3028 results about "Program plan" patented technology

A system and method for distributed query processing may compile and optimize query plans for incoming query requests independent of hardware configurations and/or physical locations of data partitions in a distributed storage system (e.g., a data grid). The query plan may be divided into segments, and each segment may be instantiated on a remote query processing node of the distributed system by a query coordinator node according to metadata accessed at runtime by remote sub-query operators in the query plan. The metadata may include an indication of the physical locations of data partitions in the system and may be stored on one or more of the query processing nodes. The remote query processing nodes may execute the query plan segments and return results to the requestor. Cached query plans may be re-executed without recompilation, according to current metadata, even in the event of a node failure or data partition move.

An interactive robot may audibly communicate with a user, determine whether reasoning is performed according to a reasoning weight of a schedule if there is a schedule to be recommended by the interactive robot during conversation between the interactive robot and the user, perform reasoning using information collected in a database if reasoning is necessary, and provide schedule information to the user.

A system is provided for audit risk and tracking (ART) including an audit firm application (ART1) and a client bank application (ART2). The system maintains a data model of control activities for a best practices bank (BPB), against which control activity gap assessments are conducted for client banks. An interactive gap assessment report allows insight into controls that are lacking versus the BPB. The ART1 and ART2 systems interact to allow the client bank to interact with the audit firm to cooperate in assessing and managing business initiatives and other control, audit, and ERM activity. Novel risk scoring assessments are provided to help manage client bank controls in relation to the BPB model. A web service is provided that automatically updates the BPB model from ART1 to ART2.

Embodiments of the invention include a merchant offer program application, which is downloaded onto a customer computer, and that works in connection with the customer's accounts at an institution. The merchant offer program application monitors the location of the customer over time and recognizes patterns in the routes the customer travels and locations that the customer frequently visits. The merchant offer program provides additional information to the customer, such as offers that are available for the product, the identity of other merchants that offer the product or a competing product, advertisements or offers regarding other ancillary products typically sold along with the product being considered, etc. based at least in part on the patterns recognized by the merchant offer program. The information sent to the customer can be based not only on the patterns identified, but on the customer's past purchase behavior, account balances, interests, merchant and/or institution relationships, etc.

The invention comprises management of programs and mega-programs with emphasis on project level and above in a hierarchy that enables aggregation of information navigating up, and breakdown of details navigating down the hierarchy. It provides the flexibility of combining real-time management of budget with multiple editions, on call, asset tracking and capacity management of people and non-people resources within the same structure, vendor management, and real-time cross-program interlinking of dependencies and business considerations. The invention enables invocation of each function at every node in the hierarchy and localizes the related information at the invoking source. The functions encompass management of action items, status reports, approvals, meetings/decision making, issues, risks, change management and attachments with built in workflows that enable interactive collaboration and action triggering within the system and across external systems through condition and threshold setting. The universal structure enables management of organization layers and project initiatives.

A graphical user interface for a computer-assisted motion video editing system directs a user through the process of editing a video program. The graphical user interface may also enables a user to plan a video program. Alternatively selectable interfaces within a single window interface, each of which provide a group of planning, capturing, editing, and recording functions can provide such an interface for producing a video program. Other simplifications to the user interface can be provided to assist in editing, such as by maintaining a video display window for displaying the edited video program at a fixed position for all available editing operations. Additionally, video information can be captured directly into a timeline representation of a video program, rather than a bin. Using a storyboard tied to the capturing process, a user is directed through the process of collecting and capturing the video clips to be used in the video program.

A contact center performance optimization program for assisting contact center managers improve the performance of their centers comprises a hosted database that collects actual data and a modeling and optimization program that can be used to create center budgets and forecast future performance. The program facilitates improved contact center performance by providing analysis of current operations and forecasting through the use of models, optimization, analyzers and imbedded best practices. The inventive device includes. To forecast future performance and optimize the center's operation, “what if” models and analyzers are used. The invention includes a series of impact analyzers that assist the center manager focus on areas that if improved will produce the greatest overall performance improvement.

An exemplary method of using a virtual assistant may include receiving an unstructured natural-language user request for a service from a virtual assistant; determining whether the user request corresponds to at least one of a plurality of plan templates accessible to the virtual assistant, based on the content of the user request and the content of the plan templates; in accordance with a determination that the user request corresponds to at least one of the plurality of plan templates, selecting one of the plurality of plan templates; and in accordance with a determination the user request fails to correspond to at least one of the plurality of plan templates, foregoing selection of a plan template; and in response to selection of one of the plan templates, beginning to respond to the user request according to the selected plan template.

A system for facilitating reward selection and redemption for a loyalty program is disclosed. The system includes a point-of-sale (POS) device that is capable of monitoring and processing a reward redemption. The POS device informs a participant of the loyalty program as to what rewards are available for redemption. The participant is given an opportunity by the POS device to select the desired reward for redemption. Alternatively, the POS device allows the participant to defer redemption of the available rewards.

A method for operating a sleep phase actigraphy synchronized alarm clock that communicates with a remote sleep database, such as an internet server database, and compares user physiological parameters, sleep settings, and actigraphy data with a large database that may include data collected from a large number of other users with similar physiological parameters, sleep settings, and actigraphy data. The remote server may use “black box” analysis approach by running supervised learning algorithms to analyze the database, producing sleep phase correction data which can be uploaded to the alarm clock, and be used by the alarm clock to further improve its REM sleep phase prediction accuracy.

