminal device 40X, and the operation may be reverted to the schedule adjustment screen. Thereby, the occurrence of double booking can be further suppressed.

[0064] The storage unit 22 is realized by a computer's 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, etc. other than the various types of information described above.

[0065] The communication unit 23 is realized by a computer's communication module. The communication unit 23 connects to the external system 30, terminal devices 40A, 40M, 40X, etc. via the network 11 and communicates various types of data and information.

[0066] Note that some or all of the above-described functional blocks constituting the schedule adjustment device 20 may be realized by hardware such as an integrated circuit. Also, the schedule adjustment device 20 may be realized by a plurality of computers, and in that case, the above-described functional blocks may be distributed and arranged among the plurality of computers.

[0067] Next, FIG. 2 shows an example of member information 221, user information 222, adjustment condition template information 223, and schedule adjustment information 224 held in the storage unit 22.

[0068] The member information 221 consists of information regarding corporate members who have completed member registration in the schedule adjustment device 20. Further, the member information 221 includes information regarding corporate members that is added by registration of the corporate members 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, owner information, and venue information.

[0069] The member account is information for a member administrator M, etc. of a corporate member (such as a company) to log in to the schedule adjustment device 20. The administrator authority account is information for a member administrator M, etc. of a corporate member (such as a company) to access the external system 30 with administrator authority. Note that it is desirable for the member account to be the same as the administrator authority account (for example, the email address of a member administrator M, etc.), but they may be different. When the member account and the administrator authority account are the same, registration of the administrator authority account for the member information 221 can be omitted.

[0070] The administrator authentication information is an access token, etc. obtained from the external system 30 as a successful result of authentication processing when the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 first performs authentication processing on the external system 30 using the administrator authority account. After the administrator authentication information is obtained, the authentication unit 211 can perform authentication processing on the external system 30 more quickly using the administrator authentication information without using the administrator authority account.

[0071] The basic information is the name (such as a company name) of the corporate member, etc. The basic information is recorded at the time of member registration and can be changed after member registration. The owner information is a list of the names of owners belonging to a corporate member (such as a company) and user accounts, etc. for accessing the external system 30. The owner information is acquired and recorded from the external system 30 on the premise that an owner of a corporate member who can be a participant on the side of the adjustment starter A already uses the calendar tool 31.

[0072] The venue information is a list of the names of venues such as conference rooms, reception rooms, and reserve rooms that can be used by the affiliates belonging to the corporate members for meetings, and the identification IDs of the venues in the external system, etc. The venue information is obtained from the external system 30 and recorded on the premise that the schedules of all the venues necessary for schedule adjustment have already been managed by the calendar tool 31.

[0073] Note that the affiliate information and the venue information are information that can be obtained in part or in whole from the external system 30 only when accessing the external system 30 with an administrator privilege account. For example, when using an account without administrator privileges instead of the administrator privilege account, or when accessing the external system 30 as a user account with the same privileges as the administrator privilege account but not having administrator privileges, it cannot be obtained (however, it may be possible to obtain a part of it).

[0074] The user information 222 consists of information about the users among the affiliates belonging to the corporate members who have completed the usage registration of the schedule adjustment device 20. The user information 222 is created when each user logs in to the schedule adjustment device 20 for the first time, succeeds in the authentication process with the external system 30, and it is confirmed that the user is included in the affiliate information of the member information 221, and is associated with the member information 221.

[0075] The user information 222 includes a user account, user authentication information, and user basic information.

[0076] The user account is information for a user such as Adjustment Initiator A to log in to the schedule adjustment device 20. It is desirable that the user account is the same as the account for the user to access the external system 30, but it may be different. Hereinafter, the description will be made on the premise that the user account is the same as the account for the user to access the external system 30.

[0077] The user authentication information is an access token or the like obtained from the external system 30 as a successful result of the authentication process when the authentication unit 211 performs the authentication process on the external system 30 for the first time using the user account. After the user authentication information is obtained, the authentication unit 211 can perform the authentication process on the external system 30 more promptly using the user authentication information without using the user account.

[0078] The user basic information is the user's name or the like, and is read and recorded from the affiliated person information of the member 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 editable by the user himself / herself.

[0079] The adjustment condition template information 223 includes adjustment conditions (which may include, but are not necessarily limited to, exclusion keywords and exclusion schedule IDs) specified in advance by the user according to the purpose of the meeting, an adjustment URL, behavior control information at the time of schedule confirmation (such as the subject of the item to be registered in the schedule information 311 of participants, etc.), and screen display information (such as the name of the adjustment condition template (e.g., for the first-round interview of new graduate recruitment) and explanations, etc.).

[0080] Note that since the adjustment condition template information 223 is created by the user, it is associated with the user information 222. However, for example, the adjustment condition template information 223 may be associated with the member information 221 so that the adjustment condition template information 223 can be shared among the users belonging to the corporate member corresponding to the member information 221. Also, the adjustment condition template created by a certain user may be made available for other users to use.

[0081] The schedule adjustment information 224 is created for each meeting where the user is the adjustment initiator, in association with the user information 222 corresponding to each user. In view of the fact that a user different from the user who created the adjustment condition template uses the adjustment condition template for schedule adjustment, the schedule adjustment information 224 may be directly associated with the member information 221 of the corporate member to which the user belongs.

[0082] The schedule adjustment information 224 records the adjustment URL, adjustment conditions (which may include exclusion keywords and exclusion schedule IDs and are not necessarily mandatory), candidate schedules (such as the second candidate schedule), information about the adjustment counterpart (e-mail address, timing of sending notification e-mails, etc.), the date and time and location of the confirmed meeting (in the case of a web conference, the web conference URL), comments, etc.

[0083] <Processing at the time of use registration by the schedule adjustment system 10> Next, FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the processing at the time of use registration by the schedule adjustment system 10.

[0084] On the premise that the calendar tool 31 provided by the external system 30 is used for managing the schedules of the affiliated persons of the corporate member to which the adjustment initiator A and the member administrator M belong and the availability of the meeting venues, and it is assumed that the external system 30 already manages the affiliated person information and venue information recorded in the member information 221. And as its specification, the external system 30 supplies at least one of the affiliated person information and venue information recorded in the member information 221 to the schedule adjustment device 20 in response to a request from the schedule adjustment device 20 accessed using the administrator authority account (or administrator authentication information).

[0085] First, when the member administrator M applies for member registration to the schedule adjustment device 20 using the terminal device 40M via the network 11 (step S1), the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 creates the member information 221 and records it in the storage unit 22 (step S11). However, here, the created member information 221 only includes the member account and basic information, and does not include the administrator authority account, administrator authentication information, affiliated person information, and venue information.

[0086] Next, when the member administrator M inputs the administrator authority account for the external system 30 and requests an authentication process to the schedule adjustment device 20 (step S2), then, the authentication unit 211 performs an authentication process on the external system 30 using the administrator authority account (step S12).

[0087] As a modification, steps S1 and S11 may be executed after steps S2 and S12 are executed.

[0088] As a successful result of the authentication process in step S12, administrator authentication information (such as an access token) is sent from the external system 30 to the schedule adjustment device 20. Next, 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). For the authentication process, for example, OAuth can be used, and the member administrator M is allowed to input a password to the external system 30 without temporarily going through the authentication unit 211, so that the administrator authority account input by the member administrator M is authenticated by the external system 30. The authentication process for other persons such as the adjustment starter A is the same.

[0089] Next, the authentication unit 211 connects to the external system 30 using the administrator authentication information in the member information 221, and acquires the affiliated person information and the venue information of the corporate member to which the member administrator M belongs, which are managed by the external system 30 (step S14). Next, the authentication unit 211 registers the affiliated person information and the venue information acquired in step S14 in the member information 221 created and recorded in step S11 (step S15).

[0090] After that, when the adjustment starter A first logs in to the schedule adjustment device 20 via the network 11 using his / her user account on the terminal device 40A (step S31), the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 checks for the existence of the member information 221 in which the affiliated person information including the user account of the adjustment starter A is registered, and acquires the name (user basic information) of the adjustment starter A from the affiliated person information (step S16). Next, the authentication unit 211 performs an authentication process on the external system 30 using the user account of the adjustment starter A (step S17).

[0091] Then, as a successful result of the authentication process in step S17, user authentication information (such as an access token) is sent from the external system 30 to the schedule adjustment device 20. Next, the authentication unit 211 creates user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment starter A, associates it with the member information 221 confirmed in step S16, and records it in the storage unit 22. The user account, user authentication information, and user basic information obtained in step S16 of the adjustment starter A are registered in the user information 222 (step S18). Thus, the process at the time of use registration is completed.

