Method and system for optimally scheduling user activities related to web applications

Abstract

A method and system for optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application. Date and time ranges are initialized with predefined values. A tentative start date included in the date range and a tentative start time included in the time range are automatically calculated, and are included in a tentative schedule for the activity. A time period is determined by the tentative schedule and a duration of the activity. The automatic calculation prevents the time period from overlapping a time interval during which the web application is to experience a peak load. The tentative schedule is presented to the user via the interface, and is recalculated and redisplayed in response to the user updating a load-related parameter. The user selects a final schedule, which is the tentative schedule or a user-specified schedule different from the tentative schedule.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to scheduling a web application-related user activity and more particularly to a technique for automatically generating an optimal and tentative schedule for a web application-related user activity to avoid excessive loads on the web application, and providing an end user with an option to supersede the tentative schedule.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In hosted web applications, usage of resources (e.g., central processor unit, random access memory, disk, and network) can change significantly in response to the activity of end users at any given point in time. Furthermore, web applications are known to attain a non-recoverable application server error state under a user load exceeding some application-specific threshold. Conventional infrastructure and application provisioning processes can make additional resources (e.g., servers) available, but these provisioning processes can span a considerable period of time, ranging from several minutes to several hours. Thus, a reactive approach to resource provisioning under increased user load is impracticable. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In first embodiments, the present invention provides a method of optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, comprising:

initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times,

• • wherein the date range and the time range define a plurality of time intervals within which the activity is capable of occurring,
  • wherein the activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing the web application, and
  • wherein the activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by the web application;

receiving, from a user of the plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by the user, a duration required for the activity to be performed completely by the one or more users,

automatically calculating a tentative start date included in the date range and a tentative start time included in the time range, wherein a tentative schedule for the activity comprises the tentative start date and the tentative start time,

• • wherein the tentative start date, the tentative start time and the duration determine a time period, and
  • wherein the calculating prevents the time period from overlapping a time interval during which the web application is to experience a peak load, the time interval included in the plurality of time intervals; and

receiving, from the user via the interface, a selection of a final schedule of the activity, the final schedule being one of the tentative schedule and a specified schedule,

wherein the specified schedule comprises one of:

• • a start date specified by the user via the interface and a start time specified by the user via the interface,
  • the start date specified by the user via the interface and the tentative start time, and
  • the tentative start date and the start time specified by the user via the interface,

wherein the start date is different from the tentative start date and the start time is different from the tentative start time.

In second embodiments, the present invention provides a system for optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, comprising:

means for initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times,

• • wherein the date range and the time range define a plurality of time intervals within which the activity is capable of occurring,
  • wherein the activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing the web application, and
  • wherein the activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by the web application;

means for receiving, from a user of the plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by the user, a duration required for the activity to be performed completely by the one or more users,

means for automatically calculating a tentative start date included in the date range and a tentative start time included in the time range, wherein a tentative schedule for the activity comprises the tentative start date and the tentative start time,

• • wherein the tentative start date, the tentative start time and the duration determine a time period, and ‘wherein the calculating prevents the time period from overlapping a time interval during which the web application is to experience a peak load, the time interval included in the plurality of time intervals; and

means for receiving, from the user via the interface, a selection of a final schedule of the activity, the final schedule being one of the tentative schedule and a specified schedule,

wherein the specified schedule comprises one of:

• • a start date specified by the user via the interface and a start time specified by the user via the interface,
  • the start date specified by the user via the interface and the tentative start time, and
  • the tentative start date and the start time specified by the user via the interface,

wherein the start date is different from the tentative start date and the start time is different from the tentative start time.

In third embodiments, the present invention provides a computer program product comprising a computer-usable medium including computer-usable program code for optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, the computer program product including:

computer-usable code for initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times,

• • wherein the date range and the time range define a plurality of time intervals within which the activity is capable of occurring,
  • wherein the activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing the web application, and
  • wherein the activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by the web application;

computer-usable code for receiving, from a user of the plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by the user, a duration required for the activity to be performed completely by the one or more users,

computer-usable code for automatically calculating a tentative start date included in the date range and a tentative start time included in the time range, wherein a tentative schedule for the activity comprises the tentative start date and the tentative start time,

• • wherein the tentative start date, the tentative start time and the duration determine a time period, and
  • wherein the calculating prevents the time period from overlapping a time interval during which the web application is to experience a peak load, the time interval included in the plurality of time intervals;

computer-usable code for receiving, from the user via the interface, a selection of a final schedule of the activity, the final schedule being one of the tentative schedule and a specified schedule,

wherein the specified schedule comprises one of:

• • a start date specified by the user via the interface and a start time specified by the user via the interface,
  • the start date specified by the user via the interface and the tentative start time, and
  • the tentative start date and the start time specified by the user via the interface,

wherein the start date is different from the tentative start date and the start time is different from the tentative start time.