Embodiments of the invention include a merchant offer program application, which is downloaded onto a customer computer, and that works in connection with the customer's accounts at an institution. The merchant offer program application monitors the websites that the customer views, as well as the content the customer is viewing on those websites, such as the products offered for sale through the website or other information on the website. The merchant offer program provides additional information to the customer, such as special offers that are available for the product being viewed, the identity of other merchants that offer the product or a competing product, advertisements or offers regarding other ancillary products typically sold along with the product being considered, etc. The information sent to the customer can be based not only on the website product being viewed, but on the customer's past purchase behavior, account balances, interests, etc.

The power flexibility of energy loads is maximized using a value function for each load and outputting optimal control parameters. Loads are aggregated into a virtual load by maximizing a global value function. The solution yields a dispatch function providing: a percentage of energy for each individual load, a time-varying power level for each load, and control parameters and values. An economic term represents the value of the power flexibility to different players. A user interface includes for each time interval upper and lower bounds representing respectively the maximum power that may be reduced to the virtual load and the maximum power that may be consumed. A trader modifies an energy level in a time interval relative to the reference curve for the virtual load. Automatically, energy compensation for other intervals and recalculation of upper and lower boundaries occurs. The energy schedule for the virtual load is distributed to the actual loads.

A method and associated systems for automatically identifying a risk that a staffing resource identified by a proposed project-staffing plan will be unavailable. A computerized project-management tool, in response to receiving a proposed project plan, requests, receives, and aggregates information about other past, present, and expected projects and about expected supplies of, and competing demands for, staffing resources required by the proposed plan. The tool infers patterns, business rules, and trends from the received information, with which it adjusts the proposed project's planned start date, expected availabilities of required staffing resources, and expected competition for staffing resources. The tool then determines a likelihood that a sufficient supply of each of the plan's required staffing resources, as adjusted, will be available at the required times, as adjusted. If the risk is too high, the user may fine-tune the proposed plan by repeating the preceding steps with varying project parameters.

Apparatus, systems, and methods may operate to receive an original query plan, to transform the original query plan into an equivalent executable compact query plan, and to store the compact query plan on a machine readable device. Further activities may include computing maximal source sub-queries associated with the compact query plan, and computing semi-join reductions of the maximal source sub-queries to provide an executable derivative query plan, which may also be stored on a machine readable device. Additional apparatus, systems, and methods are disclosed.

A platform and program for enhancing the value and desirability of a credit card (or other payment product) to a card holder and encouraging increased use of the card as a payment device by rewarding the card holder based not only on qualifying purchases but on miles traveled in connection with travel ticket or travel pass purchases. The inventive program leverages qualifying transaction information and other data (e.g., Level 3 Data) which automatically flow with such transaction information. The rewards redeemed by the card holder according to the inventive platform and program are not tied to a particular provider of goods or services, and reward fulfillment is managed through the card issuer or its fulfillment agent.

A method is presented that enables the creation of an alternative data plan by third party enterprises for mobile network end users. The method includes purchasing data transport bundles from one or more network service providers through an exchange, and either alone or with other enterprises, developing the alternative data plan for offer to end-users to consume data transport from the data transport bundle or bundles. The alternative data plan may be offered to the end user for free or the end user may be charged for use of the ADP based on the number of transactions, file type. The ADP may be billed to the user by the network provider or the ADP may be pre-purchased from the creator of the ADP.

A software solution for managing, sorting and ranking lists of tasks and integrating task and time management, such that tasks can be automatically or manually assigned to specified time blocks. Users can monitor the relationship between volume of tasks and available time in which to complete them. The solution and method can be applied to individual task lists as well as to the management of time across multiple projects and can be employed either by individuals or by collaborative groups. The solution and method employ multiple filters, sorts and handling rules to embody users' personal planning preferences. It can be used to manage task lists both with and without employing a scheduling component. The solution can interoperate with existing computer- and web-based calendar software and can use third-party calendar clients to display its output and to accept input from users.

The invention relates to a port warehousing logistics technology, in particular to a bulk material yard unmanned stacking/reclaiming technology. Firstly, a database is established; secondly, operation instructions, automatic stacking/reclaiming operation modes and control instructions for automatic stacking/reclaiming operations are generated through input operation kinds of goods and the planning work amount; thirdly, the relevant instructions are sent to a central control PLC and then transmitted to the corresponding local stacker/reclaimer PLC through the industrial network; fourthly, the local PLC controls the operation of all components of the stacker/reclaimer to complete the local operation control. At the same time, a material stack laser scanning device is used to scan the material yard condition, and the scanned result will then be transferred to a central control processing unit through the industrial network; fifthly, the central control processing unit achieves the stack type scan data processing of the stacker/reclaimer to generate new instructions which will then be sent to the corresponding local stacker/reclaimer PLC; sixthly, a handle operating panel arranged inside a central control room can be taken as a backup means of manual operation under special circumstances. The invention can be applied to large-scale raw material yards, such as ports, wharfs, open warehouses, mine stacking yards, as well as iron and steel enterprises.

The invention relates to an on-line management method for an engineering project. According to the on-line management method for the engineering project, based on a remote interaction platform, through data transmission and data processing between a budget end computer device, a plurality of contracting enterprise end computer devices, a plurality of evaluation end computer devices, an application end computer device, a plurality of submission end computer devices, a plurality of checking end computer devices and a server end computer system, on-line bidding and tendering and bid evaluation of the engineering project are achieved, and on-line evaluation and on-line making of an engineering project progress plan of a contracting enterprise of the engineering project, on-line tracking of engineering project progress completion conditions, response and management of engineering project progress abnormal conditions, on-line generation of an engineering project quality acceptance report form, one-line application for engineering project progress payment, and on-line generation of engineering project budget by material and labor cost analysis are achieved.