[0092] According to the process at the time of use registration described above, since the member information 221 of the corporate member to which the adjustment starter A belongs is associated with the user information 222 of the adjustment starter A, hereafter, even if the member administrator M is not logged in to the schedule adjustment device 20, if the user, the adjustment starter 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, the schedule information 311 in which the schedules of the adjustment starter A and the affiliates B, C, D, etc. belonging to the same corporate member as the adjustment starter A held in the external system 30 are registered, and the schedule information 311 in which the schedules of the meeting places (such as conference rooms) available for the affiliates B, C, D, etc. belonging to the same corporate member as the adjustment starter A and the adjustment starter A are registered, through, for example, a Web API (Application Programming Interface).

[0093] In the above-described processing at the time of use registration, it was assumed that the member information 221 of the corporate member existed, and the user information of the users belonging to the corporate member was generated. As a modification, when the organization to which a person belongs is not a corporate member and the member information 221 does not exist, if a certain individual logs in to the schedule adjustment device 20 to create user information 222, and then the individual newly performs an authentication process on the external system 30 with an administrator privilege account, the individual may be regarded as a corporate member, the user account of the individual may be regarded as a member account, and based on the user information 222 of the individual, member information 221 associated with the individual may be generated. In this case, since the individual who has become a corporate member has an administrator privilege account, it becomes possible to obtain the affiliated person information and the venue information of the organization to which the individual belongs from the external system 30.

[0094] Also, in the present embodiment, the affiliated person information and the venue information acquired from the external system 30 are registered in the member information 221 stored in the storage unit 22. However, the affiliated person information and the venue information may not be registered in the member information 221, and each time it is necessary to refer to the affiliated person information and the venue information, they may be acquired from the external system 30.

[0095] In this embodiment, the affiliation information and the venue information are obtained using the administrator authority account on the external system 30. However, if it is difficult to use the administrator authority account of the external system 30 from the perspective of security or the like, the affiliation information and the venue information may be registered in the schedule adjustment device 20 without using the administrator authority account on the external system 30. For example, the member administrator M or the user of the corporate member may upload the data in which the affiliation information and the venue information are recorded to the schedule adjustment device 20, or directly input the data into the utilization registration screen displayed on the terminal device 40M or the terminal device 40A by the schedule adjustment device 20, so that the affiliation information and the venue information are directly registered in the schedule adjustment device 20. Further, without using the administrator authority account, only the affiliation information and the venue information that can be obtained from the external system 30 are obtained from the external system 30 using the user account authority of the member administrator M or the user of the corporate member, and registered in the schedule adjustment device 20.

[0096] <Schedule adjustment process by the schedule adjustment system 10> Next, FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the schedule adjustment process by the schedule adjustment system 10.

[0097] First, the adjustment starter A uses the terminal device 40A to log in to the schedule adjustment device 20 via the network 11 (step S101). Then, in response to the login of the adjustment starter A, the authentication unit 211 of the schedule adjustment device 20 uses the user account (or user authentication information) included in the user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment starter A held by the storage unit 22 to perform an authentication process on the external system 30 (step S111).

[0098] Next, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 of the schedule adjustment device 20 causes a terminal device 40A to display a selection screen (not shown) for selecting either "custom adjustment" or "use template" as the schedule adjustment method (step S112). Next, on the selection screen, the adjustment starter A selects the schedule adjustment method (step S102). In the present case, the description will continue assuming that the adjustment starter A has selected custom adjustment.

[0099] <When "custom adjustment" is selected as the schedule adjustment method> Next, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 of the schedule adjustment device 20 causes the terminal device 40A to display a condition setting screen 500 (Figs. 5 and 6) for setting adjustment conditions (which may include exclusion keywords and excluded schedules, but are not essential) (step S113).

[0100] Figs. 5 and 6 are display examples of the condition setting screen 500 displayed on the terminal device 40A. Fig. 5 shows the upper part of the condition setting screen 500, and Fig. 6 shows the lower part of the condition setting screen 500 that is displayed by scrolling the upper part shown in Fig. 5 downward.

[0101] As shown in Fig. 5, the condition setting screen 500 is provided with an input field 501 for entering the meeting name, radio buttons 502 for selecting whether to adjust the meeting location, radio buttons 503 for selecting whether to allow changes by the adjustment partner of the specified meeting location, radio buttons 504 for selecting the workplace, a location different from the workplace, or a web conference as the meeting location, and an input field 505 for entering the name, address, etc. of the meeting location.

[0102] Note that the input field 505 is provided when "workplace" or "a place different from the workplace" is selected by the radio button 504. Also, when "Web conference" is selected by the radio button 504, a radio button (not shown) for selecting a video call application to be used for the Web conference as a meeting method (means) is provided instead of the input field 505. Further, when "do not adjust" is selected by the radio button 502, only a comment input field (not shown) is provided instead of the radio buttons 503, 504, and the input field 505.

[0103] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, on the condition setting screen 500, there are a selection input field 511 for inputting the required time of the meeting, a selection input field 512 for inputting the secured time before and after the meeting respectively, a selection input field 513 for inputting the extraction period of candidate schedules in year, month, and day, a selection input field 514 for inputting the available time zone for the meeting, a check box 515 for instructing the adoption of the first addition determination method (method of specifying exclusion keywords) as the addition determination method for free schedules, an input field 516 for inputting exclusion keywords when the check box 515 is checked (when the first addition determination method is adopted), a check box 517 for instructing the adoption of the second addition determination method (method of individually specifying exclusion schedules) as the addition determination method for free schedules, a detailed setting button 518 for transitioning to an exclusion schedule designation screen 550 (FIG. 7) for specifying exclusion schedules when the check box 517 is checked (when the second addition determination method is adopted), and a selection input field 519 for selecting and designating one or more meeting rooms from the list of meeting rooms based on the venue information of the member information 221 for use in the meeting.

[0104] Here, the time reserved before and after the meeting to be entered in the selection input field 512 is the time for moving to the venue, preparation work, withdrawal work, breaks, etc. When the reserved time before and after the meeting is set, it is necessary to reflect the reserved time before and after the meeting in the free schedule of the participants. Specifically, for example, if the mandatory participation schedule of the participant exists from 12:00 to 13:00, and the reserved time before is set to 30 minutes and the reserved time after is set to 60 minutes, then from 11:00 to 12:00 as the reserved time after the meeting, from 12:00 to 13:00 for the mandatory participation schedule, and from 13:00 to 13:30 as the reserved time before the meeting. The combined time period of these three time slots, from 11:00 to 13:30, becomes the schedule where other meetings cannot be scheduled, and the other schedules become the free schedules of the participants.

[0105] In the selection input field 514, different available meeting time slots may be input for each day of the week and each holiday.

[0106] When the checkbox 515 is checked, that is, when the first additional determination method is adopted, it is mandatory to input one or more exclusion keywords in the input field 516, and an additional determination of the free schedule is made using the exclusion keywords input in the input field 516. In the input field 516, for example, multiple exclusion keywords can be input by separating them with a line break or a punctuation mark "、", a comma ",", etc. When multiple exclusion keywords are input, among the multiple input exclusion keywords, existing schedules whose subject contains one or more exclusion keywords are excluded from the mandatory participation schedules.

[0107] The detailed setting button 518 becomes operable when the checkbox 517 is checked, that is, when the second additional determination method is adopted. When the detailed setting button 518 is operated, it transitions to the exclusion schedule designation screen 550 (Figure 7), and an additional determination of the free schedule is made based on the designated exclusion schedule. When the checkbox 517 is checked, it is mandatory to designate one or more exclusion schedules on the exclusion schedule designation screen 550.

[0108] FIG. 7 shows an example of the display of the exclusion schedule designation screen 550. The exclusion schedule designation screen 550 is for the adjustment starter A to designate an exclusion schedule that is not regarded as a mandatory participation schedule among the existing schedules. On the exclusion schedule designation screen 550, there are an input field 551 for designating a calendar (schedule information 311) to be the search target of the existing schedules, an input field 552 for inputting a search keyword for narrowing down the existing schedules, a search button 553 for instructing the start of the search of the existing schedules, and an exclusion schedule confirmation button 555 for confirming the designated existing schedule among the listed existing schedules as the exclusion schedule.

[0109] In the input field 551, the calendar to be the search target can be designated by selecting from the calendars existing in the calendar tool 31. In the input field 552, for example, a plurality of search keywords can be input by separating them with a line break or a comma “、”, a comma “,”, etc. When a plurality of search keywords are input, among the plurality of input search keywords, existing schedules within the extraction period of candidate schedules in which one or more search keywords are included in the subject are searched. Also, it is not necessary to input a search keyword in the input field 552. In this case, without narrowing down by the search keyword, all existing schedules that satisfy the extraction period of the candidate schedules are searched from the calendar designated in the input field 551.

[0110] When the adjustment starter A designates the calendar to be the search target in the input field 551, inputs a search keyword in the input field 552, and operates the search button 553, among the existing schedules registered in the calendar to be the search target, existing schedules in which the search keyword is included in the subject are searched. However, instead of or in addition to the subject of the existing schedule, for example, existing schedules in which the search keyword is included in other fields such as the remarks or description (memo) of the existing schedule may be searched. Then, a list of the searched existing schedules is displayed on the exclusion schedule designation screen 550.

