Assignment Management System with Effective Date Preview

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing sales lead assignment systems face challenges in managing changes to assignment rules, leading to unpredictable and undesirable results, as all changes must be completed before further assignments are made, causing unbalanced distribution and potential dissatisfaction among sales personnel.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a system where assignment rules are associated with an effective date, allowing for committed and uncommitted assignments, enabling review and manual adjustments before becoming committed, and enabling different rules to be applied based on future dates.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If assignment rules are modified immediately and all changes are applied before further assignments are made, then the system maintains simplicity in rule management, but the distribution of sales leads becomes unbalanced and mistakes are only discovered after assignments are made

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesimplicity in rule managementVSAvoidassignment distribution balance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by generating uncommitted assignments before committed ones. When assignment rules are modified, the system first creates uncommitted assignments using the new rules, allowing administrators to review and adjust them before they become final. This preliminary generation phase enables load balancing and error detection before actual assignments are made to sales personnel.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Speed

If assignment rules are changed and applied immediately, then the system responds quickly to new requirements, but sales personnel may be unsatisfied with new assignments and mistakes are only discovered after assignments are made

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponse speed to rule changesVSAvoidsales personnel satisfaction

Core Design Contradiction:

SpeedVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Adaptability or versatility

If administrators work over the weekend to complete modifications before Monday morning assignments, then substantive changes can be made to assignment rules, but this causes loss of time and the assignments made on Monday morning may still include surprises

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to make substantive changesVSAvoidadministrative time investment

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Ease of operation

If a single static set of assignment rules is used, then the system is easy to operate, but it cannot adapt to changing sales strategies and territory reorganizations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem operation simplicityVSAvoidability to adapt to changing strategies

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements dynamics by introducing time-based state changes to assignment rules. Rules can be modified and associated with effective dates, transitioning from static to dynamic operation. The system maintains simplicity by automatically managing the complexity of multiple rule versions through uncommitted and committed assignment states, allowing adaptability to changing strategies while preserving ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS7974865B2Systems and methods of managing assignments

Publication Date: 2011.07.05 ORACLE INT CORP

AI summary

Disclosed are systems and methods of making assignments, particularly of sales leads. The assignments are considered either committed or uncommitted responsive to an effective date associated with one or more assignment rule used to make the assignments. Uncommitted assignments may be used to review the effects of changes in assignment rules. Examples are provided including the use of uncommitted assignments to review the effects of changes in a hierarchical territory structure.