20080319822 | Method and system for creating and trading schedules - Systems and methods are provided to facilitate employees in accurately specifying and weighting preferences in the form of a bid to be used in a preferential bidding system (“PBS”) at the time schedules are created and shifts are assigned and to facilitate creating shift trade requests after schedules are created and shifts are assigned. The systems and methods present a sequence of questions to determine relative importance and weighting of criteria specified as preferences for a schedule bid and then provide a read back explaining how PBS will interpret the criteria and weighting at schedule creation. Systems and methods are also provided to display visual representation of shifts. The visual representation includes a horizontal bar that serves as a timeline. The height and/or the color of segments of the bar are changed to depict active and inactive periods of work. Systems and methods are also provide to filter, on the fly, a listing of shifts as criteria are specified as a preference for a schedule bid or as a filter criteria to identify desirable shift trades. | 12-25-2008 |