In fourth embodiments, the present invention provides a method for deploying computing infrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of performing a process of optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, the process comprising:

initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times,

• • wherein the date range and the time range define a plurality of time intervals within which the activity is capable of occurring,
  • wherein the activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing the web application, and
  • wherein the activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by the web application;

receiving, from a user of the plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by the user, a duration required for the activity to be performed completely by the one or more users,

automatically calculating a tentative start date included in the date range and a tentative start time included in the time range, wherein a tentative schedule for the activity comprises the tentative start date and the tentative start time,

• • wherein the tentative start date, the tentative start time and the duration determine a time period, and
  • wherein the calculating prevents the time period from overlapping a time interval during which the web application is to experience a peak load, the time interval included in the plurality of time intervals; and

receiving, from the user via the interface, a selection of a final schedule of the activity, the final schedule being one of the tentative schedule and a specified schedule,

wherein the specified schedule comprises one of:

• • a start date specified by the user via the interface and a start time specified by the user via the interface,
  • the start date specified by the user via the interface and the tentative start time, and
  • the tentative start date and the start time specified by the user via the interface,

wherein the start date is different from the tentative start date and the start time is different from the tentative start time.

Advantageously, the present invention provides a tentative, optimal schedule for a user activity to avoid peak loads on a web application, and allows an end user to accept the tentative schedule or replace it with another schedule input by the end user. Further, the optimal schedule dynamically changes on an interface presented to the end user in response to the end user updating input fields included in the interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for optimally scheduling a user activity related to a web application, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for optimally scheduling a user activity related to a web application that is implemented in the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts an end user interface utilized in the process of FIG. 2, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a process for calculating a tentative start date and time for the user activity scheduling of FIG. 2, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing system included in the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system for optimally scheduling a user activity related to a web application, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Network computing system 100 is a network of computing units in which the present invention may be implemented. System 100 includes a network 102, which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computing units connected together within system 100. Network 102 comprises any type of communications link, and may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables. Network 102 can comprise an addressable connection in a client-server environment. Further, network 102 comprises any type of network, including the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or a virtual private network (VPN).

In the depicted example, a server computing unit (e.g., web server) 104 is connected to network 102 along with a client computing unit 106 that includes a web browser (e.g., Microsoft® Internet Explorer®) 108. Clients 110 and 112 are also connected to network 102 and may each include a web browser (not shown). System 100 may include additional servers, clients, and devices (e.g., storage devices) not shown. Server 104 and clients 106, 108, 112 utilize conventional network connectivity (e.g., Ethernet, Token Ring, or WiFi). Server 104 comprises any type of computing unit capable of communicating with one or more other computing units (e.g., client 106). Server 104 is, for example, a WebSphere® server available from International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, N.Y.

Clients 106, 110, 112 are clients to server 104, and comprise any type of computing unit capable of communicating with server 104 via network 102. Examples of client 106 include a personal computer, laptop computer, handheld device, etc. Although not shown, client 106 typically includes components (e.g., central processing unit, memory, etc.) similar to components of server 104, which are described below relative to FIG. 5.

In the depicted example, server 104 provides data such as web pages and applications to clients 106, 110, 112. A user (not shown) utilizing client 106 interacts with a web application provided by server 104 via an interface provided by web browser 108. As used herein, a user is equivalent to an end user and is defined as a person who utilizes a fully developed computer application (e.g., the web application provided by server 104) via an interface. As used herein, a web application is a software application delivered to users from a server over a network such as the Internet or an intranet.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for optimally scheduling a user activity related to a web application that is implemented in the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The activity scheduling method begins at step 200 and is provided by an activity scheduling system residing on server 104 (see FIG. 1). Although FIG. 2 illustrates a process during which a user schedules a web conference, one skilled in the art will recognize that the process can be applied to the scheduling of other types of activities in advance of performing those activities by one or more end users, where the other types of activities utilize one or more resources managed by a web application. As used herein, a resource is defined as time, information, objects (i.e., information containers), or processors used or consumed by the activity being scheduled, and managed by the web application provided by server 104 (see FIG. 1). Examples of resources include CPU time, terminal connect time, amount of directly-addressable memory, disk space, and the number of input/output requests per minute.

