Electronic Calendar Shift Swap Detail View Overlay
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic calendars lack efficient features for displaying information and employee self-service functions, particularly in human resources management systems, where employees cannot easily manage and swap work shifts.
Innovation Solution
An electronic calendar system incorporating a calendar view generator, detail view generator, and shift swap engine that allows users to display detailed information and request shift swaps by overlaying a detail view box on the calendar image, enabling efficient navigation and shift exchange between employees.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If detailed information for multiple days is displayed simultaneously, then information completeness is improved, but display area and screen clutter increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the detailed information display into separate day-specific detail view boxes, with each box dedicated to displaying information for a single selected day. This segmentation allows the interface to present complete information for the current day without overwhelming the screen with multiple days' details simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between information completeness and display area utilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The detail view box is designed to be dynamic, automatically updating its content based on the user's selected day. When a user selects a different day in the calendar, the detail view box transitions to display that day's information. This dynamic behavior allows the system to maintain complete information display for the active day while adapting the display content to match user needs, preventing screen clutter from static multi-day displays.
2Ease of operation
If shift swap functionality is integrated into the calendar interface, then employee self-service capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the shift swap functionality directly into the calendar interface by integrating a shift swap control element within the day box or detail view box. This merging allows employees to initiate shift swap requests without navigating to separate systems or interfaces, improving ease of operation. The functionality is combined with the existing calendar display structure, minimizing the increase in system complexity while maximizing employee self-service capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The calendar interface is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a schedule display tool and as a shift management system. The day box and detail view box structures are universal containers that can display various types of information (schedule details, shift information, swap requests) and support multiple operations (viewing, selecting, swapping). This universality reduces the need for separate specialized interfaces, improving ease of operation without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic calendar and method of controlling an electronic calendar. A calendar image of a calendar for a person is displayed on a display screen on a display device. The calendar image comprises a plurality of day boxes. A summary of information for the person for a day is displayed in a day box corresponding to the day in the plurality of day boxes. A detail view box is displayed overlaid on the calendar image adjacent to the day box in response to a selection of the day box by an operator. Detailed information for the person for the day is displayed in the detail view box. The detailed information may include work shift information and enable swapping work shifts with others.