Patent ID: 8131578

Claim:
A method of workforce scheduling, comprising the steps of: in an instruction execution system, receiving a shift activity template describing a worker activity performed during a shift, the template comprising a range of start times, a start type, and a variable length for the activity, wherein the shift activity template defines the variable length using a period attribute and a count attribute, wherein the period attribute is a length of time and the count attribute is a range representing a number of periods available for scheduling, the activity being associated with a queue; in the instruction execution system, receiving an association between the shift activity template and at least one worker; in the instruction execution system, creating a plurality of schedulable objects from the shift activity template based on the period attribute and the count attribute, wherein each of the schedulable objects comprises a length equal to the length of time of the period attribute and the number of the schedulable objects created is equal to the highest value of the range of the count attribute; in the instruction execution system, creating a plurality of potential bindings for each of the schedulable objects based on a plurality of available timeslots within the shift, the range of start times, and the start type; in the instruction execution system, selecting a first one of the potential bindings for association with a first one of the schedulable objects in accordance with a workload forecast and schedule constraints; and in the instruction execution system, producing a schedule by applying the first one of the potential bindings to the first one of the schedulable objects.