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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A computer-implemented system for assigning a plurality of resource
requests among a plurality of resource providers, said system comprising:
an assignment database for storing an assignment set, said assignment set
defining assignment of one or more of said resource requests among said
resource providers;
a user interface for displaying a representation of at least part of said
assignment set, and for receiving input from a system user; and
an update module for receiving changes to said assignment set, and for
updating said user interface to display a representation of each of said
changes to said assignment set, said update module including means for
selecting one of a plurality of update modes, said plurality of update
modes including:
an assertive mode wherein said update module updates said user interface in
response to receipt of each of said changes to said assignment set, and
an update-on-request mode wherein said update module updates said user
interface in response to a combination of said receipt of each of said
changes to said assignment set and an update request input received by
said user interface from said system user.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said resource requests is a field
service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of update modes of said
update module further includes an update-on-delay mode wherein said update
module updates said user interface in response to a combination of said
receipt of each of said changes and an elapse of a time delay from a time
of said receipt of each of said changes, said update module including
means for resetting said time delay in response to a reset request input
received by said user interface from said system user.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein each of said resource requests is a field
service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said changes to said assignment
set defines an assignment of one of said resource requests to one of said
resource providers, and said selecting means of said update module
includes means for selecting one of said plurality of update modes based
on one or more attributes associated with said one of said resource
requests.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein each of said resource requests is a field
service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
7. The system of claim 5, wherein said one or more attributes associated
with said one of said resource requests include at least one of a type of
resource associated with said one of said resource requests, a priority
value associated with said one of said resource requests, and a location
associated with said one of said resource requests.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein each of said resource requests is a field
service call, each of said resource providers is a field service
technician, and said one or more attributes associated with said one of
said resource requests further includes a customer associated with said
one of said resource requests.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein each of said changes to said assignment
set defines an assignment of one of said resource requests to one of said
resource providers, and said selecting means of said update module
includes means for selecting one of said plurality of update modes based
on one or more attributes associated with said one of said resource
providers.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein said one or more attributes associated
with said one of said resource providers include a territory associated
with said one of said resource providers.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein said selecting means of said update
module selects one of said update modes based on a selection input
received by said user interface from said system user.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein said user interface includes means for
displaying a first component including a representation of a first part of
said assignment set, and means for displaying a second component including
a representation of a second part of said assignment set, said selecting
means of said update module including means for selecting one of said
update modes for said first component of said user interface, and for
selecting a different one of said update modes for said second component
of said user interface.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
17. The system of claim 1, wherein said user interface includes means for
displaying a first component including a representation of a first part of
said assignment set, and a buffer means for storing an undisplayed second
component including a representation of a second part of said assignment
set, said selecting means of said update module including means for
selecting one of said update modes for said first component, and for
selecting a different one of said update modes for said second component.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein said selecting means includes means for
selecting said assertive mode for said second component.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
21. The system of claim 1, wherein said selecting means includes means for
selecting one of said update modes based on a number of said changes
received by said update module.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
23. The system of claim 21, wherein said selecting means includes means for
selecting said assertive mode when said number of said changes received by
said update module exceeds a threshold.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
25. The system of claim 1, wherein said selecting means includes means for
changing from a selected one of said update modes to another one of said
update modes in response to an elapse of a time delay from a time of a
previous input received by said user interface from said system user.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
27. The system of claim 1, wherein said update module includes means for
controlling said user interface, when said update-on-request mode is
selected, to display a non-modal message notifying said system user of a
pending update.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
29. A computer-implemented system for assigning a plurality of resource
requests among a plurality of resource providers, said system comprising:
an assignment database for storing an assignment set, said assignment set
defining assignment of one or more of said resource requests among said
resource providers;
a user interface for displaying a representation of at least part of said
assignment set, and for receiving input from a system user; and
an update module for receiving changes to said assignment set, and for
updating said user interface to display a representation of each of said
changes to said assignment set, said update module including means for
selecting one of a plurality of update modes, said plurality of update
modes including:
an assertive mode wherein said update module updates said user interface in
response to receipt of each of said changes to said assignment set, and
an update-on-delay mode wherein said update module updates said user
interface in response to a combination of said receipt of each of said
changes and an elapse of a time delay from a time of said receipt of each
of said changes.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein each of said resource requests is a
field service call and each of said resource providers is a field service
technician.
