Patent ID: 8468527
Filing Date: 2013-06-18
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A method for processing a plurality of jobs in a production environment, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of jobs; receiving one or more instructions into a workflow management system to process the plurality of jobs, wherein the one or more instructions include a first setup characteristic and a second setup characteristic for each job of the plurality of jobs; clustering, by the workflow management system, the plurality of jobs into a plurality of super-groups based on the first setup characteristic; identifying a super-group processing sequence associated with the plurality of super-groups; for each super-group, determining, by the workflow management system, a processing sequence of the jobs within the super-group, such that the processing sequences for the plurality of super-groups minimize the processing time associated with processing the plurality of jobs, wherein determining a processing sequence for each super-group comprises: arranging, by the workflow management system, the jobs within the super-group according to the determined processing sequence such that a first job within the super-group has a same second setup characteristic value as a last job within an immediately preceding super-group in the super-group processing sequence; and processing the jobs according to the determined processing sequence.