In web applications, resource overbooking is possible. As overbooking of a resource occurs, the end users performing the activity that utilizes the resource continue to be serviced by server 104 (see FIG. 1), but the overall quality of service deteriorates (e.g., end users using clients 106, 110, 112 of FIG. 1 experience a slower response time). Further, the present invention requires that multiple end users scheduling the same type of activity use the same web application provided by server 104 (see FIG. 1), and the scheduled activities to be performed by the multiple end users contend for the same one or more resources or the same type of resources.

At step 202, the activity scheduling method initializes the number of participants (e.g., of the web conference), the duration of the activity (e.g., the web conference), a range of dates (a.k.a. date range), and a range of times (a.k.a. time range). The participants are the one or more end users who are to perform the activity being scheduled. The one or more end users are included in a plurality of end users that are capable of accessing the web application that manages the activity being scheduled. In one embodiment, the date range is a data structure containing two members for storing a start date (e.g., earliest date) and an end date (e.g., latest date) of the range of dates. Further, the time range is a data structure containing two members for storing a start time (e.g., earliest time) and an end time (e.g., latest time) of the range of times.

The date range and the time range are initialized by the activity scheduling method with the values which define a time interval within which the user activity is capable of occurring and is reasonably likely to occur. In one embodiment, the date range's start date is initialized to the current date and the date range's end date is set to be a predefined number of days (e.g., seven) after the start date. In one embodiment, the time range is initialized with a start time and end time indicating the start of the end user's business day and the end of the end user's business day, respectively, taking in account the time zone in which the end user is located.

In step 204, a tentative date (a.k.a. tentative start date) and a tentative time (a.k.a. tentative start time), each associated with the date range, time range, number of participants and duration initialized in step 202, are automatically calculated and displayed on an interface viewed by the end user at client 106 via web browser 108. The tentative date and tentative time are calculated to be optimal from the perspective of the web application's usage of the one or more resources. This automatic calculation is performed by the activity scheduling system of server 104 (see FIG. 1). The automatically calculated tentative date and the automatically calculated tentative time are herein referred to collectively as the tentative schedule of the activity. The tentative date and tentative time, along with the duration of the activity input in step 202 determine a time period of the activity that starts at the tentative time on the tentative date, and extends for a block of time equal to the duration. The tentative date and tentative time are calculated to be within the date range and time range of step 202, respectively.

The tentative date and tentative time are optimal in the sense that they are calculated to ensure that the time period of the activity does not overlap a time block during which the web application is expected to experience a peak load (i.e., a peak usage of the one or more resources utilized by the activity being scheduled). A peak load is greater than other loads expected to be experienced by the web application during any other time block defined by the date and time ranges of step 202.

In a preferred embodiment, the tentative date and tentative time are calculated to ensure that the time period of the activity is placed within a time block of a plurality of time blocks of equal duration defined within the date and time ranges initialized in step 202, and during which the web application is expected to experience the least load (i.e., a load that is less than or equal to the loads expected to be experienced by the web application during the other time blocks of the plurality of time blocks). The expected loads in the preferred embodiment are based on, for example, previously scheduled activities that are to utilize the one or more resources during one of the time blocks of the plurality of time blocks. One example of a process that calculates the tentative date and time is discussed below relative to FIG. 4.

In step 206, end user input entered at client 106 (see FIG. 1) via a web browser-provided interface (e.g., the interface of step 204) is received by server 104 (see FIG. 1). If inquiry 208 determines that the end user input of step 206 changes interface-displayed parameters that affect the load on the web application that manages the activity being scheduled (e.g., number of participants for the activity, duration of the activity, type of activity, tools required by the activity), the process of FIG. 2 loops back to step 204 to recalculate the tentative date and time, and to display the recalculated values of the tentative date and time on the interface. In this way, the end user's changes to certain load-related parameters that are included on the interface cause a dynamic change to the fields of the interface that display the tentative date and tentative time for the activity. For example, a change in the duration from one hour to two hours may cause the time period determined by the suggested date and time to overlap a peak load time period. The process of FIG. 2 avoids placing the web conference time period during a peak load time period, so a new tentative date and time is calculated in this example to avoid the peak load period. The interface utilized by the end user to update the load-related parameter(s), and which displays dynamic updates of the tentative date and time of the web conference is discussed below relative to FIG. 3.

The process of FIG. 2 allows the end user to make a final decision regarding the scheduling of the activity. The end user's input in step 206 may preserve or override the initial step 204 calculation of the tentative date and/or tentative time by the activity scheduling system. The end user overrides the automatically calculated tentative date or time by entering a new date or time in input fields of the interface of step 206. If inquiry 208 determines that the number of participants and the duration have not been modified by the end user, then inquiry 210 determines if the end user modified the tentative date by entering, in step 206, a different, user-specified date in an input field of the interface displayed on client 106 (see FIG. 1). If the tentative date was modified by the user inputting a user-specified date, the date range is assigned in step 212 to the value of the user-specified date (e.g., the start date and the end date of the date range are both assigned to the user-specified date).

