Grouping assistance device, grouping assistance method, and program

Abstract

The present invention provides a grouping assistance device for assisting with grouping subjects, the device comprising: an information storage unit storing an attribute value of each subject for one or more attributes; and a control unit that that selects one or more candidate groups from a plurality of candidate groups on the basis of an evaluation value calculated using the attribute value of each subject read from the information storage unit, and displays the selected one or more candidate groups on a terminal.

Description

Grouping support device, grouping support method, and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology that assists in dividing a plurality of people into groups.

[0002] In recent years, group work, where students work in groups, has become common in university lectures, training, workshops, etc. As a form of active learning, universities often hold classes where students are divided into groups of several people to discuss and concretize their ideas. Group work is also used in corporate training and living lab workshops.

[0003] As a conventional method, a method of dividing data into groups with similar attribute values ​​in order to anonymize the data is disclosed in Patent Document 1. However, even when using this grouping method, it is difficult for the person conducting the group work to divide the data into groups that are desirable.

[0004] Furthermore, in group work, it is common for the person conducting the group work to manually divide the participants into groups by looking at the list of participants.

[0005] Patent No. 6148370

[0006] The multiple participants in a group work project have various attribute values. These can include differences in gender, occupation, or address. It is also possible to ask about personality traits in a questionnaire and then categorize them based on the results.

[0007] In group work, by putting participants with different attribute values ​​into one group, it is possible to hear opinions from other participants that you do not have yourself, or to come up with ideas that you would not have thought of.

[0008] On the other hand, by grouping participants with similar attribute values, ideas that stem from similar attribute values ​​may emerge. Also, there are cases where discussions are impossible unless attribute values ​​are aligned. For example, when discussing the future of the town where you live, you need to group participants who live in the same area.

[0009] In this way, the type of participants that are grouped together will change depending on the purpose of the group work. Furthermore, because there are various attributes, the grouping will also change depending on which attributes are prioritized.

[0010] However, with the prior art, it has been difficult to take the above points into consideration and to perform group division that is desirable for the group work participants.

[0011] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a technique for supporting grouping in a manner that is desirable for a person who is implementing group work.

[0012] According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a grouping support device that supports grouping of subjects, comprising: an information storage unit that stores attribute values ​​of each subject for one or more attributes; and a control unit that selects one or more group candidates from a plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using the attribute values ​​of each subject read from the information storage unit, and displays the selected one or more group candidates on a terminal.

[0013] The disclosed technology provides a technology that supports grouping in a way that is desirable for the person conducting the group work.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a grouping support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the grouping support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group work participant candidate list. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group work participant selection page. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an attribute priority input page. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group work participant list. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group candidate list. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evaluation value list of group candidates. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group candidate determination page. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of data on distances between addresses. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evaluation value list of group candidates. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a grouping support device.

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0016] In the following description, it is assumed that grouping is performed for group work, but the technology according to the present invention can also be applied to grouping subjects in fields other than group work.

[0017] (Outline of the embodiment) As an outline of the embodiment, an outline of the operation, attributes, evaluation functions, etc. will be described.

[0018] In this embodiment, it is assumed that a group work participant will group people in a group work by forming groups of people with similar attribute values ​​or people with dissimilar attribute values. The grouping support device 100, which will be described later, supports the group work participant in grouping by suggesting grouping proposals (referred to as group candidates) that have been evaluated and selected from the above perspectives to the group work participant. When processing this proposal, the attribute values ​​of the participants are recorded in advance in the grouping support device 100.

[0019] <Attributes> The main attributes in this embodiment will be described below, along with their features.

[0020] For group work participants, there are attributes for which it is desirable to avoid having the same attribute values ​​for each group, and attributes for which it is desirable to have the same attribute values. Generally, there are attributes that take on many attribute values ​​and attributes that take on only a few attribute values. For example, gender is an attribute expressed as a binary value, male or female. In recent years, when asking about gender, an option for "prefer not to answer" is sometimes provided, but in this embodiment, gender will be described as a binary attribute.

[0021] Also, because opinions may differ depending on gender, it is often preferable for the group to have participants of both genders rather than only one gender. Therefore, gender is an example of an attribute where you want to avoid having the same attribute value as much as possible.

[0022] Age is an attribute that can take on a value close to 100. Opinions may differ depending on age, so it is often desirable for the participants in a group to include people of various ages. For this reason, age is an example of an attribute where you want to avoid making the attribute values ​​uniform as much as possible.

