Attribute-Based Appointment Slot Matching to Reduce Rescheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing appointment scheduling systems fail to consider the availability of both the host and the guest, leading to frequent rescheduling and inefficiencies in scheduling meetings.
Innovation Solution
An appointment management system that identifies candidate appointment slots for guests based on their attribute information and allows guests to select desired slots, which are then assigned efficiently considering their attributes, reducing rescheduling and adjusting schedules without undue burden.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If appointment slots are assigned based only on host availability, then the host's schedule efficiency is improved, but the guest's convenience deteriorates leading to frequent rescheduling
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by identifying and storing guest availability information in advance before the appointment assignment process. The guest availability information is collected and stored in the storage unit, allowing the determining unit to efficiently match both host and guest preferences simultaneously, rather than making assignments first and then handling rescheduling separately.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual rescheduling requests are sent to guardians, then schedule adjustments can be made, but the time and labor required increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by automatically determining optimal appointment slots that satisfy both host and guest availability constraints. The determining unit autonomously processes the matching logic using stored availability information, eliminating the need for manual rescheduling requests and reducing the time and labor required for schedule adjustments.
3Ease of operation
If all guardians are asked to answer questionnaires about preferred dates and times, then the school can coordinate meetings, but the complexity of managing individual preferences increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the collection and processing of guest availability information into a unified automated framework. Instead of managing individual preference questionnaires separately, the determining unit combines host availability with stored guest availability information to simultaneously determine optimal appointment slots, simplifying the overall coordination process.
Data Source
AI summary
An appointment management apparatus includes: an appointment slot setting unit in which a plurality of appointment slots prepared by a host are set in advance; a guest attribute information storage unit that stores attribute information of a plurality of guests who make appointments from among the plurality of appointment slots; a candidate appointment slot identifying unit that identifies candidate appointment slots for each guest based on the attribute information of each guest and outputs the candidate appointment slots to a terminal device of each guest; a desired appointment slot receiving unit that receives a desired appointment slot selected by each guest from among the candidate appointment slots for each guest; and an assigning unit that assigns an appointment for each guest from among the plurality of appointment slots based on the desired appointment slot of each guest and the attribute information of each guest.