Patent ID: 7080024

Claim:
A method of analyzing and optimizing productivity within a complex process with respect to a workload schedule being performed by a total production full-time equivalent (FTE) worker headcount, said method comprising: identifying a plurality of projects comprising the complex process, each project having a start date and a cycle time and further comprising at least one task; determining a hands-on work time required for each task, the tasks including a task requiring a greatest hands-on work time; determining an effort equivalence for each task by normalizing each task hands-on work time with respect to the task hands-on work time of the task requiring the greatest hands-on work time; defining a calendar having intervals; arranging the projects according to the start date and the cycle time and with respect to the calendar such that each task is at least partially performed in one of the intervals; determining an effort equivalence apportionment for the intervals corresponding to the tasks at least partially performed in respective intervals; determining a total effort equivalence for each interval corresponding to the sum of the effort equivalence apportionment for the tasks at least partially performed in that interval; determining a productivity measure for a productivity measurement period by dividing the total effort equivalence by the total production FTE worker headcount and the productivity measurement period, the productivity measurement period comprising at least a portion of an interval; comparing the productivity measure to a productivity capacity limit over the productivity measurement period, the productivity capacity limit comprising at least a percentage of a historical maximum productivity capacity with respect to the resources available therefor, so as to evaluate the workload schedule with respect to an empirical personnel capacity for the tasks comprising the projects; and modifying the projects, where the productivity measure exceeds the productivity capacity limit for the productivity measurement period, such that the productivity measure over the productivity measurement period is no greater than the productivity capacity limit so as to thereby provide a relatively more efficient utilization of the empirical personnel capacity for the tasks comprising the projects with respect to the workload schedule.