[0023] Other types can also be determined by personality tests, etc. Generally, types do not have many values. This type can be determined, for example, by conducting multiple questionnaires in advance. In this case, too, it is often desirable for the participants making up a group to contain people with a variety of types (attribute values). For this reason, type is an example of an attribute for which it is desirable to avoid having the same attribute values ​​as much as possible.

[0024] Next, we will explain the attribute called address. An address can be expressed as a character string, or as a location coordinate. In either case, address is an attribute that can take on a large number of attribute values. Address is an example of an attribute whose attribute values ​​you want to keep as consistent as possible, since you might want to gather people who live nearby and brainstorm ideas for the town that corresponds to that address.

[0025] <About the evaluation function> For example, consider dividing 12 participants A to L into three groups of four people each. In this case, the number of combinations is (12 x 11 x 10 x 9) / (4 x 3 x 2 x 1) x (8 x 7 x 6 x 5) / (4 x 3 x 2 x 1) = 495 x 70 = 34,650. This is when considering groups 1, 2, and 3 separately. If you are simply dividing into three groups, the differences between groups 1 to 3 are irrelevant. In that case, ３ P ３ = 3! = 3 x 2 x 1 = 6, so the number of combinations is 34650 / 6 = 5775.

[0026] As mentioned above, since the number of combinations is finite, it is possible to introduce some kind of evaluation function to evaluate all combinations. For example, by adopting the combination with the best evaluation among all combinations, it is possible to perform the desired grouping.

[0027] For example, when evaluating combinations based on gender, by adopting a combination of males and females that is close to 1:1, it is possible to create groups that meet the desire to avoid having the same gender within the group as much as possible.

[0028] Here, we will explain a specific example of evaluation when the male to female ratio of all participants before group division is 1:1. Since each group has four people, it is ideal to have two men and two women, and we want to avoid cases where there are three men and one woman, or all four are men.

[0029] The evaluation function used for the above grouping can be, for example, a function that uses the difference in the number of men and women. For example, if the ratio of men to women in all three groups is 1:1, the difference in the number of men and women in each group is 0.

[0030] As an evaluation function for evaluating the overall grouping, if the sum of the absolute value of the difference in the number of men and women in each group is used, then if the difference in the number of men and women in each group is 0, the sum of the three groups (three times 0) is 0.

[0031] On the other hand, if the ratio of men to women is 1:3 in Group 1, 1:1 in Group 2, and 3:1 in Group 3, then in Group 1, the absolute value of the difference in numbers between men and women can be calculated as 2, which is the absolute value of 1 - 3 = -2. In Group 2, the absolute value of the difference in numbers between men and women is 0. In Group 3, the absolute value of the difference in numbers between men and women can be calculated as 2, which is 3 - 1 = 2.

[0032] As an evaluation function for evaluating the overall grouping, the sum of the squares of the difference in the number of men and women in each group may be used. If this evaluation function (value of the evaluation function) is EV, then in the case of the above grouping, EV = (1 - 3) ２ + (2-2) ２ +(3-1) ２ = 8. Also, if the ratio of men to women in all groups is 1:1, EV can be calculated as 0.

[0033] As described above, by adopting the "group combination" that gives the smallest EV value, the male-female ratio in each group approaches 1:1.

[0034] In the above example, we assumed that the male to female ratio of the 12 participants before group division was 1:1, but in reality, it is unlikely that exactly half of the 12 participants are women.

[0035] For example, if there are 8 men and 4 women among 12 people, even if you try to make the male-female ratio in each group 1:1 by performing the evaluation described above, it will not be possible to make the male-female ratio in each group 1:1.

[0036] Therefore, in this embodiment, the grouping is performed so that groups with combinations of people with as equal a number of males and females as possible can be formed. For example, if there are 8 males and 4 females among 12 people, one method is to group them in a ratio of 2:2 for group 1, 3:1 for group 2, and 3:1 for group 3. In this case, the evaluation value is EV=8. In other words, although it is not possible to achieve EV=0, by adopting grouping that minimizes EV, it is possible to form groups with combinations of people with as equal a number of males and females as possible.

[0037] In this embodiment, an evaluation function used for grouping evaluation is introduced for each attribute. Therefore, there is a possibility that inconsistent results will be obtained between attributes. Therefore, in this embodiment, priorities are determined among multiple attributes (i.e., multiple evaluation functions).