[0111] Each of the existing schedules shown in the list is provided with a check box 554. The adjustment starter A can specify an existing schedule by checking the check box 554 of any existing schedule among the existing schedules shown in the exclusion schedule designation screen 550, and can confirm the specified existing schedule as an exclusion schedule by operating the exclusion schedule confirmation button 555.

[0112] For example, as shown in the figure, when the adjustment starter A designates their own (participant A) calendar as the search target in the input field 551, enters the search keyword "(within the company)" in the input field 552, and operates the search button 553, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 refers to the calendar (schedule information 311) of participant A managed by the external system 30, and searches for existing schedules within the extraction period of candidate schedules among the existing schedules of participant A during the extraction period of candidate schedules, where the subject includes the search keyword "(within the company)", and displays the list on the exclusion schedule designation screen 550. Then, when the adjustment starter A designates two of the five existing schedules shown in the list, the "General Manager Meeting (within the company)" from 14:00 to 15:00 on December 21st (Monday) and the "Sales Meeting (within the company)" from 10:00 to 12:00 on December 23rd (Wednesday), and operates the exclusion schedule confirmation button 555, the two designated existing schedules are confirmed as exclusion schedules, and the adjustment condition setting unit 212 records the schedule IDs on the calendar tool 31 related to the two confirmed exclusion schedules in the schedule adjustment information 224 as exclusion schedule IDs.

[0113] In the figure, recurring schedules (such as the in-class meeting every Monday) are displayed in one line collectively, but it may be possible to select whether to display them collectively or display each individual schedule included in the recurring schedule as a separate line. Also, when the check box 554 corresponding to the recurring schedule is checked while the recurring schedule is displayed collectively, the individual schedules included in the recurring schedule may be additionally displayed with check boxes, and each of the individual schedules may be designated as an exclusion schedule in units of schedules.

[0114] Return to FIG. 6. Regarding the available schedules of the participants, when check boxes 515 and 517 are not checked, that is, when neither the first nor the second additional determination method is adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 regards all existing schedules of the participants as mandatory participation schedules, and determines a schedule that is a schedule in which the mandatory participation schedules of the participants do not exist and excludes the lead and lag reservation times corresponding to the mandatory participation schedules of the participants as the available schedule of the participant.

[0115] When check box 515 is checked and check box 517 is not checked, that is, when the first additional determination method is adopted and the second additional determination method is not adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 excludes the existing schedules of the participants whose exclusion keyword is included in the subject from the mandatory participation schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the mandatory participation schedules of the participants, and determines a schedule that is a schedule in which the mandatory participation schedules of the participants do not exist and excludes the lead and lag reservation times corresponding to the mandatory participation schedules of the participants as the available schedule of the participant.

[0116] When check box 515 is not checked and check box 517 is checked, that is, when the first additional determination method is not adopted and the second additional determination method is adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 excludes the existing schedules of the participants specified in the exclusion schedule from the mandatory participation schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the mandatory participation schedules of the participants, and determines a schedule that is a schedule in which the mandatory participation schedules of the participants do not exist and excludes the lead and lag reservation times corresponding to the mandatory participation schedules of the participants as the available schedule of the participant.

[0117] When both check boxes 515 and 517 are checked, that is, when both the first and the second additional determination methods are adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 excludes the existing schedules of the participants whose exclusion keyword is included in the subject and the existing schedules of the participants specified in the exclusion schedule from the mandatory participation schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the mandatory participation schedules of the participants, and determines a schedule that is a schedule in which the mandatory participation schedules of the participants do not exist and excludes the lead and lag reservation times corresponding to the mandatory participation schedules of the participants as the available schedule of the participant.

[0118] Regarding the selection input fields 511 to 514, 519, the check boxes 515, 517, and the input field 516, the schedule adjustment information 224 associated with the user information 222 corresponding to the adjustment starter A is referred to, and it is displayed in a state where the content of the adjustment conditions of the meeting in which the adjustment starter A was the adjustment starter most recently is reflected. This can reduce the labor of inputting the adjustment conditions by the adjustment starter A. Whether to automatically reflect the adjustment conditions of the most recent meeting in the selection input fields 511, etc. may be selectable according to the designation of the adjustment starter A. Also, one or more adjustment condition patterns may be registered in advance, and the adjustment conditions may be easily reflected by designating and calling one of the patterns. Also, the adjustment conditions (information other than the extraction period of candidate schedules) of the already registered adjustment condition template information 223 may be copied to easily reflect the adjustment conditions.

[0119] Furthermore, on the condition setting screen 500, there are provided a selection input field 520 for selecting and designating one or more participants on the adjustment starter A side (which may or may not include the adjustment starter A) from among the list of members based on the member information 221 of the member, radio buttons 521 for selecting the meeting participation conditions of the participants designated in the selection input field 520, an input field 522 for omitting the input of the email address by the adjustment partner X on the schedule confirmation screen 900 (FIG. 12), a check box 523 for selecting whether to register the meeting schedule confidentially, and a candidate schedule extraction button 524 for determining the input items and instructing the extraction of candidate schedules for the meeting.

[0120] In addition, when a plurality of participants are specified in the selection input field 520 and all of the specified participants need to participate in the meeting, "All participants" may be selected with the radio button 521. Also, when a plurality of participants are specified in the selection input field 520 and at least one of the specified participants only needs to participate, "Only one participant" may be selected with the radio button 521. When only one participant is entered in the selection input field 520, the radio button 521 automatically selects "All participants". However, when there is only one participant, regardless of whether "All participants" or "Only one participant" is selected, all subsequent operations such as the extraction of candidate schedules will be the same.

[0121] When a plurality of participants are entered in the selection input field 520 and "All participants" is selected with the radio button 521, the schedule information 311 of all participants is referred to, and a common free schedule of all participants who meet the adjustment conditions is extracted as a candidate schedule. On the contrary, when a plurality of participants are entered in the selection input field 520 and "Only one participant" is selected with the radio button 521, the schedule information 311 of all participants is referred to, and among the free schedules of each participant who meets the adjustment conditions, a schedule that is the free schedule of at least one or more participants is extracted as a candidate schedule.

[0122] Return to FIG. 4. On the condition setting screen 500 displayed on the terminal device 40A, when the adjustment starter A inputs each item of the adjustment conditions and operates the candidate schedule extraction button 524 (step S103), in response to this operation, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 of the schedule adjustment device 20 creates new schedule adjustment information 224 in association with the user information 222 of the adjustment starter A and causes the storage unit 22 to hold it, and registers the set adjustment conditions in the schedule adjustment information 224 (step S114).

[0123] In the current case, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, as adjustment conditions, the subject of the meeting is "Business negotiation of new products with Mr. XX of XX Trading Co., Ltd.", the meeting place is "to be adjusted", changes by the adjustment partner of the designated meeting place are "allowed", the meeting place is "XX Trading Co., Ltd.", which is different from the workplace, the required time for the meeting is "60 minutes", the secured time before and after the meeting is "30 minutes" each, the extraction period for candidate schedules is 8 business days from "December 16, 2020" to "December 25, 2020", the available time zone is "09:30 to 18:00", the method for additional determination of free schedules adopts both the first and second additional determination methods, the exclusion keyword is "※ Absence allowed", the excluded schedule is the "Headquarters meeting (in-house)" from 14:00 to 15:00 on Monday, December 21, and the "Sales meeting (in-house)" from 10:00 to 12:00 on Wednesday, December 23, the venue is "not specified", the participant input is "Adjustment starter A and subordinates B and C belonging to the same corporate member (hereinafter collectively referred to as participants A, B, and C)", the meeting participation condition for the input participants is "All participants attend", the email address of the adjustment partner is "not input", and the registration of the meeting schedule is set to "public", and the following explanation will continue based on this assumption.

[0124] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 reads out the adjustment conditions registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 of the adjustment starter A from the storage unit 22, and refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30 to extract the free schedules of the participants who satisfy the adjustment conditions at the current time as the first candidate schedules (step S115).

[0125] Specifically, in the current case, since both the first and second additional determination methods are adopted, the existing schedules of the participants whose names contain the exclusion keyword and the existing schedules of the participants specified in the exclusion schedule are excluded from the must-attend schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the must-attend schedules of the participants. Further, since a plurality of participants A, B, and C are specified and "all participants" is selected by the radio button 521, the schedule information 311 of each of the participants A, B, and C is referred to, and the adjustment conditions (business days between December 16, 2020 and December 25, 2020, from 09:30 to 18:00, with no must-attend schedules, excluding the 30-minute time for ensuring after the meeting and the 30-minute time for ensuring before the meeting before and after the must-attend schedule from the time when the meeting can be inserted, and further, the time when the required 60-minute meeting time can be ensured) are satisfied, and the common available schedules of the participants A, B, and C are extracted as the first candidate schedules. On the contrary, when "only one person participates" is selected by the radio button 521, at least one available schedule of the participants A, B, and C that satisfies the adjustment conditions is extracted as the first candidate schedule. The same applies when extracting the second and third candidate schedules described later.

