JP6170733B2 - Progress management support device, progress management support method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a progress management support device, a progress management support method, and a program.

As a development method for software and the like, there is a method in which an overall project plan is made at an early stage of development, and development work is advanced in accordance with the planned plan. For example, in the critical path method, all work up to the completion of a project is analyzed to detect a critical path (the route that takes the most time), and a delay in the period until the entire project is completed is prevented.
However, in actual software development, specification changes, factor changes, social technology changes, and the like occur, and it is difficult to make an appropriate plan in view of all the factors in the initial stage.

On the other hand, a technique called iterative development or iterative development has been proposed. Iterative development is a technique in which a development target such as software is divided into several parts, and each process such as design, implementation (coding), and testing is performed for each part. In addition, an initial plan is drawn up at the initial stage of the project, and a specific plan is drawn up as the project progresses.
Here, in the repeated development, if production for each process is performed without limitation, over-production occurs in the process before the bottleneck, and the work-in-process inventory becomes excessive. Excess work-in-progress inventory is vulnerable to change, and there is a large penalty for changing requirements. For example, if you designed each part that divided the software, but the implementation has not progressed as a bottleneck, if a part becomes unnecessary or specification changes occur, the design work for that part Will be wasted.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to adjust the inventory of work in progress by limiting WIP (Work In Progress). For example, even if it is in a state where design work can be executed for each part obtained by dividing software, etc., by limiting the work amount of the design work to be executed, it is possible to reduce the inventory amount of work in progress that has been designed or is in the pre-implementation state. It can be reduced.

  Further, by repeatedly applying the progress management support device described in Patent Document 1 to development, it is possible to grasp that a bottleneck has occurred in production activities. In the progress management support apparatus described in Patent Literature 1, the label definition table storage unit includes a label corresponding to each process in a production activity including operations in a plurality of processes, and a label corresponding to a process preceding the process corresponding to the label. Is previously stored. The progress table storage unit stores, for each of a plurality of labels, a progress table in which a remaining work amount in the process corresponding to the label is associated with completion information indicating whether the work in the process is completed. Further, the input unit accepts inputs of the remaining work amount and the completion information and stores them in the progress table storage unit. In addition, the remaining work amount calculation unit reads, for each of a plurality of labels, a label associated as a previous process of the process corresponding to the label from the label definition table, and reads completion information corresponding to the read label from the progress table. . When the completion information indicates that the work has been completed, the remaining work amount calculation unit reads the remaining work amount corresponding to the label. On the other hand, when the completion information indicates that the work is not completed, the remaining work amount calculation unit does not read the remaining work amount corresponding to the label. The output unit outputs the remaining work amount read by the remaining work amount calculation unit for each of the plurality of labels.

JP 2012-146133 A

As described above, if the technique described in Patent Document 1 is used, it can be grasped that a bottleneck has occurred in production activities. By grasping that a bottleneck has occurred, it is possible to detect an increase in the inventory of work in progress and trigger a review of the plan.
Furthermore, it is more preferable if the increase in the inventory quantity can be suppressed rather than detecting after the inventory quantity of the work in progress increases.

  Regarding the suppression of the increase in the work-in-process inventory, as described above, it is conceivable to adjust the inventory in-process by limiting the WIP. However, the proposed method of limiting WIP does not specifically indicate how and at what timing the WIP is limited. For this reason, WIP is limited based on the experience of the person in charge of managing the process, and there is a possibility that the project cannot be appropriately advanced depending on the experience and skill of the person in charge.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a progress management support apparatus and progress management capable of suppressing an increase in the inventory of work in progress without depending on personal experience and skills. To provide a support method and program.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and a progress management support device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of steps in which the entire work is divided into a plurality of parts and executed in a predetermined order. Is a progress management device that outputs, to a plurality of persons in charge of a project included in each part, a plan for assigning a person in charge to a process in a predetermined unit period, the process of the person in charge in the unit period among a plurality patterns of allocation to, when the ratio between the forecast of the process viable amount of work for each pattern of the allocation definitive in the unit period, was kept the predetermined order at the start of the unit period the closest pattern to the ratio between the process of estimation of the amount of work that the executable state, characterized by comprising a pattern selector for selecting as said allocation proposal.

  The progress management support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is the progress management support apparatus described above, wherein the ratio between the processes for estimating the amount of work in the executable state is equal to the number of persons in charge. The pattern selection unit calculates the number of persons in charge for each process and the ratio of the amount of work among a plurality of patterns assigned to the processes of persons in charge in the unit period. The pattern in which the sum of all the processes with the magnitude of the difference from the value calculated by the section for the process is the smallest is selected as the allocation plan.

