Patent ID: 8458710

Claim:
A method comprising: determining in a computer an order for projects to be performed on a computer system, each project being associated with multiple job sets such that any of the job sets may be executed on the computer system to perform the project; and selecting the projects in a sequence according to the determined order to progressively build a schedule of jobs for execution on the computer system, comprising: for each selected project, tentatively incorporating each of the associated job sets into the schedule and determining a cost associated with the tentative incorporation of the job set into the schedule; and for each selected project, selecting one of the associated job sets based at least in part on the costs associated with the tentative incorporation of the job sets, wherein each of the job sets comprises a plurality of jobs, and incorporating each of the associated job sets into the schedule comprises for each job of the associated job set, locating a time interval in the schedule in which resources of the computer system are available to begin and complete the job in the time interval.