If inquiry 210 determines that the user did not modify the tentative date, then inquiry 214 determines if the user modified the tentative time in step 206. If the user modified the tentative time by entering a different, user-specified time in an input field of the interface displayed on client 106, the time range is assigned in step 216 to the value of the user-specified time (e.g., the start time and the end time of the time range are both assigned to the user-specified time).

After step 212 and step 216, the process of FIG. 2 loops back to step 204 to recalculate the tentative start date and tentative start time. The recalculated tentative start date and tentative start time are displayed on the interface, which is viewable by the end user via web browser 108 (see FIG. 1).

If inquiry 214 determines that the user did not modify the tentative time, then inquiry 218 determines if the user indicates on the interface of step 206 that the processing is complete. For example, the user selects Save or Cancel to save or cancel the tentative date and time displayed on the interface. The user selection can be made, for example, with a pointing device. If the user does not indicate that the processing is complete, then the process repeats starting at step 206, at which the user can modify input fields on the interface as described above. If the user indicates in step 218 that the scheduling process is complete, then the process of FIG. 2 ends at step 220. If the user indicates that the processing is to be saved (e.g., by selecting Save), the tentative date and tentative time are saved, respectively, as the end user's final scheduled date and final scheduled time for the activity, which are collectively referred to as the final schedule of the activity.

The final schedule of the activity can be either the tentative schedule (i.e., the automatically calculated tentative date and time), or an end user-specified schedule. An end user-specified schedule comprises (1) a start date specified by the end user via the interface in step 206 and a start time specified by the end user via the interface in step 206; (2) a start date specified by the end user via the interface in step 206 and the tentative start time of the tentative schedule; or (3) the tentative start date of the tentative schedule and a start time specified by the end user via the interface in step 206. If the end user-specified schedule includes an end user-specified start date, the end user-specified start date is different from the tentative start date of the tentative schedule. If the end user-specified schedule includes an end user-specified start time, the end user-specified start time is different from the tentative start time of the tentative schedule.

In a preferred embodiment, the final scheduled date and final scheduled time are not updateable by the activity scheduling system or the web application that manages the activity being scheduled.

In an alternate embodiment, the activity scheduling system provided by server 104 (see FIG. 1) includes a billing model that assigns a monetary charge to the end user for the one or more resources utilized by the activity. The monetary charge (e.g., a per minute charge for using a computing resource) is reduced or eliminated in response to the user selecting the automatically calculated tentative date and tentative time as the final schedule of the activity (i.e., the end user saves the tentative date and time without the process ever determining in steps 210 and 214 that the tentative date or tentative time had been modified in step 206). The reduction or elimination of the charge serves as an incentive for the end user to select the tentative, optimal date and the tentative, optimal time, rather than specifying another date and/or time which may schedule the activity during a peak load time period.

FIG. 3 depicts an end user interface utilized by the process of FIG. 2 (e.g., step 206 of FIG. 2), in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In the example depicted in FIG. 3, a graphical user interface (GUI) 300 is displayed on a screen at client 106 (see FIG. 1), and is being used by an end user to schedule a web conference. Interface 300 groups input and display fields as follows:

(a) Informational fields (e.g., web conference name 302, moderator name 304) are input fields that do not affect the load on the web application provided by server 104.

(b) Web application parameter fields (e.g., web conference type 306, checkboxes 308 for software-based tools or features to be used during the web conference, number of expected participants 310, and the conference duration 312) are input fields for factors that affect the load on the web application. Examples of tools or features that can be used during a web conference include a whiteboard, screen sharing, a chat feature, and an audio conference.

(c) Schedule fields display the tentative date 314 and tentative time 316 scheduled for the web conference. Date field 314 also accepts a user-specified date as input. Time field 316 also accepts a user-specified time as input.

In one embodiment, the web application enforces the order in which the end user fills in the input fields of interface 300.

Program code residing at server 104 (see FIG. 1) executes to calculate and display the tentative date and time of the activity in schedule fields 314, 316, respectively, of interface 300. The optimal date and time dynamically changes in schedule fields 314, 316 of interface 300 in response to the end user updating one or more web application parameter fields 306, 308, 310, 312 on interface 300. The tentative time is an optimal time in terms of avoiding peak loads on the web application, and is further constrained by being a time within the end user's normal business hours, and within the date and time ranges specified by the end user. The end user accepts the tentative date and time as the final schedule of the activity (e.g., by selecting the Save button), or enters another date in field 314 and/or another time in field 316 based upon the preferences of the end user. If another date is entered, the new date replaces the automatically calculated tentative date in the final schedule of the activity. Similarly, if another time is entered, the new time replaces the automatically calculated tentative time in the final schedule of the activity.

