Activity Calendar View Updates Resource Calendars
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Solution Overview
Problem
Project managers face inefficiencies when managing resources for activities on the critical path, as they need to manually update multiple resource calendars to adjust non-working days to working days, which is time-consuming, especially when many resources are involved.
Innovation Solution
A project management tool that allows users to edit a single calendar view for an activity, automatically updating all associated resource calendars, thereby simplifying the process of changing non-working days to working days across multiple resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a project manager manually edits each resource calendar separately to change non-working days to working days, then each resource calendar can be updated individually, but the process becomes time-consuming and inefficient when many resources are involved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate resource calendar update operations into a single unified operation. When a user edits an activity's calendar view to change non-working days to working days, the system automatically propagates this change to all resource calendars associated with that activity, eliminating the need to manually update each resource calendar separately.
Solution Approach 2:
The activity calendar view is given universal functionality to serve both as the activity's own calendar and as a control mechanism for all associated resource calendars. A single edit to the activity calendar simultaneously updates the resource calendars, making the system multi-functional and reducing operational steps.
2Reliability
If a project manager edits multiple resource calendars to ensure resources work on originally scheduled non-working days, then the project schedule can be maintained, but the complexity of the operation increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple calendar management operations into a single unified process. By merging the activity calendar edit operation with automatic resource calendar updates, the system maintains project schedule reliability while dramatically reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically updating resource calendars when an activity calendar is edited. The project management tool autonomously identifies which resource calendars need updating and applies the changes without requiring manual intervention for each resource, thereby maintaining schedule reliability while simplifying the user's task.
3Productivity
If a project manager selects or checks all resources for an activity in the project schedule view to update their calendars, then all resources can be updated at once, but this process is still time-consuming when there are many resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by establishing the relationship between activities and resources in advance. When resources are assigned to activities, the system pre-configures the links between activity calendars and resource calendars, enabling automatic updates without requiring time-consuming bulk selection operations at the moment of change.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the activity calendar editing function with automatic resource calendar propagation. This eliminates the need for separate bulk selection and update operations, significantly improving productivity while reducing the time spent on managing multiple resource calendars.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and other embodiments for providing management of activities of a project plan associated with a computer application are described. In one embodiment, a calendar view of an activity is edited to change a number of calendar time units over which the activity is to be performed. In response to updating the calendar view of the activity, resource data structures are updated for multiple resources assigned to the activity. The resource data structures are updated to reflect the change in the number of calendar time units for each assigned resource. For each assigned resource, the number of calendar time units corresponds to a period of time for which the resource is assigned to the activity.