  A progress management support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is the above-described progress management support apparatus, wherein an estimate of the amount of work in the executable state for each process is an estimate of the amount of work in the process. , Including an estimate correction unit that corrects based on the ratio of the amount of work of the process in the unit period, and the pattern selection unit estimates the amount of work in the executable state after correction. The allocation plan is selected based on a ratio between processes.

  A progress management support apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is the progress management support apparatus described above, wherein the estimate correction unit actually performs an estimate for each process of the amount of work in an executable state. The estimate is corrected by dividing the divided work amount by the actual velocity product ratio indicating the ratio of the work amount to the predicted work amount.

In the progress management support method according to one aspect of the present invention, the entire work is divided into a plurality of parts, and a plurality of persons in charge of a project including a plurality of steps executed in a predetermined order for each part. A progress management method for a progress management device that outputs an allocation plan to a person-in-charge process in a predetermined unit period, and among the plurality of patterns of allocation to a person-in-charge process in the unit period, the ratio between the step of predicting the amount of work that can be done for each pattern of the allocation definitive the unit period is in an executable state when a keep said predetermined order at the start of the unit period working A pattern selection step of selecting, as the allocation plan, a pattern that most closely approximates the ratio between the estimation processes.

In the program according to one aspect of the present invention, the entire work is divided into a plurality of parts, and a plurality of persons in charge of a project in which a plurality of steps executed in a predetermined order are included in each part. Te, the computer as a progress management device for outputting the allocation plan for personnel steps in a predetermined unit period, among the plurality of patterns of allocation to personnel step in the unit period, the allocation definitive in the unit period Between the steps of estimating the amount of work in an executable state when the ratio between the steps of predicting the amount of work that can be performed for each pattern is maintained in the predetermined order at the start of the unit period This is a program for executing a pattern selection step of selecting a pattern that is closest to the ratio as the allocation plan.

  According to this invention, it is possible to suppress an increase in the inventory of work-in-progress without depending on personal experience and skill.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the function structure of the progress management assistance apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the process which a person in charge can perform. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a WIP pattern obtained based on processes that can be executed by the person in charge shown in FIG. 2 in the embodiment. In the embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the pattern of WIP which a pattern selection part selects about the first unit period. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the execution condition of the operation | work in the first unit period of the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the work amount ratio which the work amount ratio calculation part in the same embodiment system calculates. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of WIP which the pattern selection part selects in the same embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the execution condition of the operation | work according to the pattern of WIP which the pattern selection part selected in the same embodiment system. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the flow of the information in the progress management assistance apparatus of the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of processing performed by a control unit in the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows another example of the process which a person in charge can perform. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the pattern of WIP obtained based on the process which the person in charge shown in FIG. 11 can perform. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the execution condition of a work | work when a work is performed without being based on the pattern of WIP which the progress management assistance apparatus in the same embodiment proposes. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the execution condition of a work | work when a work is performed based on the pattern of WIP which the progress management assistance apparatus in the same embodiment proposes. It is a graph which shows the condition of the work at the time of the start of the period 1 of the example of FIG. It is a graph which shows the condition of the work at the time of expiration of the period 1 of the example of FIG. It is a graph which shows the condition of the work at the time of expiration of the period 2 of the example of FIG. It is a graph which shows the condition of the work at the time of expiration of the period 1 of the example of FIG. It is a graph which shows the condition of the work at the time of expiration of the period 2 of the example of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the performance velocity computed using the data in the past project by the performance velocity calculation part of the embodiment. In the embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which shows the example of WIP which a pattern selection part selects based on the work amount ratio obtained in FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a functional configuration of a progress management support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the progress management support apparatus 100 includes a display unit 110, an operation input unit 120, a storage unit 130, and a control unit 160. The control unit 160 includes a pattern selection unit 161, a predicted velocity calculation unit 162, an actual velocity calculation unit 163, an executable work amount estimation unit 164, a work amount ratio calculation unit 165, an estimate correction unit 166, and a pattern evaluation. A value calculation unit 167.

The progress management support apparatus 100 divides the entire work into a plurality of parts, and provides a predetermined period (for a plurality of persons in charge of a project including a plurality of processes executed in a predetermined order for each part. The plan of allocation to the process of the person in charge in the unit period (to be described later) is output. For example, the progress management support apparatus 100 proposes, for each unit period, a process to be executed by a person in charge of the project according to the progress of the target project (the project that is the target handled by the progress management support apparatus 100). The progress management support apparatus 100 is configured by a computer, for example.
Here, the following is assumed as a precondition of a project to which the progress management support apparatus 100 is applied.
(Premise 1) The entire work to be executed is divided into several parts, and each part includes a plurality of steps. Some processes have a context, and a subsequent process cannot be executed until the previous process is completed for one part.