[0126] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40A to display a schedule editing screen 600 (FIGS. 8 and 9) representing the first candidate schedule (step S116).

[0127] FIG. 8 shows a display example of the schedule editing screen 600 corresponding to the case where the subject of the existing schedule of the participant does not contain the exclusion keyword. The case where the subject of the existing schedule of the participant contains the exclusion keyword will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

[0128] On the schedule editing screen 600, a candidate schedule period frame 601, a calendar 602 displayed in a grid with the date on the horizontal axis and the time on the vertical axis, and a candidate schedule list 605 in which the first candidate schedules are listed daily are displayed. Further, the schedule editing screen 600 is provided with a URL issuance button 606 and a return button 607.

[0129] The candidate schedule period frame 601 represents the period during which the first candidate schedule exists among the extraction periods of the candidate schedules input in the selection input field 513 of the condition setting screen 500.

[0130] In the calendar 602, based on the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30, the existing schedule frames 604 representing the schedules of all the participants during the display period on the calendar 602 and the first candidate schedule frame 603 are displayed with different colors or the like so that they can be distinguished. As a result, the adjustment starter A can edit the first candidate schedule while checking the existing schedules of the participants. When there are multiple participants, the participant names may be displayed in the existing schedule frame 604 or the existing schedule frames 604 may be color-coded so as to distinguish whose existing schedule it is among the multiple participants.

[0131] In the candidate schedule list 605, the first candidate schedules are listed and displayed daily.

[0132] The adjustment starter A can edit (extend, shorten, partially exclude, or completely exclude) the first candidate schedule frame using a pop-up screen (not shown) displayed by selecting the first candidate schedule frame 603 in the calendar 602. For example, on the pop-up screen displayed by selecting the frame from 10:30 to 15:30 on Thursday, December 17, the start time 10:30 or the end time 15:30 of the frame can be made earlier or later. Also, a part of the frame, for example, from 12:00 to 13:00 on the same day can be excluded from the first candidate schedule, or the entire frame (the entire frame from 10:00 to 15:30) can be excluded from the first candidate schedule. The editing result of the first candidate schedule in the calendar 602 is immediately reflected in the candidate schedule list 605. Note that the editing of the first candidate schedule may be performed by an operation such as drag and drop on the screen in response to an operation of an input device (mouse, touch panel, etc.) provided in the terminal device 40A. The same applies to other screen operations in the terminal devices 40A and 40X.

[0133] Note that the adjustment starter A can also edit the first candidate schedule in the candidate schedule list 605.

[0134] The URL issuance button 606 is a button for determining the editing result (the second candidate schedule) of the first candidate schedule by the adjustment starter A in the calendar 602 and instructing the issuance of an adjustment URL for the adjustment partner to access the schedule adjustment screen. The back button 607 is a button for returning to the condition setting screen 500.

[0135] Next, FIG. 9 shows a display example of the schedule editing screen 600 corresponding to the case where the subject of the existing schedule of the participant includes an exclusion keyword.

[0136] Specifically, since the exclusion keyword "※ Absence allowed" is described in the subject "Lunch meeting" of the existing schedule of participant A that existed from 11:00 to 13:00 on December 16 (Wednesday) shown in FIG. 8, the existing schedule is excluded from the must-attend schedule of participant A. Therefore, the same determination of free schedule as when the existing schedule does not exist as an existing schedule is made, and 09:30 to 16:00 becomes the first candidate schedule on the same day.

[0137] In FIG. 9, in order to show that 09:30 to 16:00 on December 16 (Wednesday) is the first candidate schedule, the time period from 09:30 to 16:00 on the same day is displayed in the same color as the other first candidate schedule frames 603. However, since there is an existing schedule "Lunch meeting ※ Absence allowed" from 11:00 to 13:00 on the same day, the first candidate schedule frame 603 and the existing schedule frame 604 with the subject written are arranged and displayed from 11:00 to 13:00 on the same day so that it is clear that there is an existing schedule but it is the first candidate schedule.

[0138] Furthermore, the adjustment starter A can specify an existing schedule corresponding to the existing schedule frame 604 as a schedule to be excluded in a pop-up screen displayed by selecting the existing schedule frame 604 in the calendar 602 of the schedule editing screen 600 (FIG. 8 or FIG. 9). That is, the adjustment starter A can specify an existing schedule as a schedule to be excluded even outside the schedule exclusion specification screen 550 (FIG. 7). Even when an exclusion schedule is specified on the schedule editing screen 600, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 records the schedule ID of the existing schedule specified as the exclusion schedule as the exclusion schedule ID in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A, in the same manner as when the exclusion schedule is specified on the schedule exclusion specification screen 550 (FIG. 7). Furthermore, the schedule adjustment unit 213 re-determines free schedules for the time zones around the exclusion schedule according to the adjustment conditions including the exclusion schedule. Specifically, the schedule adjustment unit 213 re-determines free schedules for the time zone obtained by adding together three types of time zones: the time zone of the exclusion schedule, the time zones of the guaranteed times before and after that were excluded from the free schedules according to the exclusion schedule before the exclusion schedule was specified, and the time zone of the first candidate schedule frame 603 adjacent to the exclusion schedule or the guaranteed times before and after, and redisplay the re-determined free schedules as the first candidate schedule frame 603 in the added-together time zone.

[0139] Also, when the adjustment starter A extends the first candidate schedule frame 603 in the calendar 602 of the schedule editing screen 600, if the time zones of the first candidate schedule and the existing schedule overlap, the existing schedule is added to the exclusion schedule. Also, when extending the first candidate schedule frame 603, if the guaranteed times before and after cannot be secured between the first candidate schedule and the existing schedule, the existing schedule is also added to the exclusion schedule. When an exclusion schedule is added due to the extension of the first candidate schedule frame 603, the exclusion schedule is added to the adjustment conditions, and furthermore, the extended time zone is added to the first candidate schedule frame 603.

[0140] For example, when the adjustment starter A tries to extend the first candidate schedule by advancing the start time of the frame from 10:30 to 10:00 in the pop-up screen displayed by selecting the first candidate schedule frame from 10:30 to 15:30 on December 17 (Thursday) in the calendar 602 of the schedule editing screen 600, since the "30 minutes" of the guaranteed time before the meeting cannot be secured, the existing schedule "Interview of Participant B" from 09:00 to 10:00 on the same day is added to the exclusion schedule, and then the extended time period from 10:00 to 10:30 is added to the first candidate schedule frame 603. Also, as another example, for instance, when the first candidate schedule is extended by delaying the end time of the first candidate schedule frame on the same day from 15:30 to 17:00, since the extended first candidate schedule frame 603 and the existing schedule "Interview of Participant B" from 16:00 to 17:00 on the same day overlap as time periods, after the existing schedule is added to the exclusion schedule, the extended time period from 15:30 to 17:00 is added to the first candidate schedule frame 603. And the schedule ID of the existing schedule added to the exclusion schedule is recorded in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A as the exclusion schedule ID by the adjustment condition setting unit 212.

[0141] In addition, when an existing schedule is added to the exclusion schedule due to the extension of the first candidate schedule frame 603 in the calendar 602, in order for the adjustment starter A during the operation to be able to grasp that the exclusion schedule has been added, a speech bubble with words such as "Added to the exclusion schedule" may be displayed in a form indicating the existing schedule frame 604 added to the exclusion schedule immediately after the extension operation.

[0142] When specifying the exclusion schedule using the schedule editing screen 600, the adjustment starter A can specify the exclusion schedule individually more quickly and more simply compared to when using the exclusion schedule specification screen 550.

[0143] Return to FIG. 4. In the schedule editing screen 600 displayed on the terminal device 40A, when the adjustment starter A edits the first candidate schedule as necessary and operates the URL issuance button 606 (step S104), next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 of the schedule adjustment device 20 issues an adjustment URL, and registers the adjustment URL and the second candidate schedule in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A (created in step S114) (step S117). In the present case, since the exclusion keyword was included in the subject of the existing schedule from 11:00 to 13:00 on December 16 (Wednesday), the schedule editing screen 600 in FIG. 9 is displayed on the terminal device 40A. Furthermore, the following description will continue assuming that the adjustment starter A edited the schedule to exclude from 15:00 to 16:00 on December 16 (Wednesday) from the first candidate schedule on the schedule editing screen 600 in FIG. 9.

[0144] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40A to display the issued adjustment URL and a message instructing to send the adjustment URL to the adjustment partner. (step S118).

[0145] In response to the message, next, the adjustment starter A copies the adjustment URL displayed on the terminal device 40A, pastes it into an e-mail or the like, and sends it to the terminal device 40X of the adjustment partner X (step S105).