[0038] An example of the configuration and operation of the system / apparatus according to this embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0039] (System Configuration Example) An example of the overall configuration of a grouping support system according to this embodiment is shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the grouping support system has a configuration in which a grouping support device 100 and a group work implementer terminal 300 are connected to a network 200.

[0040] In this embodiment, the grouping support device 100 is realized using a web server. The grouping support device 100 is connected to a group work implementer terminal 300 via a network 200. A group work implementer (a terminal user) connects to the grouping support device 100 from the group work implementer terminal 300 and inputs information such as the group work participants. The grouping support device 100 also transmits information for grouping support to the group work implementer terminal 300, and the group work implementer terminal 300 displays the information to the group work implementer.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 1, the grouping assistance device 100 includes an information input / output unit 110 , a control unit 120 , an information storage unit 130 , and a web page creation unit 140 .

[0042] The information input / output unit 110 inputs information received from the network 200 and outputs and transmits information to the network 200. The control unit 120 executes processes such as calculation of evaluation values ​​to provide information related to grouping support, and transmits (displays) various pages to the group work implementer terminal 300 via the information input / output unit 110.

[0043] Furthermore, the web page creation section 140 creates a web page to be displayed on the group work participant terminal 300. The information storage section 130 stores information.

[0044] (Example) An example will be described below as a specific example of the operation of the grouping support system. In this example, an example will be described in which a group work organizer requests 12 group work participants to divide the participants into three groups of four each and carry out group work. However, the number of groups and participants is not limited to this.

[0045] 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the grouping support system according to this embodiment. An example of the operation of the grouping support system will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0046] As a prerequisite for the operation, attribute values ​​for each attribute of the 12 participants are obtained through a preliminary questionnaire, and these are recorded in advance in the form of a group work participant candidate list in the information storage unit 130. Fig. 3 shows an example of the group work participant candidate list recorded in advance in the information storage unit 130.

[0047] When the group work implementer's terminal 300 accesses the URL of the page of the grouping support device 100 based on the operation of the group work implementer, in response, in S1 of Figure 2, the grouping support device 100 displays a group work participant selection page on the group work implementer's terminal 300.

[0048] 4 shows an example of a group work participant selection page. The group work participant selection page is a page created by the web page creation unit 140 using information pre-recorded in the information storage 130. This page is also sent by the control unit 120 to the group work implementer terminal 300 via the information input unit 110.

[0049] The group work organizer viewing the group work participant selection page selects participants by checking the participation column while referring to the participant information. As shown in Figure 4, the participation column on the group work participant selection page is lined with white squares that indicate check boxes. In the example of Figure 4, the participation column for participant A is a black square, which indicates that the group work organizer has selected participant A.

[0050] The person conducting the group work selects 12 participants (for example, A to L) and presses the "Next" button.

[0051] 2, when the control unit 120 of the grouping support device 100 detects that a participant has been selected and the "Next" button has been pressed (Yes in S2), the control unit 120 confirms the participant information, and in S3, displays an attribute priority order input page on the group work implementer terminal 300. An example of the attribute priority order input page is shown in FIG. 5. That is, on the group work implementer terminal 300, the page transitions from the group work participant selection page in FIG. 4 to the attribute priority order input page in FIG. 5.

[0052] On the attribute priority input page, the group work implementer inputs the priority for each attribute. Furthermore, for the attribute for which the priority has been input, the implementer selects either "distribute" or "concentrate" in the operation column. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the priority of the attribute "gender" is 1, and the operation column is "distribute." This means that the implementer of the group work has given top priority to grouping so that the values ​​of "gender" are not biased, and therefore has set the priority of "gender" to 1st.

[0053] The attribute "age" has a priority of 2, and the operation column is "distribution." This means that the person who carried out the group work wanted to divide the people into groups so that "age" would not be biased, which was the second priority, so "age" was given the second priority.

[0054] The attribute "address" has a priority of 3, and the operation column is "concentration." This means that the group work organizer wanted to divide people into groups with people who have nearby "addresses" together, which was the third priority, so the priority of "address" was set to 3rd.

[0055] Additionally, the priorities of the attributes "age," "occupation," and "affiliated group" are all set to 0. This indicates that the group work organizer decided not to use these attributes for grouping. Note that an affiliation group could be, for example, a volunteer group in the community, or a club or circle that a student belongs to.

[0056] When the group work participant presses the "Register" button on the page of Figure 5, the control unit 120 of the grouping support device 100 detects that the "Register" button has been pressed (Yes in S4), and in S5 generates a list of group work participants and records the list in the information storage unit 130.

