MAXIMIZATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL UPTIME USING AN INTERACTIVE GENETIC-FUZZY SCHEDULING AND SUPPORT SYSTEM

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of scheduling multiple time and priority sensitive tasks efficiently in an environment where the number of resources is limited and the resources have varying capabilities and restricted capacities. We use a help desk environment as our working model, however, the methodologv could also be adapted to a variety of job shop scheduling problems in general. We introduce a metric called priority time usage as a measure of task urgency and of schedule efficiency. We also introduce a method of considering user satisfaction in scheduling by utilizing fuzzy monotonic reasoning. We propose a methodology for implementing a heuristic genetic algorithm (GA) to accomplish the scheduling task. We discuss how such a system can use ongoing data about historical schedule performance to adapt and create progressively more accurate schedules in the future. We consider modifications to the scheduling approach which could allow for task inter-dependencies. We present an initiative user interface which we developed to aid help desk administrators in using the system. In addition to providing a front end to the SOGA system, the interface allows the user of the system to perform "what if” analysis with actual schedules. Lastly, we present preliminary assessments of the utility of both the optimization engine and the user interface.