[0146] Next, when the adjustment partner X who has received the adjustment URL accesses the adjustment URL using the terminal device 40X (step S131), the schedule adjustment unit 213 of the schedule adjustment device 20 reads out the adjustment conditions registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 of the adjustment starter A corresponding to the adjustment URL from the storage unit 22 and the second candidate schedule, and refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30 to find the free schedule of the participants who meet the adjustment conditions at the current time (a schedule in which there is no mandatory participation schedule and excluding the reserved time before and after the mandatory participation schedule), and extracts a third candidate schedule that is within the range of the second candidate schedule (step S119).

[0147] In the current case, it is assumed that between the issuance of the adjustment URL and the access by the adjustment partner X, a mandatory participation schedule from 13:00 to 14:00 on Thursday, December 17th, with a subject not containing the exclusion keyword, is added to the schedule information 311 of participant A. In this case, the third candidate schedule is obtained by excluding the period from 12:30 to 14:30 on Thursday, December 17th, which is obtained by adding the "30-minute" reservation time before and after the meeting to the second candidate schedule. That is, the "reservation time before and after" adjustment condition is applied to the schedules of participants added after the issuance of the adjustment URL.

[0148] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 causes the terminal device 40X to display the schedule adjustment screen 700 (FIG. 10) (step S120).

[0149] FIG. 10 shows an example display of the schedule adjustment screen 700. The schedule adjustment screen 700 is a screen for the adjustment partner X to confirm the meeting location. On the schedule adjustment screen 700, the meeting location (venue name, address, etc.) entered by the adjustment initiator A in the input field 505 of the condition setting screen 500 (FIG. 5), and the MAP button 701 for showing the meeting location on the map are displayed. Further, on the schedule adjustment screen 700, radio buttons 702 for selecting whether the meeting location designated by the adjustment initiator A is acceptable, an input field 703 for entering a reply comment to the adjustment initiator A, and a schedule selection button 704 are provided. However, the radio buttons 702 can be selected by the adjustment partner X only when the adjustment initiator A selects "allow location change by the adjustment partner" with the radio button 503 on the condition setting screen 500 (FIG. 5). Therefore, when the adjustment initiator A selects "do not allow location change by the adjustment partner" with the radio button 503 on the condition setting screen 500, the adjustment partner X cannot select whether the meeting location designated by the adjustment initiator A is acceptable.

[0150] If the meeting place shown on the schedule adjustment screen 700 is not inconvenient, the adjuster X can select "OK with the above location" using the radio button 702 and operate the schedule selection button 704. On the contrary, if the meeting place shown on the schedule adjustment screen 700 is inconvenient, the adjuster X can select "Change the location" using the radio button 702. In response to the selection of "Change the location", an input field (not shown) for the adjuster X to enter the new meeting place (place name, address, building name, floor number, etc.) is additionally displayed on the schedule adjustment screen 700. Therefore, the adjuster X can enter the new meeting place in the input field and operate the schedule selection button 704.

[0151] In addition, when the initiator A of the adjustment selects "Do not adjust the meeting place" using the radio button 502 on the condition setting screen 500, the display column and input field for the meeting place are not displayed.

[0152] Also, when the initiator A of the adjustment selects "Web conference" using the radio button 504 on the condition setting screen 500, on the schedule adjustment screen 700, instead of the meeting place, a message indicating that a Web conference will be held and the name of the video call application used for the Web conference as the method (means) of the meeting are displayed, and the explanatory display of the radio button 702 is changed to, for example, "OK with the above" and "Change" (not shown). If the video call application shown on the schedule adjustment screen 700 is not inconvenient, the adjuster X can select "OK with the above" using the radio button 702 and operate the schedule selection button 704. On the contrary, if the video call application shown on the schedule adjustment screen 700 is inconvenient, the adjuster X can select "Change" using the radio button 702. When "Change" is selected, the adjuster X can enter, for example, "I'm not using the first video call application, so please use the second video call application" in the comment input field and operate the schedule selection button 704.

[0153] When the adjuster X operates the schedule selection button 704 on the schedule adjustment screen 700, the schedule adjustment screen 800 (Fig. 11) is displayed on the terminal device 40X.

[0154] FIG. 11 shows a display example of a schedule adjustment screen 800 representing a third candidate schedule. On the schedule adjustment screen 800, a calendar 801 is displayed in a grid pattern with the date on the horizontal axis and the time on the vertical axis, and a candidate schedule list 803 in which the third candidate schedules are listed daily is displayed. Further, a problem button 804 and a confirmation screen button 805 are provided on the schedule adjustment screen 800.

[0155] In the calendar 801, a third candidate schedule frame 802 is displayed with its color or the like changed so as to be distinguishable from other frames. Note that, unlike the calendar 602 on the schedule editing screen 600 (FIG. 8 or FIG. 9), the existing schedules of the participants are not displayed in the calendar 801. Therefore, the privacy of the participants can be protected with respect to the adjustment partner X.

[0156] In the candidate schedule list 803, the required time for the meeting and the third candidate schedules listed daily are displayed.

[0157] The adjustment partner X can select a meeting schedule by selecting any one of the third candidate schedule frames 802 in the calendar 801. When a frame longer than the required time of "60 minutes" for the meeting is selected, a pop-up screen (not shown) is displayed. The adjustment partner X can determine the meeting schedule by selecting the required time of "60 minutes" within the time of the selected frame on the pop-up screen.

[0158] The problem button 804 is a button to be operated when the third candidate schedule shown on the schedule adjustment screen 800 is inconvenient. When the adjustment partner X operates the problem button 804, it is notified to the adjustment starter A that the proposed candidate schedule is inconvenient. In this case, the adjustment starter A changes the adjustment conditions and executes the schedule adjustment process again.

[0159] The confirmation screen button 805 is a button for confirming the determined meeting schedule. When the adjusting party X operates the confirmation screen button 805, a schedule confirmation screen 900 (Fig. 12) for the adjusting party X to confirm the meeting schedule selected and determined from among the third candidate schedules is displayed on the terminal device 40X.

[0160] In the current case, assuming that the adjusting party X has determined the meeting schedule as 11:00 - 12:00 on Thursday, December 17th in the schedule adjustment screen 800, the following explanation will continue.

[0161] Fig. 12 shows an example display of the schedule confirmation screen 900. On the schedule confirmation screen 900, a calendar 901 displayed in a grid with the date on the horizontal axis and the time on the vertical axis, and meeting details 903 are displayed.

[0162] On the calendar 901, the meeting schedule frame 902 selected and determined by the adjusting party X himself / herself in the schedule adjustment screen 800 is displayed with a different color or the like so as to be distinguishable from other frames. In the meeting details 903, the schedule and the location of the meeting (in the current case, 11:00 - 12:00 on Thursday, December 17th, ○× Trading Co., Ltd...) are displayed. In addition, when the adjusting party X selects "Change location" with the radio button 702 and describes the new venue in the input field 703 in the schedule adjustment screen 700 (Fig. 10), the meeting details 903 display the location name, address, building name, floor number, etc. input by the adjusting party X as the new meeting location. Also, when the adjusting party X has entered a comment in the schedule adjustment screen 800, the comment is displayed in the meeting details 903.

[0163] In addition, on the schedule confirmation screen 900, there are provided an input field 904 for the adjusting party X to enter his / her own email address, a checkbox 905 for setting the email sending timing to notify himself / herself of the holding of the meeting, a return button 906 to return to the schedule adjustment screen 800, and a confirmation button 907 to confirm the content displayed on the schedule confirmation screen 900.

[0164] Return to FIG. 4. On the schedule confirmation screen 900 (FIG. 12) displayed on the terminal device 40X, when the adjustment partner X enters his / her own email address in the input field 904 and operates the confirmation button 907 (step S132), the schedule adjustment unit 213 refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30, and finally confirms that the meeting schedule determined on the schedule confirmation screen 900 is the free schedule of the participants who meet the adjustment conditions at the current time and is within the range of the second candidate schedule (step S121). Here, if the determined meeting schedule is not a free schedule because the participant has already made a reservation, or does not meet the adjustment conditions, for example, a message such as "The specified time is already occupied. Please select again" is displayed on the terminal device 40X, and the process returns to step S119, and the operation of the adjustment partner X on the schedule adjustment screen 800 can be restarted. On the contrary, if it can be finally confirmed that the determined meeting schedule is the free schedule of the participants who meet the adjustment conditions and is within the range of the second candidate schedule, a schedule notification screen 1000 (FIG. 13) representing the schedule of the meeting confirmed by the adjustment partner X himself / herself is displayed on the terminal device 40X (step S122).

[0165] FIG. 13 shows a display example of the schedule notification screen 1000. On the schedule notification screen 1000, the schedule, location, comment from the adjustment starter A, etc. of the confirmed meeting are displayed. In addition, on the schedule notification screen 1000, a registration button 1001 for the calendar tool and a registration button 1002 for the schedule application are provided. If the adjustment partner X uses the calendar tool 31 himself / herself, by operating the registration button 1001, the scheduled meeting can be registered in the calendar tool 31 as the schedule of the adjustment partner X himself / herself. In addition, by operating the registration button 1002, the adjustment partner X can register the scheduled meeting in the application program for schedule management (for example, Outlook (trademark), etc.) he / she uses.