31. A computer-implemented system for assigning a plurality of field
service calls among a plurality of field service technicians, said system
comprising:
an assignment database for storing an assignment set, said assignment set
defining assignment of one or more of said field service calls among said
field service technicians;
a user interface for displaying a representation of at least part of said
assignment set, and for receiving input from a system user; and
an update module for receiving said changes to said assignment set, and for
updating said user interface to display a representation of each of said
changes to said assignment set, said update module including means for
selecting one of a plurality of update modes, said plurality of update
modes including:
an assertive mode wherein said update module updates said user interface in
response to receipt of each of said changes to said assignment set,
an update-on-request mode wherein said update module updates said user
interface in response to a combination of said receipt of each of said
changes to said assignment set and an update request input received by
said user interface from said system user, and
an update-on-delay mode wherein said update module updates said user
interface in response to a combination of said receipt of each of said
changes and an elapse of a time delay from a time of said receipt of each
of said changes. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/201,664, issued on U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,268, of Elizabeth M. Sisley and
John E. Collins, filed Feb. 25, 1994, and entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT AND SCHEDULING," now U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,268 U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 08/210,678, of John E. Collins and Elizabeth
M. Sisley, filed Mar. 18, 1994, and entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
SCHEDULING RESOURCE REQUESTS," and U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/220,831, of John E. Collins and Elizabeth M. Sisley, filed Mar. 31,
1994, and entitled "SYSTEM INTEGRATING ACTIVE AND SIMULATED DECISIONMAKING
PROCESSES." The content of each of the above-referenced copending United
States patent applications is incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to techniques for managing a user interface,
and, more particularly, to techniques for updating a user interface
display in a mixed-initiative system.
DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART
A mixed-initiative system initiates action in response to independent input
from one of a plurality of asynchronous input streams. An example of a
mixed-initiative system is disclosed in copending U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 08/201,664, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,268, directed to a software
system that generates resource assignment and scheduling recommendations.
One or more user interfaces and a database interface generate asynchronous
events that independently trigger the generation of assignment and
scheduling recommendations by the system. A system user may accept a
recommendation from the system or enter an alternative assignment and
scheduling decision via one of the user interfaces. Each user interface
displays a graphical representation of various resource assignments to aid
system users in making assignment and scheduling decisions. During the
decisionmaking process, recommendations issued by the system and decisions
made by system users undergo continuous change. Because obsolete data may
adversely affect the decisions made by a system user, it is important to
update the user interface display to keep the system user informed of the
current situation.
The update of the user interface display is complicated, however, by the
mixed-initiative behavior of the system. Specifically, events received
from the database interface or other user interfaces may independently
initiate assignment and scheduling recommendations that require updates of
the user interface display used by a particular system user. A display
update generated in response to such recommendations may overlap or
conflict with work being conducted by the particular system user. Thus,
the initiative of the assignment and scheduling system may conflict with
the initiative of the system user, causing disruption of the system user's
work. This potential conflict makes it difficult to update the user
interface display in a coherent manner while maintaining near real-time
response to the asynchronous events. As an illustration, the system may
respond to an event received from the database interface by generating a
recommendation that results in the reassignment of several resource
requests visible on the system user's display. If the system user is in
the process of examining potential assignments for one of the reassigned
resource requests, an immediate display update may move the resource
request to a different area of the display, or entirely off of the visible
portion of the display. This type of disruption results in an appearance
of instability that can be disconcerting to the system user. The
instability significantly decreases the system user's perceptions of
predictability and control over the user interface, causing user
dissatisfaction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the interface instability problems existent in a
mixed-initiative system, the present invention is directed to a resource
assignment system for providing mixed-initiative user interface updates
that is capable of producing an appearance of stability to the system user
without sacrificing near real-time response to asynchronous events.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in
part in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from
the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The
advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the system
particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as
well as in the appended drawings.