Calculation of Tentative Schedule—Based on Planned Resource Allocation

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a process for calculating a tentative start date and time for the user activity scheduling of FIG. 2, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The process of FIG. 4 starts at step 400 and calculates the tentative date and time of step 204 (see FIG. 2) based upon planned resource allocation. The input parameters to the process of FIG. 4 are the date and time ranges, the number of expected participants, and the duration of the activity, which are provided by step 202 of FIG. 2. The process returns the tentative, optimal start date and time within the specified date and time ranges. Further, the calculation of a tentative start time in this example iterates through all the hours within the specified date range and time range, searching for an hour during which a minimum number of participants is already scheduled.

The process of FIG. 4 uses the following terms:

Day and Hour are variables holding the current values of the day and hour, respectively, during the iterations of the process of FIG. 4.

MinP is an integer variable holding the value of the minimum number of participants for any hour within the dates and times through which the process of FIG. 4 has iterated.

BestTime is a data structure including two members for storing the date and time for which the number of participants is MinP.

ParticipantsScheduled(Day, Hour) is an array of integers storing the number of participants scheduled for the activity for any given date and hour.

GetParticipantsScheduled(Day, Hour, Duration) is a subroutine returning the number of participants scheduled for the activity for any given Day, Hour and Duration of the activity by calculating the sum of participants stored in the ParticipantsScheduled array for the range starting from (Day, Hour) and ending with (Day, Hour+Duration−1).

In step 402, the values of Day, Hour, MinP and BestTime are initialized. Day and Hour are initialized to be the first date of the date range and the first time of the time range, respectively, which are provided by step 202 of FIG. 2. MinP is initialized to a value returned by the GetParticipantsScheduled( ) subroutine that determines the number of participants already scheduled for the activity based on the initialized values of the Day and Hour variables, and the Duration provided by step 202 (see FIG. 2). BestTime is initialized to a data structure storing the initialized values of Day and Hour.

In step 404, Hour is incremented to the next block of time. Since this example checks the number of participants in one-hour blocks of time, Hour is incremented by one. Inquiry step 406 determines if the value of Hour is less than or equal to the last time of the time range provided by step 202 of FIG. 2 (i.e., there are one or more time blocks remaining to check in the current date of the current iteration of the process of FIG. 4). If the answer to inquiry 406 is Yes, the process continues with inquiry 412, which is described below; otherwise, Hour is assigned to the value of the first time of the time range and Day is incremented by one at step 408. Following step 408, inquiry 410 ascertains whether the value of Day exceeds the last date of the date range. If Day exceeds the last date of the date range, the process has completed its iterations through the given date and time ranges, and step 416 increments the appropriate element of the ParticipantsScheduled array (i.e., the element corresponding to Day and Hour stored in BestTime). Following step 416, the process of FIG. 4 ends at step 418.

Returning to inquiry 410, if the value of Day does not exceed the last date of the date range, inquiry 412 determines if MinP is less than or equal to the number of participants scheduled based on the values of Day, Hour and Duration in the current iteration (i.e., determines if the value of MinP is still the minimum number of participants based on the current iteration). The number of participants scheduled is determined by the GetParticipantsScheduled() subroutine described above. The process also reaches inquiry 412 if the value of Hour in inquiry 406 is less than or equal to the last time of the time range. If inquiry 412 determines that MinP is less than or equal the number of participants scheduled based on the values of Day, Hour and Duration in the current iteration, then the process repeats starting at step 404; otherwise, in step 414 the MinP variable is assigned the number of participants scheduled for the current Day, Hour and Duration, and the BestTime variable is assigned the values of the current Day and Hour. Following step 414, the process loops back to step 404.

Calculation of Tentative Schedule—Based on Historical Data

If the end user schedules an activity for a period of time during which other users' activities are either absent or minimal, the calculation process of FIG. 4 may not produce optimal results. For instance, the process may suggest a time slot with little or no user activity planned at the time of scheduling, but which can become overbooked later. To avoid this scenario, variations of the process of FIG. 4 takes into account historical data regarding past usage of the one or more resources associated with the activity being scheduled or past performances of the activity by end users.