[0057] An example of the group work participant list is shown in Fig. 6. The list shown in Fig. 6 is obtained by extracting data for participants with user IDs A to L selected by the group work promoter from the list in Fig. 3.

[0058] In S6, the control unit 120 of the grouping support device 100 generates a group candidate list and records it in the information storage unit 130. An example of a group candidate list is shown in Fig. 7. In this example, the control unit 120 generates 34,650 group candidates with different combinations of participants, and adds IDs to each of the group candidates to create the group candidate list.

[0059] In S7, the control unit 120 assigns 1 to N, which indicates the priority of the attribute.

[0060] In S8, the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value of the attribute with priority order N (initially N=1), and adds the calculated evaluation value to the evaluation value list of the group candidate shown in FIG.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 5, the attribute with the first priority is "gender." An example of calculating the evaluation value will be explained. For example, if the number of males in the group Num is M Ｎｕｍ , the number of women is F Ｎｕｍ In this case, the number of men in group 1 is M １ , the number of women is F １ The evaluation function for "gender" is the one described above.

[0062] For example, M １ and F １ The evaluation function (for group 1) that indicates whether there is a bias in EV １ = (M １ -F １ ) ２ By calculating the value of this evaluation function, M １ and F １ In other words, it is possible to determine whether there is a bias in the evaluation function EV １ The value of M １ =F １ It is smallest when .

[0063] Similarly, for groups 2 and 3, the evaluation function EV ２ , EV ３ By calculating this, we can grasp the imbalance between the number of men and women. The overall evaluation function EV is EV = EV １ +EV ２ +EV ３ It can be expressed as:

[0064] An example of calculating an evaluation value for a group combination (called a group candidate) with a group candidate ID of 1 in FIG. 7 will be described. According to the data in FIG. 6, among participants A to L, A, B, E, G, J, and K are female, so the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value for EV １－１ =EV １ +EV ２ +EV ３ = (M １ -F １ ) ２ + (M ２ -F ２ ) ２ + (M ３ -F ３ ) ２ = (2-2) ２ + (2-2) ２ + (2-2) ２ = 0 and calculate the evaluation value.

[0065] For the combination of group candidate ID 2 in FIG. 7, according to the data in FIG. 6, among participants A to L, A, B, E, G, J, and K are female, so the control unit 120 １－２ =EV １ +EV ２ +EV ３ = (M １ -F １ ) ２ + (M ２ -F ２ ) ２ + (M ３ -F ３ ) ２ = (1-3) ２ +(3-1) ２ + (2-2) ２ The evaluation value is calculated assuming that the value is 8. The evaluation value list obtained by adding these values ​​to the list shown in FIG.

[0066] The value EV of the evaluation function is calculated for the group candidates in FIG. 7, and the group candidates with the smallest EV are selected for grouping.

[0067] In this embodiment, in S9, the control unit 120 selects the group candidate with the smallest evaluation value from among all group candidates (generally there will be multiple candidates). In S10, the control unit 120 displays only the group candidates selected in S9 on the group work implementer terminal 300. Note that, here, it is assumed that a "small evaluation value" indicates a good evaluation, but depending on the attribute, a "large evaluation value" may indicate a good evaluation.

[0068] An example of the page (the page for determining group candidates) displayed on the group work participant terminal 300 in S10 is shown in Fig. 10. Here, groups with high evaluation values, such as group candidate 2, are not displayed. Also, the display is made so that it is clear whether each person is male or female. In the example of Fig. 10, female people are underlined.

[0069] When the group work implementer who has looked at the group candidate decision page determines that there are too many group candidates and that it is not possible to decide on one group candidate, he or she presses the narrow down button shown in FIG.

[0070] When the control unit 120 of the grouping support device 100 detects that the narrowing down button has been pressed (Yes in S11), the process proceeds to S12, where N is incremented by 1, and the process proceeds to S8.

[0071] In S8, the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value of the attribute with priority N (currently N=2). That is, since N=2, the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value for the attribute with the second highest priority. For the attribute with the second highest priority, "age," for example, the control unit 120 calculates the standard deviation of age for each group candidate and compares the standard deviations between the group candidates, thereby making it possible to compare the degree of variation in age between the group candidates. Furthermore, the control unit 120 calculates the average value for each group candidate and compares the average value between the group candidates, thereby making it possible to grasp the difference in the bias in average age between the group candidates. This allows the candidates to be further narrowed down.