To achieve the foregoing advantages, as broadly embodied and described
herein, the present invention provides a computer-implemented system for
assigning a plurality of resource requests among a plurality of resource
providers, the system comprising an assignment database for storing an
assignment set, the assignment set defining assignment of one or more of
the resource requests among the resource providers, a user interface for
displaying a representation of at least part of the assignment set, and
for receiving input from a system user, and an update module for receiving
changes to the assignment set, and for updating the user interface to
display a representation of each of the changes to the assignment set, the
update module including means for selecting one of a plurality of update
modes, the plurality of update modes including an assertive mode wherein
the update module updates the user interface in response to receipt of
each of the changes to the assignment set, and an update-on-request mode
wherein the update module updates the user interface in response to a
combination of the receipt of each of the changes to the assignment set
and an update request input received by the user interface from the system
user.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a computer-implemented
system for assigning a plurality of resource requests among a plurality of
resource providers, the system comprising an assignment database for
storing an assignment set, the assignment set defining assignment of one
or more of the resource requests among the resource providers, a user
interface for displaying a representation of at least part of the
assignment set, and for receiving input from a system user, and an update
module for receiving changes to the assignment set, and for updating the
user interface to display a representation of each of the changes to the
assignment set, the update module including means for selecting one of a
plurality of update modes, the plurality of update modes including an
assertive mode wherein the update module updates the user interface in
response to receipt of each of the changes to the assignment set, and an
update-on-delay mode wherein the update module updates the user interface
in response to a combination of the receipt of each of the changes and an
elapse of a time delay from a time of the receipt of each of the changes.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the
following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and not
restrictive of the invention, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding
of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this
specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the
invention and together with the description serve to explain the
principles of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a resource assignment system
providing mixed-initiative updates of a user interface display, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set, in accordance with the present
invention;
FIG. 3 is an example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in an assertive update mode, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a first example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in an update-on-request mode, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a second example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in the update-on-request mode, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a first example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in an update-on-delay mode, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a second example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in the update-on-delay mode, in
accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a first example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in the update-on-delay mode, and
incorporating a message indicating that a change was initiated by another
system user, in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a second example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in the update-on-delay mode, and
incorporating a message indicating that a pending update was initiated by
another system user, in accordance with the present invention; and
FIG. 10 is an example of a user interface displaying a graphical
representation of an assignment set in the update-on-delay mode, and
incorporating a message indicating that a pending update involves a
high-priority resource request, in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Reference will now be made in detail to an exemplary embodiment of the
invention. One skilled in the art, given the description herein, will
recognize the utility of the system of the present invention in a variety
of diverse resource environments in which assignment and scheduling
problems exist. For example, it is conceivable that the system of the
present invention may be adapted for assignment and scheduling problems
existent in organizations engaged in diverse activities such as
telecommunications, power generation, traffic management, medical resource
management, transportation dispatching, emergency services dispatching,
inventory management, and logistics. However, for ease of description, as
well as for purposes of illustration, the present invention primarily will
be described in the context of a field service environment.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a resource
assignment system for providing mixed-initiative updates of a user
interface display, in accordance with the present invention. The system 10
of FIG. 1 is a computer-implemented software system realized, for example,
by a software process running on a standard Unix.TM. workstation. The
software process of system 10 may be implemented with the Common Lisp
Object System (CLOS). As illustrated in FIG. 1, system 10 comprises an
assignment and scheduling (A/S) database 12, an assignment and scheduling
(A/S) module 14, a service management system (SMS) database interface 16,
at least one user interface 18, and an update module 20. The user
interface 18 includes an input device 22 and a display device 24. Although
SMS database interface 16 and user interface 18 are described herein as
discrete components, they may be integrated to combine SMS functionality
with the assignment and scheduling activity of system 10.
The A/S database 12 stores a set of resource requests, a set of resource
providers, and an assignment set defining assignments of one or more of
the resource requests among the resource providers. The assignment set
includes a schedule set further defining schedules of the resource
requests assigned to each resource provider. For a field service
environment, the corresponding representational sets are a call set
defined by a plurality of customer service calls requiring maintenance or
repair services, a technician set defined by a plurality of field service
technicians operating in the field service environment, an assignment set
defining assignments of calls to technicians, and a schedule set defining
schedules of the calls assigned to each technician. The system user in the
field service context may be, for example, a field service call
dispatcher. Although A/S database 12 is described herein as a discrete
component, it may form part of an SMS database accessed by SMS database
interface 16.
The A/S module 14 generates assignment and scheduling recommendations in
response to events. The recommendations generated by A/S module 14
represent changes to the assignment set stored in A/S database 12. The
events that initiate the assignment and scheduling activity of A/S module
14 represent changes to the set of resource requests stored in A/S
database 12, changes to the set of resource providers also stored in A/S
database 12, or requests for further evaluation of outstanding
recommendations. In the field service context, for example, A/S module 14
responds to call-events representing changes to the call set, tech-events
representing changes to the technician set, or reevaluation-events
representing requests for further evaluation. A change to the call set may
constitute the addition of a new call, the cancellation of a pending call,
or a change in attributes associated with a particular call. A change to
the technician set similarly may constitute a change in attributes
associated with a particular technician.
In operation, A/S module 14 initiates a constrained search for potential
assignment and scheduling solutions in response to a call-event,
tech-event, or reevaluation-event, and returns the best solution found as
a recommendation. The A/S module 14 activates two software process modules
that cooperate to reach the assignment/scheduling recommendation.