As one example of a variation of the process of FIG. 4 that uses historical data, the number of participants scheduled for a comparable time slot in the past is added to the value returned by the GetParticipantsScheduled( ) subroutine in steps 402, 412 and 414. As used herein, a comparable time slot is defined to be a time slot in the past that has a user activity pattern similar to the time slot defined by the current values of Day and Hour. For example, the number of participants for a comparable time slot may include the number of participants for: (1) the same day of the week for the most recent previous week, (2) the same day of the week averaged for several weeks, (3) the same date last year adjusted to the closest business/non-business day, or (4) the same date averaged for several years, with the date being adjusted to the closest business/non-business day.

A more complicated and reliable method of taking historical data into account requires adding to the value returned by the GetParticipantsScheduled( ) subroutine, the weighted sum of the number of participants scheduled for comparable time slots in the past (e.g., the same day of the week for m past weeks), which is shown below in (1): $\begin{array}{cc}\sum _{j=1,\dots m}{k}_j{p}_j& \left(1\right)\end{array}$ where m is the number of comparable time slots for which the historical data is collected,

k_j is the j-th weight coefficient, so that $\sum _{j=1,\dots m}{k}_j=1,\mathrm{and}$ p_j is the number of participants scheduled for the j-th comparable time slot.

The values of the weight coefficients are determined by equation (2), which minimizes the squared deviation of the weighted sum of the number of participants scheduled for comparable time slots in the past (e.g., the same day of the week for m past weeks) from the number of participants scheduled for the closest past comparable time slot: $\begin{array}{cc}\left(k_1\dots k_m\right)=\arg \min \sum _{i=1,\dots n}{\left(\sum _{j=1,\dots m}{k}_j{p}_{\mathrm{ij}}-s_i\right)}^2& \left(2\right)\end{array}$ where k₁ . . . k_m are weight coefficients,

n is the number of most recent comparable time slots for which the historical data is summed (e.g., n=7 to indicate every day of the last week),

m is the number of time periods (e.g., weeks) during which comparable time slots are considered,

P_ij is the number of participants scheduled for ij-th comparable time slot (e.g., Friday two weeks ago), and

s_i is the number of participants scheduled for the most recent comparable time slot (e.g., Friday of last week).

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that available methods may be applied to find the minimum in equation (2).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computing system included in the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. Server computing unit 500 may be implemented as server 104 (see FIG. 1). Server computing unit 500 generally comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 502, a memory 504, an input/output (I/O) interface 506, a bus 508, I/O devices 510 and a storage unit 512. CPU 502 performs computation and control functions of server 500. CPU 502 may comprise a single processing unit, or be distributed across one or more processing units in one or more locations (e.g., on a client and server). Memory 504 may comprise any known type of data storage and/or transmission media, including magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a data cache, a data object, etc. Storage unit 512 is, for example, a magnetic disk drive or an optical disk drive. Moreover, similar to CPU 502, memory 504 may reside at a single physical location, comprising one or more types of data storage, or be distributed across a plurality of physical systems in various forms. Further, memory 504 can include data distributed across, for example, a LAN, WAN or storage area network (SAN) (not shown).

I/O interface 506 comprises any system for exchanging information to or from an external source. I/O devices 510 comprise any known type of external device, including a display monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer, speakers, handheld device, printer, facsimile, etc. Bus 508 provides a communication link between each of the components in server 500, and may comprise any type of transmission link, including electrical, optical, wireless, etc.

I/O interface 506 also allows server 500 to store and retrieve information (e.g., program instructions or data) from an auxiliary storage device, such as a non-volatile storage device (e.g., a CD-ROM drive which receives a CD-ROM disk) (not shown). Server 500 can store and retrieve information from other auxiliary storage devices (not shown), which can include a direct access storage device (DASD) (e.g., hard disk or floppy diskette), a magneto-optical disk drive, a tape drive, or a wireless communication device.

Memory 504 includes computer program code comprising a web application 514 that manages one or more computing resources utilized by an end user activity, and an end user activity scheduling system 516 that optimally schedules the end user activity that utilizes the one or more computing resources. Further, memory 504 may include other systems not shown in FIG. 5, such as an operating system (e.g., Linux) that runs on CPU 502 and provides control of various components within and/or connected to server 500.

The invention can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In a preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented in software, which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.

Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer program product accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code 514, 516 for use by or in connection with a computing unit 500 or any instruction execution system to provide and facilitate the capabilities of the present invention. For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The medium can be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium. Examples of a computer-readable medium include a semiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, RAM 504, ROM, a rigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks include compact disk—read-only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk—read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD.

