Dynamic Event Scheduling Through Attendee Session Rankings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current event planning methods focus on pre-scheduling sessions and rooms, leading to overbooking and inefficiencies due to uncertainty in attendee choices, resulting in wasted space and resources, and similar issues exist in industries like healthcare, real estate, airlines, and education, where scheduling is manual and inefficient, causing underutilization and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that compiles session and facility information, receives rankings from attendees, determines utility rankings, and uses a 'best fit' model to dynamically link sessions to facilities, generating and updating schedules based on real-time information to maximize attendee satisfaction and resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If rooms are booked in advance based on best guess forecasting, then conference spaces are secured for sessions, but space utilization efficiency deteriorates due to overbooking
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts room assignments based on real-time attendee choices and preferences rather than using static pre-event bookings. The computer system continuously optimizes the schedule and room assignments as attendee selections are received, transforming the rigid advance booking process into a flexible dynamic allocation system that adapts to actual demand patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the key parameter of room capacity allocation from fixed pre-event assignments to variable real-time assignments. By receiving attendee choices and preferences after the event schedule is set, the system recalculates and reassigns attendees to rooms based on updated parameters including actual session selections, presenter preferences, and dietary restrictions, thereby optimizing space utilization.
2Ease of manufacture
If spaces are selected prior to conference beginning, then scheduling is simplified, but cost efficiency deteriorates due to renting excessive space
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary scheduling of sessions and rooms before the event, establishing a initial schedule and room assignments. However, it then supplements this preliminary action with post-event-schedule attendee choice collection and real-time optimization, allowing the system to maintain the simplicity of advance scheduling while correcting the inefficiency of overbooking through subsequent real-time adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where attendee choices and preferences are received after the initial schedule is set, and this feedback information is used to dynamically reoptimize room assignments and attendee allocations. This feedback mechanism allows the system to learn from actual attendee behavior and adjust space utilization accordingly, reducing wasted rental costs while maintaining scheduling simplicity.
3Reliability
If overbooking is used to counter uncertainty in attendee choices, then room capacity is ensured, but resource utilization deteriorates with vacant seats
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of the organizer making speculative overbooking decisions, the system enables attendees to self-report their session choices and preferences after the schedule is set. This self-service approach allows attendees to actively participate in the optimization process, providing accurate demand information that eliminates the need for overbooking while ensuring room capacity adequacy through real-time data-driven allocations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scheduling of sessions and rooms before the event, establishing a initial schedule and room assignments. However, it then supplements this preliminary action with post-event-schedule attendee choice collection and real-time optimization, allowing the system to maintain the simplicity of advance scheduling while correcting the inefficiency of overbooking through subsequent real-time adjustments.
4Device complexity
If manual scheduling methods are used in healthcare and other industries, then implementation is simple, but efficiency deteriorates due to underutilization and increased costs
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical scheduling processes with automated computer-based optimization algorithms. In healthcare and other industries, instead of staff manually entering and communicating scheduling information through pen and paper or spreadsheets, the system uses computational algorithms to automatically optimize facility assignments, patient scheduling, and resource allocation based on real-time data, thereby dramatically improving facility utilization while maintaining ease of use through automated processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for scheduling an event are provided. In some embodiments, information regarding the available sessions and facilities is compiled, ranker selection information based on preview sessions is collected, session utility rankings are determined, an event schedule is generated by a computer based at least on session utility rankings and subsequent facility rankings and the event schedule is electronically sent to attendees and other interested parties. In some embodiments, the event schedule can be revised as a result of new or modified session, facility, ranker information and/or attendee information. This general method and system can be applied to problems in various industries.