Specifically, A/S module 14 comprises an assigner module, responsible for
assigning new and pending service calls among the technicians, and a
scheduler module, invoked by the assigner module to generate a schedule of
the calls assigned to each individual technician. Thus, each assignment in
the assignment set involves both an association of a call with a
technician, as determined by the assigner module, and a scheduling of the
call at a particular time, as determined by the scheduler module. The A/S
module 14 combines optimization, artificial intelligence, and
constraint-processing techniques to arrive at near-optimal
recommendations. The structure and operation of A/S module 14 are
described in detail in the aforementioned copending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 08/201,664.
The assignment and scheduling activity of A/S module 14 is asynchronously
initiated by either events received from SMS database interface 16 or
events received from user interface 18. The SMS database interface 16
receives SMS event data from a service management system (SMS) database
(not shown). The SMS event data is generated with an SMS software
application designed to track service calls received from field service
customers. Examples of commercially available SMS software systems are the
S2000.TM. system manufactured by Service Systems International, and the
OPEN UPTIME.TM. system manufactured by Metrix. When a customer requests
repair services, a call taker working for the service organization uses
the SMS software application to enter new calls and accompanying call
attributes provided by the customer into the SMS database. The call taker
deletes a call from the SMS database when the customer reports a
cancellation, and alters the attributes of a call when notified by the
customer. The SMS application may also add a call to the SMS database in
response to call information received directly from a customer, or repair
signals transmitted from a malfunctioning machine. Thus, the SMS event
data captured by the SMS interface 16 constitute call-events representing
incremental changes to the call set. If the SMS database and A/S database
12 are integrated, the SMS event data may also include tech-events
representing changes to the technician set. The SMS interface 16
translates the SMS event data into call-events and tech-events, and passes
the events to A/S module 14, as indicated by line 26, thereby initiating
assignment and scheduling activity.
The user interface 18 receives field event data entered by a system user
via input device 22. The input device 22 may comprise a conventional input
device such as, for example, a mouse and a keyboard. The field event data
received by user interface 18 includes both tech-events and call-events,
representing changes to the technician and call sets, respectively, as
well as reevaluation-events representing requests for further evaluation
of an outstanding recommendation for a particular call or technician. The
call-events and tech-events generally result from notification by
technicians or other field personnel, and may include a change in call
attributes or a change in technician attributes. In addition, the system
user may override recommendations issued by A/S module 14 by entering
changes to the assignment set via input device 22. The changes to the
assignment set represent user-selected assignments of particular calls to
particular technicians. Like the SMS interface 16, the user interface 18
translates the field event data into events, and passes the events to A/S
module 14, as indicated by line 28, to initiate assignment and scheduling
activity.
An input queue (not shown) associated with A/S module 14 may linearize the
asynchronous events received from SMS interface 16 and user interface 18.
The A/S module 14 searches for updated assignment and scheduling solutions
in response to each event, and returns the best solution found as a
recommendation. The A/S module 14 then updates the contents of A/S
database 12, as indicated by line 30, to incorporate the resulting change
to the assignment set and the changes to either the call set or technician
set, as represented by the particular event. The A/S module 14 also passes
the change to the assignment set to update module 20, as indicated by line
32. Although it is described herein as a discrete software process module
communicating with A/S module 14, update module 20 conceivably can be
implemented as an integral component of A/S module 14. The update module
20 notifies the system user of the change by updating user interface 18 to
display a graphical representation of the change via display device 24, as
indicated by line 34. The user interface 18 responds by modifying the
graphical representation of the assignment set to include the change.
FIG. 2 is an example of a graphical representation of a portion of the
assignment set, as displayed by user interface 18 via display device 24.
The graphical representation displayed on display device 24 more
specifically conveys a representation of the schedules for a subset of
technicians selected by the system user. Thus, the display device 24
provides the system user with information concerning the assignment of
particular calls to technicians, and the times at which the assigned calls
are scheduled. The graphical representation displayed on display device 24
by user interface 18 may be implemented, for example, using X-Windows. The
display device 24 may be realized by a common CRT or flat-panel display.
In the example of FIG. 2, the graphical representation displayed on
display device 24 includes an interactive scheduler window 40. The
scheduler window 40 includes a technician field 42 containing a
representation of the selected technicians under evaluation by the system
user, a schedule field 44 containing a representation of the calls
assigned to each of the technicians and the particular times for which the
calls are scheduled, and a command bar 46 containing representations of
standard window control commands. The technician field 42 displays a group
of technicians A, B, C, D, and E operating in the field service
environment. The schedule field 44 in FIG. 2 indicates that technician A
has been assigned first, second, and third scheduled calls represented by
call blocks 48, 50, and 52. The schedule field 44 also includes time
blocks 54, 56, 58 representing travel times between successive calls.
