Patent ID: 8768738

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for managing a complex work order, the method comprising the following steps executed by a computer: identifying, by the computer, a work order as a complex work order by providing an identifier for the complex work order; selecting, by the computer, from a database containing records of ordinary orders a set of member sub-orders associated with the complex work order, defining, by the computer, a set of precedence criteria temporally relating the plurality of member sub-orders, the precedence criteria identifying a temporal relationship for a member sub-order relative to at least one of the start or completion of another member sub-order; communicating, by the computer, a proposed start time for commencing work on a member sub-order to a workforce management system configured with a data structure that stores the precedence criteria for the member sub-orders; validating, by the computer, whether the proposed start time satisfies the precedence criteria prior to starting work on the member sub-order.