A computing system 500 suitable for storing and/or executing program code 514, 516 include at least one processor 502 coupled directly or indirectly to memory elements 504 through a system bus 508. The memory elements can include local memory employed during actual execution of the program code, bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of at least some program code in order to reduce the number of times code must be retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Furthermore, the present invention discloses a method for deploying or integrating computing infrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into computer system 500, wherein the code in combination with computer system 500 is capable of optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application. The disclosed method for deploying or integrating computing infrastructure with the capabilities described herein can be offered as a service on a subscription service.

The flow diagrams depicted herein are provided by way of example. There may be variations to these diagrams or the steps (or operations) described herein without departing from the spirit of the invention. For instance, in certain cases, the steps may be performed in differing order, or steps may be added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered a part of the present invention as recited in the appended claims.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications and changes will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A method of optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, comprising: initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times, wherein said date range and said time range define a plurality of time intervals within which said activity is capable of occurring, wherein said activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing said web application, and wherein said activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by said web application; receiving, from a user of said plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by said user, a duration required for said activity to be performed completely by said one or more users, automatically calculating a tentative start date included in said date range and a tentative start time included in said time range, wherein a tentative schedule for said activity comprises said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration determine a time period, and wherein said calculating prevents said time period from overlapping a time interval during which said web application is to experience a peak load, said time interval included in said plurality of time intervals; and receiving, from said user via said interface, a selection of a final schedule of said activity, said final schedule being one of said tentative schedule and a specified schedule, wherein said specified schedule comprises one of: a start date specified by said user via said interface and a start time specified by said user via said interface, said start date specified by said user via said interface and said tentative start time, and said tentative start date and said start time specified by said user via said interface, wherein said start date is different from said tentative start date and said start time is different from said tentative start time.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: assigning a monetary charge to said user for a utilization of said one or more resources by said activity; reducing said monetary charge in response to said receiving said selection of said final schedule, wherein said final schedule is said tentative schedule.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, from said user via said interface, one or more parameters other than said duration, wherein said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration are associated with a load on said web application based on a utilization of said one or more resources; receiving, from said user via said interface, an update to one of at least one parameter of said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time, and said duration; and dynamically updating, on said interface and based on said update to said at least one parameter or said duration, at least one of said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date and said tentative start time updated by said updating are viewable by said user via said interface.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said one or more parameters comprise at least one of a type of said activity, software tools to be utilized by said activity, and a number of users included in said one or more users.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said final schedule is not updateable by said web application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said calculating is based on at least one of a first model based on numbers of users of said plurality of users scheduled to perform said activity, a second model based on historical data associated with past usage of said one or more resources, and a third model based on historical data associated with past performances of said activity by users of said plurality of users.

7. A system for optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, comprising: means for initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times, wherein said date range and said time range define a plurality of time intervals within which said activity is capable of occurring, wherein said activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing said web application, and wherein said activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by said web application; means for receiving, from a user of said plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by said user, a duration required for said activity to be performed completely by said one or more users, means for automatically calculating a tentative start date included in said date range and a tentative start time included in said time range, wherein a tentative schedule for said activity comprises said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration determine a time period, and wherein said calculating prevents said time period from overlapping a time interval during which said web application is to experience a peak load, said time interval included in said plurality of time intervals; and means for receiving, from said user via said interface, a selection of a final schedule of said activity, said final schedule being one of said tentative schedule and a specified schedule, wherein said specified schedule comprises one of: a start date specified by said user via said interface and a start time specified by said user via said interface, said start date specified by said user via said interface and said tentative start time, and said tentative start date and said start time specified by said user via said interface, wherein said start date is different from said tentative start date and said start time is different from said tentative start time.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising: means for assigning a monetary charge to said user for a utilization of said one or more resources by said activity; means for reducing said monetary charge in response to said receiving said selection of said final schedule, wherein said final schedule is said tentative schedule.

9. The system of claim 7, further comprising: means for receiving, from said user via said interface, one or more parameters other than said duration, wherein said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration are associated with a load on said web application based on a utilization of said one or more resources; means for receiving, from said user via said interface, an update to one of at least one parameter of said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time, and said duration; and means for dynamically updating, on said interface and based on said update to said at least one parameter or said duration, at least one of said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date and said tentative start time updated by said updating are viewable by said user via said interface.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said one or more parameters comprise at least one of a type of said activity, software tools to be utilized by said activity, and a number of users included in said one or more users.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein said final schedule is not updateable by said web application.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein said calculating is based on at least one of a first model based on numbers of users of said plurality of users scheduled to perform said activity, a second model based on historical data associated with past usage of said one or more resources, and a third model based on historical data associated with past performances of said activity by users of said plurality of users.

