Patent ID: 7114156

Claim:
A method implemented in a computing environment having shared computing resources and implementing a queuing system for organizing work flow requests for said computing resources for multiple users, said method comprising the steps of: a) said queuing system providing a key list structure comprising keys associated with users' work flow requests, each key indicating a priority level associated with a request, a user identification (User ID) associated with a requestor, and, an assigned user priority value (UPV); and, b) for each current work flow request indicating an associated priority level and User ID for a requestor, performing a first read against said key list structure to determine whether a request entry already exists in said key list structure by a key at that associated priority level; and, for a request entry already existing at that associated priority level: i) saving a current highest assigned UPV value in said key list structure; ii) performing a second read of the key list structure to determine a first instance of the same User ID at that priority level with the lowest assigned UPV; iii) determining if a key was found in said key list structure for said same User ID at that priority level with the lowest assigned UPV; and, iv) if a key is found, assigning the current user's request UPV to the lowest assigned UPV decremented by one and placing said key in said key list structure; and, if a key for said same User ID at that priority level was not found, assigning the UPV for this current user's work flow request to the current highest UPV value decremented by one and placing said key in said key list structure, whereby many requests from a single user will not prevent processing of requests from other users.