Workforce strategy insights

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10699227-B2
Application number	US-201615185997-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 17, 2016
Priority date	Jun 17, 2016
Publication date	Jun 30, 2020
Grant date	Jun 30, 2020

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for workforce planning. The methods, systems, and apparatus include actions of obtaining historical project data describing previous projects, generating a knowledge graph based at least on the historical project data, obtaining future project data describing a future project, identifying a particular previous project that matches the future project based at least on the knowledge graph and the data describing the future project, generating similarity scores between the previous projects and the future project, determining that the similarity score between the particular previous project and the future project satisfies a similarity threshold, identifying the particular previous project as matching the future project, identifying personnel for the future project based at least on the skills needed for the particular previous project, and generating a resource plan for the future project based at least on the identified personnel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method performed by one or more computers comprising:
obtaining, by a knowledge graph generator and from a database, historical project data describing previous projects;
generating, by the knowledge graph generator, a knowledge graph based at least on the historical project data, where the knowledge graph represents relationships between nodes for the previous projects and nodes for skills needed for the previous projects, wherein each edge between a node for a previous project and a node for a skill indicates that the skill is needed by the previous project;
obtaining, by a project matching engine, input from a user through a graphical user interface on a device of the user, where the input specifies future project data describing a future project;
adding, by the project matching engine and into the knowledge graph based on the future project data, both (i) a node for the future project and (ii) edges between the node for the future project and the nodes for skills needed by the previous projects, wherein each edge that is added between the node for the future project and a node for a skill needed by a previous project indicates that the skill is needed by both the future project and the previous project;
determining, by the project matching engine, that the nodes for a subset of the previous projects are within a predetermined number of hops from the node for the future project;
in response to determining that the nodes for the subset of the previous projects are within the predetermined number of hops from the node for the future project, generating, by the project matching engine, similarity scores between the subset of previous projects and the future project based on both (i) a distance in the knowledge graph between the node for the future project and nodes for the subset of previous projects and (ii) a number of matches between the skills needed by future project and the skills needed by the previous projects, wherein each match is identified based on identifying that the knowledge graph includes edges to a node for a skill from both the node for the future project and a node for a previous project;
determining, by the project matching engine, that the similarity score between a particular previous project of the subject of previous projects and the future project satisfies a similarity threshold;
in response to determining that the similarity score between the particular previous project and the future project satisfies the similarity threshold, identifying, by the project matching engine, the particular previous project as matching the future project;
identifying, by a personnel identification engine, personnel for the future project based at least on the skills needed for the particular previous project and personnel data obtained from a human resource database that specifies skills of the personnel; and
generating, by a resource plan generator, a resource plan for the future project based at least on the identified personnel; and
providing the resource plan for display to the user in response to the input from the user.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the similarity score between a particular previous project of the subject of previous projects and the future project satisfies a similarity threshold comprises:
determining that (i) the similarity score between the particular previous project and the future project is greater than or equal to the similarity score between other previous projects indicated by the knowledge graph and the future project and (ii) the similarity score between the particular previous project and the future project satisfies the similarity threshold,
wherein identifying personnel for the future project based at least on the skills needed for the particular previous project comprises in response to determining that (i) the similarity score between the particular previous project and the future project is greater than or equal to the similarity score between other previous projects indicated by the knowledge graph and the future project and (ii) the similarity score between the particular previous project and the future project satisfies the similarity threshold, identifying the particular previous project as matching the future project.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating a knowledge graph based at least on the historical project data, where the knowledge graph represents relationships between nodes for the previous projects and nodes for skills needed for the previous projects comprises:
identifying a set of the historical project data corresponds to the particular previous project;
identifying skills referenced by the set of the historical project data; and
including, in the knowledge graph, a node that represents the particular previous project, nodes that represent the identified skills, and edges between the node that represents the particular previous project and the nodes the represent the identified skills that represent relationships between the particular previous project and the identified skills.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying personnel for the future project based at least on the skills needed for the particular previous project comprises:
obtaining the personnel data that describes skills possessed by personnel and future availability of the personnel; and
identifying, based on the personnel data, a set of personnel that at least a portion of the skills needed for the particular previous project that are available while work is to be performed for the future project.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein identifying, based on the personnel data, a set of personnel that at least a portion of the skills needed for the particular previous project that are available while work is to be performed for the future project comprises reducing cost for the personnel while increasing coverage of skills needed for the particular previous project.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising identifying skills that are needed for the future project that are not needed for the particular previous project, wherein identifying personnel for the future project based at least on the skills needed for the particular previous project comprises identifying personnel for the future project based at least on the skills needed for the particular previous project and the skills that are identified as (i) needed for the future project and (ii) not needed for the particular previous project.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating a resource plan for the future project based at least on the identified personnel comprises:
generating data that describes that the identified personnel are recommended for working on the future project, describe skills that are not satisfied by the identified personnel but available within a company, and skills that are not available within the company.

8. The method of claim 1 , comprising:
providing an exemplar electronic document based on the resource plan for display to a user in a graphical user interface.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating a knowledge graph based at least on the historical project data, where the knowledge graph represents relationships between nodes for the previous projects and nodes for skills needed for the previous projects comprises:
generating the knowledge graph based at least on the historical project data, and external data from relationships between skills and projects, where the knowledge graph represents relationships between the previous projects and skills needed for the previous internal and external projects.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating similarity scores between the previous projects and th

Assignees

• Accenture Global Solutions Ltd

Inventors

• Johnston Simon Peter
• Mulvihill Brianne
• Kearney Rebecca
• Lecue Freddy

Classifications

• G06Q10/06313 Primary

  Resource planning in a project environment · CPC title

• G06Q10/103

  Workflow collaboration or project management · CPC title

• G06Q10/063118

  Staff planning in a project environment · CPC title