[0072] An example of calculating the evaluation value for "age" will be explained. The standard deviation of age in group Num is EV ＮｕｍIn this case, the standard deviations of groups 1, 2, and 3 are EV １ , EV ２ , EV ３ The overall evaluation function EV is, for example, EV = EV １ +EV ２ +EV ３ The larger the EV, the greater the age variation.

[0073] The control unit 120 calculates the above EV for each remaining group candidate, and, for example, selects the group candidates with the top M EVs (M is a predetermined integer greater than or equal to 0) and displays them on the group work implementer terminal 300 (S9, S10).

[0074] If there are still too many candidates to decide after proceeding through S9, S10, and S11, the group work implementer presses the narrowing down button. When the control unit 120 of the grouping support device 100 detects that the narrowing down button has been pressed (Yes in S11), the process proceeds to S12, increments N by 1, and then proceeds to S8.

[0075] In S8, the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value of the attribute with priority N (currently N=3). That is, since N=3, the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value for the attribute with the third highest priority. In this example, for the attribute with the third highest priority, "address," it is assumed that the group work implementer wishes to group people with similar "addresses" together.

[0076] An example of calculation of an evaluation value for "address" will be described. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, addresses are divided into 1-chome, 2-chome, and 3-chome. In addition, the distance between addresses is separately defined, and the distance between addresses based on this definition is recorded in advance in the information storage unit 130. FIG. 11 shows an example of the distance between addresses that is recorded in advance in the information storage unit 130.

[0077] An example of evaluating the proximity of addresses between participants in group candidate 1 in Fig. 7 will be described. Since four people, A, B, C, and D, belong to group 1 in group candidate 1, the address combination is ４ C ２ There are six streets.

[0078] According to the data in FIG. 6, participant A's address is 1-chome, B's address is 2-chome, C's address is 3-chome, and D's address is 1-chome. The control unit 120 adds up the six "distances of address combinations" to calculate the evaluation function EV ３－１ The value is

[0079] If the distance between the address of X and the address of Y is represented as L(X, Y), the control unit 120 calculates the evaluation value EV for group 1 as follows: １ , the evaluation value EV for group 2 ２ , the evaluation value EV for group 3 ３ , and the overall evaluation value EV of group candidate 1 for N=3 ３－１ Calculate.

[0080] EV １ =L(A,B)+L(A,C)+L(A,D)+L(B,C)+L(B,D)+L(C,D)=3+10+0+6+3+10=32 EV ２ =L(E,F)+L(E,G)+L(E,H)+L(F,G)+L(F,H)+L(G,H)=3+0+6+3+10+6=28 EV ３ =L(I,J)+L(I,K)+L(I,L)+L(J,K)+L(J,L)+L(K,L) =10+0+10+10+0+10=40 EV ３－１ =EV １ +EV ２ +EV ３ =32+28+40=100 In S8, the control unit 120 ３－１ The value of is added to the list of FIG. 9 to obtain the list shown in FIG.

[0081] Note that the above evaluation method can be applied to various attributes if the distance between attribute values ​​is defined as shown in Fig. 11. Also, although the distance is defined from the address in Fig. 11, the actual distance between addresses may be calculated using location information corresponding to the addresses.

[0082] In this embodiment, in S9, the control unit 120 selects the group candidate (generally there are multiple) with the smallest evaluation value from among all the currently remaining group candidates. In S10, the control unit 120 displays only the group candidate selected in S9 on the group work implementer terminal 300.

[0083] Here, it is assumed that the answer in S11 is No, and the process proceeds to S13. The group work implementer selects the final group candidates (one or more group candidates) using the check boxes and presses the OK button. When the control unit 120 detects that the OK button has been pressed (Yes in S13), the control unit 120 records a list of the adopted group candidates in the information storage unit 130 in S14.

[0084] A list of adopted group candidates can be displayed on the group work implementer terminal 300 at any time.

[0085] (Hardware Configuration Example) The grouping assistance device 100 described in this embodiment can be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program. This computer may be a physical computer or a virtual machine on the cloud.

[0086] That is, the grouping assistance device 100 can be realized by using hardware resources such as a CPU and memory built into a computer to execute a program corresponding to the processing performed by the grouping assistance device 100. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a portable memory) and can be saved or distributed. The program can also be provided via a network such as the Internet or email.

[0087] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the computer. The computer in Fig. 13 includes a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, and the like, all of which are interconnected by a bus BS. The computer may further include a GPU.