13. A computer program product comprising a computer-usable medium including computer-usable program code for optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, said computer program product including: computer-usable code for initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times, wherein said date range and said time range define a plurality of time intervals within which said activity is capable of occurring, wherein said activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing said web application, and wherein said activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by said web application; computer-usable code for receiving, from a user of said plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by said user, a duration required for said activity to be performed completely by said one or more users, computer-usable code for automatically calculating a tentative start date included in said date range and a tentative start time included in said time range, wherein a tentative schedule for said activity comprises said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration determine a time period, and wherein said calculating prevents said time period from overlapping a time interval during which said web application is to experience a peak load, said time interval included in said plurality of time intervals; computer-usable code for receiving, from said user via said interface, a selection of a final schedule of said activity, said final schedule being one of said tentative schedule and a specified schedule, wherein said specified schedule comprises one of: a start date specified by said user via said interface and a start time specified by said user via said interface, said start date specified by said user via said interface and said tentative start time, and said tentative start date and said start time specified by said user via said interface, wherein said start date is different from said tentative start date and said start time is different from said tentative start time.

14. The program product of claim 13, further comprising: computer-usable code for assigning a monetary charge to said user for a utilization of said one or more resources by said activity; computer-usable code for reducing said monetary charge in response to said receiving said selection of said final schedule, wherein said final schedule is said tentative schedule.

15. The program product of claim 13, further comprising: computer-usable code for receiving, from said user via said interface, one or more parameters other than said duration, wherein said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration are associated with a load on said web application based on a utilization of said one or more resources; computer-usable code for receiving, from said user via said interface, an update to one of at least one parameter of said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time, and said duration; and computer-usable code for dynamically updating, on said interface and based on said update to said at least one parameter or said duration, at least one of said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date and said tentative start time updated by said updating are viewable by said user via said interface.

16. The program product of claim 15, wherein said one or more parameters comprise at least one of a type of said activity, software tools to be utilized by said activity, and a number of users included in said one or more users.

17. The program product of claim 13, wherein said final schedule is not updateable by said web application.

18. The program product of claim 13, wherein said calculating is based on at least one of a first model based on numbers of users of said plurality of users scheduled to perform said activity, a second model based on historical data associated with past usage of said one or more resources, and a third model based on historical data associated with past performances of said activity by users of said plurality of users.

19. A method for deploying computing infrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of performing a process of optimally scheduling an activity managed by a web application in a network computing environment, said process comprising: initializing a date range with a plurality of predefined dates and a time range with a plurality of predefined times, wherein said date range and said time range define a plurality of time intervals within which said activity is capable of occurring, wherein said activity is to be performed by one or more users of a plurality of users capable of accessing said web application, and wherein said activity is to utilize one or more resources managed by said web application; receiving, from a user of said plurality of users, and via an interface provided by a web browser utilized by said user, a duration required for said activity to be performed completely by said one or more users, automatically calculating a tentative start date included in said date range and a tentative start time included in said time range, wherein a tentative schedule for said activity comprises said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration determine a time period, and wherein said calculating prevents said time period from overlapping a time interval during which said web application is to experience a peak load, said time interval included in said plurality of time intervals; and receiving, from said user via said interface, a selection of a final schedule of said activity, said final schedule being one of said tentative schedule and a specified schedule, wherein said specified schedule comprises one of: a start date specified by said user via said interface and a start time specified by said user via said interface, said start date specified by said user via said interface and said tentative start time, and said tentative start date and said start time specified by said user via said interface, wherein said start date is different from said tentative start date and said start time is different from said tentative start time.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said process further comprises: assigning a monetary charge to said user for a utilization of said one or more resources by said activity; reducing said monetary charge in response to said receiving said selection of said final schedule, wherein said final schedule is said tentative schedule.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein said process further comprises: receiving, from said user via said interface, one or more parameters other than said duration, wherein said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time and said duration are associated with a load on said web application based on a utilization of said one or more resources; receiving, from said user via said interface, an update to one of at least one parameter of said one or more parameters, said tentative start date, said tentative start time, and said duration; and dynamically updating, on said interface and based on said update to at least one parameter or said duration, at least one of said tentative start date and said tentative start time, wherein said tentative start date and said tentative start time updated by said updating are viewable by said user via said interface.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said one or more parameters comprise at least one of a type of said activity, software tools to be utilized by said activity, and a number of users included in said one or more users.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein said final schedule is not updateable by said web application.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein said calculating is based on at least one of a first model based on numbers of users of said plurality of users scheduled to perform said activity, a second model based on historical data associated with past usage of said one or more resources, and a third model based on historical data associated with past performances of said activity by users of said plurality of users.