[0166] Return to Fig. 4. Also, at the final confirmation in step S121, if it can be finally confirmed that the determined meeting schedule is the available schedule of the participants who meet the adjustment conditions and is within the range of the second candidate schedule, the schedule adjustment unit 213 registers the meeting schedule with counterpart X in the schedule information 311 of the participants managed by the external system 30. Also, the schedule adjustment unit 213 registers the email address of counterpart X, the transmission timing of the notification email, the date and time of the meeting, the location, etc. in the schedule adjustment information 224 corresponding to the adjustment starter A held by the storage unit 22 (created in step S114) (step S123). If the meeting is a web conference, instead of the location, the schedule adjustment unit 213 issues a web conference URL and registers it in the schedule adjustment information 224. Whether the schedule adjustment unit 213 issues a web conference URL or not depends on the setting of the adjustment starter A.

[0167] In the current case, since participants A, B, and C are specified in the selection input field 520 of the condition setting screen 500 (Fig. 6) and "all participants" is selected by the radio button 521, the schedule adjustment unit 213 registers the meeting schedule with counterpart X in the schedule information 311 of each of participants A, B, and C managed by the external system 30. On the contrary, if "only one person participates" is selected by the radio button 521, the meeting schedule with counterpart X may be registered in the schedule information 311 of all the people whose determined meeting schedule is an available schedule among participants A, B, and C, or one person may be selected from among the people whose determined meeting schedule is an available schedule, and the meeting schedule with counterpart X may be registered in the schedule information 311 of the selected one person. The selection of participants may be made by the schedule adjustment unit 213 according to a predetermined rule, or may be made by the adjustment starter A.

[0168] Next, the schedule adjustment unit 213 sends a notification email notifying counterpart X of the holding of the meeting to the email address specified by counterpart X according to the transmission timing selected by counterpart X itself (step S124).

[0169] However, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the adjustment partner X receives an email on the terminal device 40X, and an arrow from the schedule adjustment device 20 to the terminal device 40X is illustrated as step S124. However, the adjustment partner X may receive the notification email from the schedule adjustment device 20 by an electronic device other than the terminal device 40X. Thus, the schedule adjustment process by the schedule adjustment system 10 is completed.

[0170] In the description so far, the adjustment starter A has not specified the meeting venue. However, when the venue is specified in the selection input field 519 of the condition setting screen 500 (FIG. 6), the first candidate schedule and the third candidate schedule may be extracted so as to satisfy the condition that the venue has an available schedule. Regarding the available schedule of the venue, a determination as to whether the subject of the schedule contains an exclusion keyword is not made, and a schedule without an existing schedule is extracted.

[0171] Specifically, for example, when only the "First Conference Room" is specified as the venue, in step S115, the schedule adjustment unit 213 reads the adjustment conditions registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 of the adjustment starter A from the storage unit 22, and refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants and the First Conference Room managed by the external system 30, and extracts the first candidate schedule that is the common available schedule of the participants and the First Conference Room at the current time and satisfies the adjustment conditions. In step S119, the schedule adjustment unit 213 reads the adjustment conditions and the second candidate schedule registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 of the adjustment starter A corresponding to the accessed adjustment URL from the storage unit 22, and refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants and the First Conference Room managed by the external system 30, and extracts the third candidate schedule that is the common available schedule of the participants and the conference room that satisfies the adjustment conditions at the current time and is within the range of the second candidate schedule. Further, in step S123, the schedule adjustment unit 213 may register the schedule of the meeting with the adjustment partner X in the schedule information 311 of each of the participants and the First Conference Room managed by the external system 30.

[0172] For example, when two rooms, "Conference Room 1" and "Conference Room 2", are designated as the venues, in step S115, the schedule adjustment unit 213 reads out the adjustment conditions registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 of the adjustment starter A from the storage unit 22, and refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants and Conference Room 1 and Conference Room 2 managed by the external system 30, and extracts the first candidate schedule that is the free schedule of the participants at the current time, and is the free schedule of at least one of Conference Room 1 and Conference Room 2, and satisfies the adjustment conditions.

[0173] Also, in step S119, the schedule adjustment unit 213 reads out the adjustment conditions and the second candidate schedule registered in the schedule adjustment information 224 of the adjustment starter A corresponding to the accessed adjustment URL from the storage unit 22, and refers to the schedule information 311 of the participants and Conference Room 1 and Conference Room 2 managed by the external system 30, and extracts the third candidate schedule that is the free schedule of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions at the current time, and is the free schedule of at least one of Conference Room 1 and Conference Room 2 satisfying the adjustment conditions, and is within the range of the second candidate schedule. Further, when both Conference Room 1 and Conference Room 2 are vacant in the determined meeting schedule, select one of Conference Room 1 or Conference Room 2, and register the schedule of the meeting with the adjustment partner X in the schedule information 311 of the selected venue. Note that the selection of the venue may be made by the schedule adjustment unit 213 according to a predetermined rule, or may be made selectable by the adjustment starter A. Then, in step S123, the schedule adjustment unit 213 may register the schedule of the meeting with the adjustment partner X in the schedule information 311 of each of the participants and the selected venue managed by the external system 30.

[0174] According to the schedule adjustment process described above, the schedule of the meeting participated by one or more participants and the adjustment partner X can be easily and efficiently set while allowing double booking for the existing schedules with low priority for the participants, but without double booking with the existing schedules with high priority.

[0175] Also, according to the schedule adjustment process, the schedule of the confirmed meeting and the like can be registered in the calendar tool 31 used by the participants. Therefore, it is possible to save the labor of manually registering the schedule in the calendar tool 31, which was necessary in the past.

[0176] Furthermore, according to the schedule adjustment process, the adjuster X can change the meeting place or the meeting method specified by the initiator A of the adjustment.

[0177] In addition, from the perspective of the initiator A of the adjustment, it is possible to perform the operations from the extraction of candidate schedules to the sending to the adjuster X in a short time (for example, about 30 seconds). After sending the candidate schedules to the adjuster X, it is only necessary to wait, and not only the determination of the schedule but also important operations related to the schedule adjustment, such as the adjustment of the meeting place or the meeting method and the registration of the schedule, can be automatically completed. It is possible to significantly reduce the labor of the operations related to the schedule adjustment.

[0178] <When "using a template" is selected as the method of schedule adjustment> Next, the case where the initiator A of the adjustment selects "using a template" as the method of schedule adjustment will be described. In the case of using a template, the initiator A of the adjustment selects the adjustment condition template created in advance by himself / herself, and copies the adjustment URL specified in advance by himself / herself, so that the adjustment URL can be sent to the adjuster X more quickly than in the case of custom adjustment. Note that the adjustment condition template created in advance by the initiator A of the adjustment may be specified by other users for editing or the adjustment URL may be copied and used for schedule adjustment.

[0179] Users such as the initiator A of the adjustment can create adjustment condition templates in advance according to the purposes of meetings, such as for the first round of new graduate recruitment interviews, the second round of new graduate recruitment interviews, the final round of new graduate recruitment interviews, and inquiry sales meetings.

[0180] In the case of custom adjustment, the adjustment conditions are set every time the meeting schedule is adjusted, but the adjustment condition templates can be repeatedly used for different meeting schedule adjustments.

[0181] <Adjustment condition template creation process> FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the adjustment condition template creation process.

[0182] The adjustment condition template creation process goes through the same steps S101, S111, S112, and S102 as the schedule adjustment process shown in FIG. 4. Then, in step S102, when the adjustment starter A selects "use template" as the method of schedule adjustment, 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 starter A, and causes the terminal device 40A to display a template list screen 1100 (FIG. 15) showing a list of adjustment condition templates available to the adjustment starter A (step S141).

[0183] FIG. 15 shows a display example of the template list screen 1100 displayed on the terminal device 40A.

[0184] The template list screen 1100 is provided with a new creation button 1101 and a template list 1102 showing a list of adjustment condition templates available to the adjustment starter A. In the template list 1102, a management name, description, adjustment URL, edit button 1103, and URL copy button 1104 are displayed for each template.

[0185] The new creation button 1101 is a button for instructing a move to a template creation screen 1200 (FIGS. 16 and 17) where an adjustment condition template can be newly created. The edit button 1103 is a button for instructing a move to a screen (not shown, similar to the template creation screen 1200) where a created adjustment condition template can be edited. The URL copy button 1104 is a button for instructing a copy of the adjustment URL.

[0186] Returning to FIG. 14, when the adjustment starter A operates the new creation button 1101 on the template list screen 1100 displayed on the terminal device 40A (step S151), next, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 causes the terminal device 40A to display the template creation screen 1200 (step S142).

[0187] Figures 16 and 17 show display examples of the prototype creation screen 1200. Figure 16 shows the upper part of the prototype creation screen 1200, and Figure 17 shows the lower part of the prototype creation screen 1200 that is displayed by scrolling the upper part shown in Figure 16 downward.