[0088] The program that realizes the processing on the computer is provided by a recording medium 1001, such as a CD-ROM or a memory card. When the recording medium 1001 storing the program is set in the drive device 1000, the program is installed from the recording medium 1001 to the auxiliary storage device 1002 via the drive device 1000. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 1001, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 1002 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

[0089] The memory device 1003 reads and stores the program from the auxiliary storage device 1002 when an instruction to start the program is received. The CPU 1004 realizes functions related to the grouping assistance device 100 in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 1003. The interface device 1005 is used as an interface for connecting to a network, etc. The display device 1006 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like according to the program. The input device 1007 is composed of a keyboard, mouse, buttons, a touch panel, etc., and is used to input various operation instructions. The output device 1008 outputs the results of calculations.

[0090] (Effects of the embodiment) As described above, the technology described in the embodiment can assist the groupwork participant in dividing the work into groups that are desirable for the groupwork participant.

[0091] That is, in this embodiment, for group work, participants with multiple attributes are assigned priorities to the attributes, and it is set for each attribute whether to distribute or concentrate the attribute values ​​of the participants. This allows grouping that meets the conditions desired by the group work implementer to be displayed as group candidates, making it easy to perform grouping.

[0092] The following additional notes are provided regarding the above-described embodiments.

[0093] <Additional Notes> (Additional Item 1) A grouping support device that supports grouping of subjects, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor connected to the memory, wherein the memory stores attribute values ​​of each subject for one or more attributes, and the processor selects one or more group candidates from a plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using the attribute values ​​of each subject read from the memory, and displays the one or more selected group candidates on a terminal. (Additional Item 2) The grouping support device according to Additional Item 1, wherein the processor displays an input page on the terminal and prompts a user of the terminal to input information on the input page indicating whether subjects should be concentrated or dispersed within a group for a plurality of attribute values ​​of a certain attribute. (Additional Item 3) The grouping support device according to Additional Item 1, wherein the processor displays an input page on the terminal and prompts a user of the terminal to input on the input page priorities of attributes for grouping. (Supplementary Item 4) The grouping support device of any one of Supplementary Items 1 to 3, wherein, when a specific group candidate is not determined from among a plurality of group candidates selected based on an evaluation value calculated using attribute values ​​of a first attribute, the processor narrows down the plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using attribute values ​​of a second attribute that has a lower priority than the first attribute, and displays one or more narrowed down group candidates on the terminal. (Supplementary Item 5) A grouping method executed by a grouping support device that supports grouping of subjects, wherein the grouping support device includes an information storage unit that stores attributes of each subject, and selects one or more group candidates from the plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using the attributes of each subject read from the information storage unit, and displays the selected one or more group candidates on the terminal. (Supplementary Item 6) A non-transitory storage medium that stores a program for causing a computer to function as each unit in the grouping support device of any one of Supplementary Items 1 to 4.

[0094] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

[0095] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Grouping support device 110 Information input / output unit 120 Control unit 130 Information storage unit 140 Web page creation unit 200 Network 300 Group work implementer terminal 1000 Drive device 1001 Recording medium 1002 Auxiliary storage device 1003 Memory device 1004 CPU 1005 Interface device 1006 Display device 1007 Input device 1008 Output device

Claims

1. A grouping support device that supports grouping of subjects, comprising: an information storage unit that stores attribute values ​​of each subject for one or more attributes; and a control unit that selects one or more group candidates from a plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using the attribute values ​​of each subject read from the information storage unit, and displays the selected one or more group candidates on a terminal.

2. The grouping support device of claim 1, wherein the control unit displays an input page on the terminal and has a user of the terminal input information on the input page indicating whether subjects are to be concentrated or dispersed within a group for multiple attribute values ​​of a certain attribute.

3. The grouping assistance device according to claim 1, wherein said control unit displays an input page on said terminal and causes a user of said terminal to input priorities of attributes for grouping into said input page.

4. The grouping support device of claim 1, wherein, in the event that a specific group candidate is not determined from among a plurality of group candidates selected based on an evaluation value calculated using an attribute value of a first attribute, the control unit narrows down the plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using an attribute value of a second attribute having a lower priority than the first attribute, and displays one or more of the narrowed down group candidates on the terminal.

5. A grouping method executed by a grouping support device that supports grouping of subjects, the grouping support device having an information storage unit that stores attributes of each subject, selecting one or more group candidates from a plurality of group candidates based on an evaluation value calculated using the attributes of each subject read from the information storage unit, and displaying the selected one or more group candidates on a terminal.

6. A program for causing a computer to function as each unit in the grouping assistance device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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