Systems and methods of partial shift swapping

1. A method of operating a computer system to perform partial shift swapping, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a schedule comprising a plurality of shifts;

in the computer system:

receiving a partial shift swap request from an agent;

determining a disposition of the partial shift swap request by applying a set of criteria associated with a hard validation rule to the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is denied based on the hard validation rule, denying the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is not denied based on the hard validation rule, applying a set of criteria associated with a soft validation rule to the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is not approved based on the soft validation rule, providing the partial shift swap request for review; and

if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is approved, updating the schedule to reflect the partial shift swap request.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving, from an offering agent, an offer of a partial shift swap, the offer including an offering shift and a swap time range;

receiving, from an accepting agent, an acceptance of the offer, the acceptance including an accepting shift; and

creating the partial shift swap request based on the offer and the acceptance.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

receiving, from an offering agent, the partial shift swap request, the partial shift swap request including an offering shift, an accepting shift, and a swap time range.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of:

if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of an offering agent and an accepting agent of the denial.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein one of the criteria associated with the hard validation rule includes a comparison of skills associated with an agent offering the partial shift swap request and skills associated with an agent accepting the partial shift swap request.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

in the computer system, if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of an offering agent and an accepting agent of the denial; and

wherein the step of applying the set of criteria associated with the soft validation rule to the partial shift swap request is perform upon examining an option associated with the partial shift swap request and the option indicates that agent feedback is not required.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

in the computer system, if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of the offering agent and the accepting agent of the denial; and

wherein the step of applying the set of criteria associated with the soft validation rule to the partial shift swap request is perform upon examining an option associated with the partial shift swap request and if the option indicates that agent feedback is required, waiting for submission of the partial shift swap request by one of an offering agent or an accepting agent.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the criteria associated with the soft validation rule comprises compliance with a work rule.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of, in the computer system:

if the partial shift swap request is approved based on the soft validation rule, suspending the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is suspended, submitting the partial shift swap request for review by a user;

receiving a final disposition from the user indicating approval or denial of the partial shift swap request; and

if the final disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is approved, updating the schedule to reflect the partial shift swap request.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of, in the computer system:

if the partial shift swap request is approved based on the soft validation rule, suspending the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is suspended, submitting the partial shift swap request for review by a user;

receiving a final disposition from the user indicating approval or denial of the partial shift swap request; and

if the final disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of an offering agent and an accepting agent of the denial.

11. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program comprising computer-executable instructions for performing a method of operating a computer system to perform partial shift swapping, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a schedule comprising a plurality of shifts;

receiving a partial shift swap request from an agent;

determining a disposition of the partial shift swap request by applying a set of criteria associated with a hard validation rule to the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is denied based on the hard validation rule, denying the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is not denied based on the hard validation rule, applying a set of criteria associated with a soft validation rule to the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is not approved based on the soft validation rule, providing the partial shift swap request for review; and

if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is approved, updating the schedule to reflect the partial shift swap request.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising the steps of:

receiving, from an offering agent, an offer of a partial shift swap, the offer including an offering shift and a swap time range;

receiving, from an accepting agent, an acceptance of the offer, the acceptance including an accepting shift; and

creating the partial shift swap request based on the offer and the acceptance.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising the step of:

receiving, from an offering agent, the partial shift swap request, the partial shift swap request including an offering shift, an accepting shift, and a swap time range.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises the step of:

if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of an offering agent and an accepting agent of the denial.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 , wherein one of the criteria associated with the hard validation rule includes a comparison of skills associated with an agent offering the partial shift swap request and skills associated with an agent accepting the partial shift swap request.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

in the computer system, if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of an offering agent and an accepting agent of the denial; and

wherein the step of applying the set of criteria associated with the soft validation rule to the partial shift swap request is perform upon examining an option associated with the partial shift swap request and the option indicates that agent feedback is not required.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

in the computer system, if the disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of the offering agent and the accepting agent of the denial; and

wherein the step of applying the set of criteria associated with the soft validation rule to the partial shift swap request is perform upon examining an option associated with the partial shift swap request and if the option indicates that agent feedback is required, waiting for submission of the partial shift swap request by one of an offering agent or an accepting agent.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein one of the criteria associated with the soft validation rule comprises compliance with a work rule.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising the steps of, in the computer system:

if the partial shift swap request is approved based on the soft validation rule, suspending the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is suspended, submitting the partial shift swap request for review by a user;

receiving a final disposition from the user indicating approval or denial of the partial shift swap request; and

if the final disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is approved, updating the schedule to reflect the partial shift swap request.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising the steps of, in the computer system:

if the partial shift swap request is approved based on the soft validation rule, suspending the partial shift swap request;

if the partial shift swap request is suspended, submitting the partial shift swap request for review by a user;

receiving a final disposition from the user indicating approval or denial of the partial shift swap request; and

if the final disposition indicates the partial shift swap request is denied, notifying at least one of an offering agent and an accepting agent of the denial.