[0188] As shown in Figure 16, on the prototype creation screen 1200, there are provided an input field 1201 for entering the management name of the prototype, an input field 1202 for entering the description of the prototype, an input field 1203 for the user to specify the adjustment URL, a checkbox 124 for specifying the company name / school name, name, and email address as input items for the adjustment partner X, and an input field 1206 for entering the subject of the schedule when registering in the calendar tool 31 after the schedule is confirmed.

[0189] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 17, the template creation screen 1200 includes a selection input field 1210 for entering the required time of the meeting, a selection input field 1211 for entering the reserved time before and after the meeting, a selection input field 1212 for entering the extraction period of candidate schedules, a selection input field 1213 for selecting and inputting a method for calculating the number of extraction days in the extraction period (e.g., calculation based on business days, calculation based on calendar days, etc.), an input field 1214 for specifying available meeting time zones for each day of the week and holidays (frame 1215 indicates the time zone specified as the available meeting time zone), a check box 1216 for instructing the adoption of the first additional determination method (method of specifying exclusion keywords) as the additional determination method for free schedules, an input field 1217 for entering exclusion keywords when the check box 1216 is checked (when the first additional determination method is adopted), a check box 1218 for instructing the adoption of the second additional determination method (method of individually specifying exclusion schedules) as the additional determination method for free schedules, a detailed setting button 1219 for transitioning to the exclusion schedule specification screen 550 (FIG. 7) for specifying exclusion schedules when the check box 1218 is checked (when the second additional determination method is adopted), a selection input field 1220 for selecting and specifying one or more meeting venues from the list of venues based on the venue information in the member information 221, a selection input field 1221 for selecting and specifying one or more participants from the list of participants based on the affiliated person information in the member information 221, radio buttons 1222 for selecting the meeting participation conditions of the participants specified in the selection input field 1221, and a save button 1223 for instructing the saving of the entered content are provided.

[0190] As can be seen from the fact that the template creation screen 1200 is provided with check boxes 1216 and 1218, an input field 1217, and a detailed setting button 1219 similar to the check boxes 515 and 517, the input field 516, and the detailed setting button 518 of the condition setting screen 500 (FIG. 6), when using the adjustment condition template, it is also possible to perform additional determination of the free schedules of the participants in the same manner as in the case of the above-described custom adjustment.

[0191] Note that the selection input field 1212 for entering the extraction period of candidate schedules on the prototype creation screen 1200 does not select specific dates and times like the selection input field 513 for the same purpose on the condition setting screen 500 (Fig. 6) that supports custom adjustment. Instead, for better versatility, the start timing of the extraction period starting from the date and time when the person to be adjusted accessed based on the adjustment URL (the next day in the case of Fig. 6) and the period from the start timing (10 days in the case of Fig. 6) can be specified. Therefore, the adjustment condition prototype can be repeatedly used for schedule adjustment of different meetings any number of times.

[0192] Return to Fig. 14. On the prototype creation screen 1200 displayed on the terminal device 40A, when the adjustment starter A finishes entering each item of the adjustment conditions and operates the save button 1223 (step S152), next, the adjustment condition setting unit 212 creates adjustment condition prototype information 223, registers the adjustment conditions and the adjustment URL set on the prototype creation screen 1200, and associates the adjustment condition prototype information 223 with the user information 222 of the adjustment starter A and records it in the storage unit 22 (step S143). Thus, the process of creating the adjustment condition prototype is completed.

[0193] <Schedule adjustment process using the adjustment condition prototype> Next, Fig. 18 is a sequence diagram for explaining another example of the schedule adjustment process using the adjustment condition prototype.

[0194] This other example goes through the same steps S101, S111, S112, S102, S141 as the adjustment condition prototype creation process shown in Fig. 14. Then, on the prototype list screen 1100 (Fig. 15) displayed on the terminal device 40A in step S141, the adjustment starter A selects one of the prototypes, operates the URL copy button 1104 to copy the adjustment URL, pastes it into an email, etc., and sends it to the terminal device 40X of the person to be adjusted X (step S161).

[0195] Thereafter, it is the same as steps S131 and later of the schedule adjustment process shown in Fig. 4, so the description is omitted.

[0196] However, in the current case, in step S119, since there is no first candidate schedule and no second candidate schedule obtained by the adjustment starter A editing the first candidate schedule, the free schedule of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions at the current time may be extracted as the third candidate schedule. Here, regarding the free schedule of the participants, when check boxes 1216 and 1218 are not checked under the adjustment conditions of the selected template, that is, when neither the first nor the second additional determination method is adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 regards all existing schedules of the participants as mandatory participation schedules, and determines a schedule that is a schedule without the participant's mandatory participation schedule and excludes the secured times before and after corresponding to the participant's mandatory participation schedule as the free schedule of the participant.

[0197] When check box 1216 is checked and check box 1218 is not checked, that is, when the first additional determination method is adopted and the second additional determination method is not adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 excludes the existing schedules of the participants whose exclusion keyword is included in the subject from the mandatory participation schedules, regards only the remaining existing schedules as the mandatory participation schedules of the participants, and determines a schedule that is a schedule without the participant's mandatory participation schedule and excludes the secured times before and after corresponding to the participant's mandatory participation schedule as the free schedule of the participant.

[0198] When check box 1216 is not checked and check box 1218 is checked, that is, when the first additional determination method is not adopted and the second additional determination method is adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 excludes the existing schedules of the participants specified in the excluded schedule from the mandatory participation schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the mandatory participation schedules of the participants, and determines a schedule that is a schedule without the participant's mandatory participation schedule and excludes the secured times before and after corresponding to the participant's mandatory participation schedule as the free schedule of the participant.

[0199] When both check boxes 1216 and 1218 are checked, that is, when both the first and second additional determination methods are adopted, the schedule adjustment unit 213 excludes the existing schedules of the participants whose exclusion keywords are included in the subject from the must-attend schedules, and also excludes the existing schedules of the participants specified in the exclusion schedule from the must-attend schedules. The remaining existing schedules are regarded as the must-attend schedules of the participants. A schedule that does not have the must-attend schedule of the participant and excludes the secured time before and after corresponding to the must-attend schedule of the participant is determined as the free schedule of the participant.

[0200] Also, in this case, on the schedule confirmation screen 900 (FIG. 12) displayed in step S132, instead of or in addition to the input field 904 for entering the email address, input fields corresponding to the items selected by the check box 1204 as the input items of the adjustment partner on the template creation screen 1200 (FIG. 16) (input fields for entering the company name / school name, input fields for entering the name) are provided. Further, in this case, in step S123, the subject of the schedule to be registered in the schedule information 311 of the participant can be generated by combining fixed text with the company name / school name, name, etc. entered by the adjustment partner X in the input fields corresponding to the items selected by the check box 1204.

[0201] According to another example of the schedule adjustment process described above (when selecting to use the adjustment condition template), in addition to the same operations and effects as the schedule adjustment process in FIG. 4 (when selecting custom adjustment), as an operation of the adjustment starter A, only select the adjustment condition template and send the adjustment URL. Therefore, compared with the case of custom adjustment, the labor of the adjustment starter A can be significantly reduced.

[0202] In addition, for business schedule adjustment, since patterns of participants, venues, time zones, etc. are somewhat determined for each situation (type of meeting) such as interviews, business visits, visitors, web conferences, etc., if adjustment condition templates for each situation are created and registered in advance, the adjustment URL can be immediately sent to the adjustment partner X just by selecting the template.

[0203] In addition, since the adjustment condition template can be reused and the adjustment URL corresponding to the adjustment condition template is fixed, for example, by adding a link to the adjustment URL after the inquiry form on the company's homepage, it is possible to save the trouble of sending the adjustment URL to the adjustment partner X and perform schedule adjustment.

[0204] Also, by including the adjustment URL in a mass distribution email or the like, it is possible to send the adjustment URL to multiple adjustment partners X simultaneously.

[0205] The schedule adjustment device of this embodiment typically prepares various operation screens, for example, as a web page, and can be displayed on the web browser of the terminal device. However, it is not limited to this mode. For example, a dedicated application with various operation screens may be installed on the terminal device. In this case, the schedule adjustment device only needs to send some content (data such as candidate schedules) to be displayed on the various operation screens to the terminal device, and the dedicated application of the terminal device can display the various operation screens. That is, the schedule adjustment device of the present invention can also include various modes capable of displaying a screen on the terminal device.

[0206] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modification examples, and various further modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiments and modification examples have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Also, it is possible to replace a part of one modification example with another modification example or combine the modification examples.

