Realtime Schedule Management Interface

Abstract

In an embodiment, schedule layers are generated. Each schedule layer has one or more schedule entries and a precedence value. At least one schedule layer includes schedule entries that are generated in a repetitive fashion according to an epoch. A final schedule is created based on a combination of the schedule layers according to an ordering of the precedence value of respective schedule layers. Creating the final schedule includes identifying a gap in the final schedule; and filling the gap using a schedule entry from a schedule layer of the two or more schedule layers selected according to respective precedence values. A real time interface is employed to visually present the final schedule for display. The real time interface is configured to dynamically transform and render the one or more schedule entries into one or more graphical cells visually distinguished from each other based restrictions, team members, or inputs.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method, comprising:
 generating two or more schedule layers, each schedule layer having one or more schedule entries and a precedence value, wherein at least one schedule layer includes schedule entries that are generated in a repetitive fashion according to an epoch;   creating a final schedule based on a combination of the schedule layers according to an ordering of the precedence value of respective schedule layers, wherein creating the final schedule comprises:
 identifying a gap in the final schedule, wherein the gap refers to a time period in the final schedule for which there is no associated schedule entry; and 
 filling the gap using a schedule entry from a schedule layer of the two or more schedule layers selected according to respective precedence values of the two or more schedule layers; and 
   employing a real time interface to visually present the final schedule for display, wherein the real time interface is configured to dynamically transform and render the one or more schedule entries into one or more graphical cells that are visually distinguished from each other in the final schedule based on one or more restrictions, one or more team members, or one or more inputs.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 generating an incident based on an electronic communication received from a monitoring server;   identifying, based on the final schedule and a time of receipt of the electronic communication, a team member of the one or more team members;   identifying a notification policy associated with the team member; and   transmitting a notification associated with the incident to the team member based on the notification policy.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein transmitting a notification associated with the incident to the team member based on the notification policy comprises:
 transmitting a first notification via email; and   transmitting a second, subsequent, notification via short message service.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein generating the each schedule layer comprises:
 obtaining a shift duration, an ordered list of the one or more team members, and a restriction;   assigning each team member to a shift wherein each assignment is a corresponding schedule entry;   repeating the assigning by iterating through the ordered list of the one or more team members until the each schedule layer is complete; and   assigning the precedence value to the each schedule layer.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein generating the each schedule layer further comprises:
 generating an override layer, the override layer including a temporary change to the final schedule, and the override layer having a highest precedence value.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the filling includes truncating the schedule entry to fill the gap when the schedule entry includes a shift duration longer than the gap. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 receiving an edit of a schedule entry in one of the schedule layers; and   automatically updating the schedule entry in the final schedule based on the edit of the schedule entry.   
     
     
         9 . A server, comprising:
 a memory; and   a processor, the processor configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
 generate two or more schedule layers, each schedule layer having one or more schedule entries and a precedence value, wherein at least one schedule layer includes schedule entries that are generated in a repetitive fashion according to an epoch; 
 create a final schedule based on a combination of the schedule layers according to an ordering of the precedence value of respective schedule layers, wherein to create the final schedule comprises to:
 identify a gap in the final schedule, wherein the gap refers to a time period in the final schedule for which there is no associated schedule entry; 
 fill the gap using a schedule entry from a schedule layer of the two or more schedule layers selected according to respective precedence values of the two or more schedule layers; 
 
 generate an incident based on an electronic communication received from a monitoring server; 
 identify, based on the final schedule and a time of receipt of the electronic communication, a team member; 
 identify a notification policy associated with the team member; and 
 transmit a notification associated with the incident to the team member based on the notification policy. 
   
     
     
         10 . The server of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
 employ a real time interface to cause the final schedule to be displayed at a client device, wherein the real time interface is configured to dynamically transform and render the one or more schedule entries into one or more graphical cells that are visually distinguished from each other in the final schedule based on at least one of restrictions or team members.   
     
     
         11 . The server of  claim 9 , wherein to generate the two or more schedule layers comprises to:
 obtain a shift duration, an ordered list of the team members, and a restriction;   assign each team member to a shift, subject to the restriction, wherein each assignment is a corresponding schedule entry;   repeat the assigning by iterating through the ordered list of the team members until a current schedule layer of the two or more schedule layers is complete; and   assign the precedence value to the current schedule layer.   
     
     
         12 . The server of  claim 11 , wherein to generate the each schedule layer comprises to:
 generate an override layer, the override layer including a temporary change to the final schedule, and the override layer having a highest precedence value.   
     
     
         13 . The server of  claim 9 , wherein to fill the gap using the schedule entry from the schedule layer of the two or more schedule layers comprises to:
 truncate the schedule entry to fill the gap when the schedule entry includes a shift duration longer than the gap.   
     
     
         14 . The server of  claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
 edit a schedule entry in one of the schedule layers, wherein editing the schedule entry in one of the schedule layers causes the schedule entry in the final schedule to be automatically updates.   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions operable to cause one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
 generating two or more schedule layers, each schedule layer having one or more schedule entries and a precedence value;   creating a final schedule based on a combination of the schedule layers according to an ordering of the precedence value of respective schedule layers, wherein creating the final schedule comprises:
 identifying a gap in the final schedule, wherein the gap refers to a time period in the final schedule for which there is no associated schedule entry; 
 filling the gap using a schedule entry from a schedule layer of the two or more schedule layers selected according to respective precedence values of the two or more schedule layers; and 
 identifying a team member, based on the final schedule and a time of receipt of an incident indicative of a monitored condition; and 
 transmitting a first notification associated with the incident to the team member based on a notification policy associated with the team member. 
   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 in response to determining that an acknowledgement of the incident is not received from the team member within a configured timeout, transmitting a second notification of the incident to another team member selected based on an escalation policy associated with the incident.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein at least one of the schedule entries is associated with an escalation policy indicating a sequence of notifications to team members in response to the incident. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein generating the each schedule layer comprises:
 obtaining a shift duration, an ordered list of team members, and a restriction;   assigning each team member to a shift, subject to the restriction, wherein each assignment is a corresponding schedule entry;   repeating the assigning by iterating through the ordered list of the team members until the each schedule layer is complete; and   assigning the precedence value to the each schedule layer.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 in response to determining that the incident is unresolved within a defined time threshold, transmitting a second notification of the incident to another team selected according to an escalation policy.   
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 receiving an input from the team member indicating that an escalation policy associated with the incident is to be invoked; and   transmitting a second notification of the incident to another team member selected according to the escalation policy.   
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 selecting an escalation policy for the incident based on a type of the incident.