The schedule field 44 represents the existing schedules of the technicians,
according to recommendations generated by the A/S module 14, subject to
approval or modification by the system user. If the system user rejects a
recommendation issued by the A/S module 14, she can enter an alternative
assignment, via input device 22, representing a change to the assignment
set, The user interface 18 passes the change to A/S module 14 as an
assignment-event, as indicated by line 28. As with other events, A/S
module 14 updates A/S database 12 to include the change represented by the
assignment-event, as indicated by line 30, and passes the change to update
module 20, as indicated by line 32. The update module 20 responds to
changes to the assignment set by updating user interface 18 to incorporate
a graphical representation of the respective change. The A/S module 14 may
generate recommendations that conflict with work currently being conducted
by a particular system user, but which nevertheless require an update of
user interface 18. This potential conflict illustrates the
mixed-initiative behavior of system 10. If resource assignment system 10
accommodates multiple system users, asynchronous events may be received
from several user interfaces, compounding the potential conflicts.
To alleviate instability problems in user interface 18, in accordance with
the present invention, update module 20 selects one of a plurality of
update modes for updating user interface 18. The particular update mode
selected by update module 20 determines the protocol followed by the
system user and A/S module 14 in directing changes to the graphical
representation displayed by user interface 18. The various update modes of
update module 20 range from very polite, involving intervention only at
the user's request, to very assertive, involving immediate intervention.
This range of choices enables the system user to select a system behavior
that produces a degree of interface stability appropriate for the user's
particular circumstances. The update module 20 thereby enhances the system
user's productivity by increasing perceptions of predictability and
control over user interface 18, but does not affect the ability of A/S
module 14 to process events with near real-time response.
Examples of the various update modes of update module 20 include: (1) an
assertive mode in which update module 20 updates user interface 18
immediate response to receipt of a change to the assignment set from A/S
module 14, (2) an update-on-request mode in which update module 14 updates
user interface 18 in response to the combination of receipt of a change to
the assignment set from A/S module 14 and an update request input received
by user interface 18 from the system user via input device 22, (3) an
update-on-delay mode in which update module 20 updates user interface 18
in response to the combination of receipt of a change to the assignment
set from A/S module 14 and the elapse of a time delay from the time the
change is received, and (4) various hybrid modes combining aspects of the
assertive mode, update-on-request-mode, and update-on-delay mode, as
determined by the system user.
In the assertive mode, update module 20 immediately updates user interface
18 as a change to the assignment set is received from A/S module 14,
without regard to whether the change conflicts with work being conducted
by the system user. The immediate intervention of update module 20 in the
assertive mode may cause occasional disruption of the system user's work
due to the mixed-initiative behavior of system 10. However, other
considerations may outweigh this drawback. In particular, the system user
may find the assertive mode necessary for situations in which the cost of
working with even slightly obsolete information is unacceptable. In this
case, the assertive mode provides immediate updates of user interface 18
to ensure that the system user always views the most current information.
FIG. 3 is an example of a graphical representation displayed by user
interface 18 via display device 24 when the assertive mode of update
module 20 is selected. The graphical representation shown in FIG. 3
substantially corresponds to that shown in FIG. 2. With reference to both
FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, however, it is assumed that update module 20 receives a
change to the assignment set that involves the reassignment of a first
call, represented by call block 60, from technician D to technician C, the
reassignment of a second call, represented by call block 62, from
technician C to technician D, and the assignment of a new call,
represented by call block 64, to technician C. In response to the change,
update module 20 updates user interface 18 without consulting the system
user. As shown in FIG. 3, the update results in the movement of call
blocks 60, 62 between the schedules for technicians C and D, and the
addition of call block 64 to the schedule for technician C.
In the update-on-request mode, update module 20 does not update user
interface 18 until the system user explicitly requests an update via input
device 22. However, update module 20 may control user interface 18 to
display a non-modal update message on display device 24 notifying the
system user that an update is pending. The update message indicates that
the information presently viewed by the system user has changed, but
allows the system user to finish work in progress without disruption. The
update message preferably provides a conspicuous, visible alert, and may
be accompanied by an audible icon to enhance the awareness of the system
user. The visible portion of the update message may take any of a variety
of forms suitable for indicating a pending update. In addition, the
visible portion of the update message may convey detailed information
concerning the content of the pending update.
FIG. 4 is a first example of a graphical representation displayed by user
interface 18 when the update-on-request mode of update module 20 is
selected. The graphical representation shown in FIG. 4 substantially
corresponds | | |