[0207] In addition, each of the above-described configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them, for example, by means of an integrated circuit. Also, each of the above-described configurations, functions, etc. may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program for realizing each function. Information such as programs, tables, files, etc. for realizing each function can be placed in a memory, a recording device such as a hard disk, an SSD, or a recording medium such as an IC card, an SD card, a DVD. Further, the control lines and information lines show those considered necessary for explanation, and not necessarily all control lines and information lines are shown on the product. In practice, it may be considered that almost all configurations are interconnected.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0208] 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 ··· External system, 31 ··· Calendar tool, 311 ··· Schedule information, 40A, 40M, 40X ··· Terminal device, 500 ··· Condition setting screen, 550 ··· Excluded schedule designation screen, 600 ··· Schedule editing screen, 700 ··· Schedule adjustment screen, 800 ··· Schedule adjustment screen, 900 ··· Schedule confirmation screen, 1000 ··· Schedule notification screen, 1100 ··· Template list screen, 1200 ··· Template creation screen

Claims

A scheduling system in which a scheduling device, a first terminal device used by an adjustment starter, and a second terminal device used by an adjustment partner are connected via a network, and the meeting schedule is adjusted based on adjustment conditions related to the meeting, comprising: The first terminal device displays an adjustment starter operation screen for the adjustment starter and receives an input from the adjustment starter. The second terminal device displays an adjustment partner operation screen for the adjustment partner and receives an input from the adjustment partner. The scheduling device: Sets the adjustment conditions including the designation of participants and exclusion keywords in response to the input of the adjustment starter. Excludes, from the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by the calendar tool, the existing schedules in which the exclusion keyword is included in the information regarding the existing schedules from the must-attend schedules, regards the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determines a schedule with no must-attend schedules as the free schedule of the participant. When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustment partner, refers to the schedule information of the participant managed by the calendar tool, and extracts the free schedules of the participant that satisfy the adjustment conditions as candidate schedules. Displays, on the second terminal device, a scheduling adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules as the adjustment partner operation screen, and determines a meeting schedule from the candidate schedules in response to a selection operation of the adjustment partner on the scheduling adjustment screen. Registers the determined meeting schedule in the schedule information of the participant managed by the calendar tool. Scheduling system. A scheduling system in which a scheduling device, a first terminal device used by an adjustment starter, and a second terminal device used by an adjustment partner are connected via a network, and the meeting schedule is adjusted based on adjustment conditions related to the meeting, comprising: The first terminal device displays an adjustment starter operation screen for the adjustment starter and receives an input from the adjustment starter. The second terminal device displays an adjustment partner operation screen for the adjustment partner and receives an input from the adjustment partner. The scheduling device: Sets the adjustment conditions including the designation of participants and exclusion schedules in response to the input of the adjustment starter. Of the existing schedules of the participant in the schedule information managed by the calendar tool, the existing schedules specified by the adjustment starter as the exclusion schedules are excluded from the mandatory participation schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the mandatory participation schedules. A schedule with no mandatory participation schedules is determined as the free schedule of the participant. When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter to the adjustment partner, the calendar tool refers to the schedule information of the participant managed by the calendar tool and extracts the free schedules of the participant that satisfy the adjustment conditions as candidate schedules. A schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on the second terminal device as the adjustment partner operation screen, and a meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules according to the selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen. The determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participant managed by the calendar tool. Schedule adjustment system.

3. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The schedule adjustment device Sets the adjustment conditions including the designation of the lead and lag guarantee times in response to the input of the adjustment starter. A schedule with no mandatory participation schedules, and a schedule excluding the lead and lag guarantee times corresponding to the mandatory participation schedules is determined as the free schedule of the participant. Schedule adjustment system.

4. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 2, wherein The schedule adjustment device Sets the existing schedule designated by the adjustment starter as the exclusion schedule from the list display of the existing schedules of the participant. Schedule adjustment system.

5. The schedule adjustment system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein The schedule adjustment device Determines a second candidate schedule in response to the input of the adjustment starter to the schedule editing screen as the adjustment starter operation screen. Issues the access information. When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information, the calendar tool refers to the schedule information of the participant and extracts a third candidate schedule that is the free schedule of the participant satisfying the adjustment conditions and within the range of the second candidate schedule. A schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted third candidate schedules is displayed on the second terminal device as the adjustment partner operation screen, and a meeting schedule is determined from the third candidate schedules according to the selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen. Register the determined meeting schedule in the schedule information of the participants managed by the calendar tool. Schedule adjustment system.

6. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 5, The schedule adjustment device, With reference to the schedule information of the participants managed by the calendar tool, extract the free schedules of the participants who meet the adjustment conditions as the first candidate schedules, Display, on the first terminal device, as the adjustment start person operation screen, a schedule editing screen for editing the extracted first candidate schedules. Schedule adjustment system.

7. The schedule adjustment system according to claim 5 or 6, The schedule adjustment device, Exclude the existing schedules of the participants specified by the adjustment start person on the schedule editing screen as schedules to be excluded. Schedule adjustment system.

8. The schedule adjustment system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, The schedule adjustment device, Display, on the first terminal device, as the adjustment start person operation screen, a template creation screen for creating an adjustment condition template, Register, in response to the designation of the adjustment start person for the template creation screen, the adjustment condition template that can be repeatedly used for the schedule adjustment of different meetings, and the access information corresponding to the adjustment condition template. Schedule adjustment system.

9. The schedule adjustment system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The participant is either the adjustment start person himself / herself or a member belonging to the organization to which the adjustment start person belongs. Schedule adjustment system.

10. The schedule adjustment system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, When a plurality of the participants are specified as the adjustment conditions, the schedule adjustment device, In response to the access of the adjustment partner based on the access information, with reference to the schedule information of all the participants managed by the calendar tool, extract the common free schedules of all the participants who meet the adjustment conditions as the candidate schedules. Schedule adjustment system.

11. The schedule adjustment system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, When a plurality of the participants are specified as the adjustment conditions, the schedule adjustment device, In response to the access of the adjustment partner based on the access information, referring to the schedule information of all the participants managed by the calendar tool, extracting at least one free schedule of all the participants that satisfies the adjustment conditions as the candidate schedule Schedule adjustment system

12. The schedule adjustment system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein The schedule adjustment device In response to the input of the adjustment starter, setting the adjustment conditions including the venue used for the meeting When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information, referring to the schedule information of each of the participants and the venue managed by the calendar tool, extracting a common free schedule between the free schedules of the participants that satisfy the adjustment conditions and the free schedule of the venue where there is no existing schedule of the venue as the candidate schedule Displaying the schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedule as the adjustment partner operation screen on the second terminal device, determining the meeting schedule from the candidate schedule in response to the selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen Registering the determined meeting schedule in the schedule information of each of the participants and the venue managed by the calendar tool Schedule adjustment system

13. A schedule adjustment method for a schedule adjustment system in which a schedule adjustment device, a first terminal device used by an adjustment starter, and a second terminal device used by an adjustment partner are connected via a network and the meeting schedule is adjusted based on adjustment conditions regarding the meeting, comprising The first terminal device displays an adjustment starter operation screen for the adjustment starter, and receives an input from the adjustment starter The second terminal device displays an adjustment partner operation screen for the adjustment partner, and receives an input from the adjustment partner By the schedule adjustment device In response to the input of the adjustment starter, setting the adjustment conditions including the designation of participants and exclusion keywords Among the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by the calendar tool, excluding the existing schedules in which the exclusion keyword is included in the information regarding the existing schedules from the must-attend schedules, regarding the remaining existing schedules as the must-attend schedules, and determining a schedule without the must-attend schedules as the free schedule of the participant When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter, referring to the schedule information of the participants managed by the calendar tool, the free schedules of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules, A schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on the second terminal device as the adjustment partner operation screen, and a meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules according to the selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, The determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participants managed by the calendar tool A schedule adjustment method including steps.

14. A schedule adjustment method for a schedule adjustment system in which a schedule adjustment device, a first terminal device used by an adjustment starter, and a second terminal device used by an adjustment partner are connected via a network and the meeting schedule is adjusted based on adjustment conditions regarding a meeting, The first terminal device displays an adjustment starter operation screen for the adjustment starter and receives an input from the adjustment starter, The second terminal device displays an adjustment partner operation screen for the adjustment partner and receives an input from the adjustment partner, By the schedule adjustment device, According to the input of the adjustment starter, the adjustment conditions including the designation of participants and the schedule to be excluded are set, Among the existing schedules of the participants in the schedule information managed by the calendar tool, the existing schedules designated by the adjustment starter as the schedules to be excluded are excluded from the must - attend schedules, and the remaining existing schedules are regarded as the must - attend schedules. A schedule without any must - attend schedules is determined as the free schedule of the participant, When the adjustment partner accesses based on the access information notified by the adjustment starter, referring to the schedule information of the participants managed by the calendar tool, the free schedules of the participants satisfying the adjustment conditions are extracted as candidate schedules, A schedule adjustment screen representing the extracted candidate schedules is displayed on the second terminal device as the adjustment partner operation screen, and a meeting schedule is determined from the candidate schedules according to the selection operation of the adjustment partner on the schedule adjustment screen, The determined meeting schedule is registered in the schedule information of the participants managed by the calendar tool A schedule adjustment method including steps.

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