  For example, the entire work to be performed in the software development project is divided for each software function to be developed. The person in charge performs a design process, a mounting process, and a test process for each function. Until the design process of a certain function is completed, the mounting process of the function cannot be executed. Further, the test process for the function cannot be executed until the mounting process for a certain function is completed.

In the following, an example will be described in which the entire work to be performed in a software development project is divided for each software function. However, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to software development. Further, the method of dividing the entire work is not limited to the division for each function.
Hereinafter, “process” in “function” is referred to as “operation”. For example, the function 1 process A, the function 1 process B, and the function 2 process A are each handled as one work.

(Premise 2) One task is executed by one person in charge. In particular, a plurality of persons in charge do not work together.
(Premise 3) The skill of each person in charge varies, and the process that can be executed is determined for each person in charge.
For example, a person in charge can design, implement, and test software. On the other hand, some other person in charge can design and implement, but not test.

(Assumption 4) A period of one unit is set for the time for the person in charge to work. The process performed by one person in charge is limited to one process for one period.
For example, the working time per day is set to 7 hours, and this 7 hours is set as a unit period. Each person in charge executes only one process in one day. Therefore, the person in charge who has completed the function 1 design work may continue to perform the function 2 design work on the current day, but does not perform the function 1 construction work on the same day.
Hereinafter, the process performed by the person in charge in a period of one unit is referred to as “WIP” (Work In Progress). In the following, a period of one unit is referred to as “unit period” or simply “period”.

(Premise 5) A priority is set for each function (each part obtained by dividing the entire work). Each person in charge executes work in an executable (startable) state among works according to WIP in descending order of priority. Each person in charge does not perform multitasking. Accordingly, the number of operations performed by one person in charge at a time is limited to one. The person in charge does not perform other work at least within the unit period until the work in progress is completed.
For example, the person in charge of executing the mounting process by WIP has the highest function priority among the mounting work (except work currently being executed by other persons in charge) that can be started after completing the design work. Perform implementation work.

(Assumption 6) The person in charge who completed the work before the expiration of the unit period is an executable work (work that can be executed according to WIP, the work of the previous process has been completed, and the work is not performed by other persons in charge. ), Work is performed in order of priority. This is repeated until the unit period expires.
(Premise 7) The person in charge does not perform the work in the target project when there is no work that can be performed in the process to be executed. In this case, the person in charge performs work other than the target project, for example. In relation to the target project, the resource time of the person in charge is spent as a waiting time until work that can be performed is completed.
The person in charge completes the work before the expiration of the unit period, and does not work on the target project even if there is no work that can be performed.

The display unit 110 displays a proposal of a process to be executed by the person in charge. For example, the display unit 110 may have a display screen such as a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL (Organic Electro Luminescence) panel and display various images such as a proposal of a process to be executed by a person in charge. Not limited to. For example, the display unit 110 may have a speaker and notify the person of the proposal of the process to be executed by voice.
Hereinafter, a case where the display unit 110 displays the number of persons in charge who should execute the process for each process will be described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the display unit 110 may display work to be performed by the person in charge for each person in charge.

The operation input unit 120 includes an input device such as a keyboard, for example, and receives an input operation performed by the user of the progress management support apparatus 100. In particular, the operation input unit 120 receives input of initial information such as process information that can be executed for each person in charge, priority information for each function, and estimated work amount information for each work. Further, the operation input unit 120 accepts input of work progress information.
The storage unit 130 stores various information such as initial information received by the operation input unit 120 and work progress information. The storage unit 130 is configured by a storage device included in the progress management support apparatus 100.

The control unit 160 controls each unit of the progress management support apparatus 100 and executes various processes. The control unit 160 is configured, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) included in the progress management support apparatus 100 reading out and executing a program from the storage unit 130.
The pattern selection unit 161 has a ratio between processes for predicting the amount of work that can be performed in a unit period among a plurality of patterns assigned to the processes of the person in charge in the unit period. The pattern that most closely approximates the ratio between estimation processes is selected as an allocation plan.

  Here, as in the above premise 3, each person in charge has variations in skill, and a process that can be executed is determined for each person in charge. Therefore, the number of persons in charge that can be executed is different for each process, which causes a process that becomes a bottleneck. For example, if there is only one person in charge who can execute the test process, the test process becomes a bottleneck, and there is a risk that the inventory of work-in-progress (here, functions that have been started but not completed) may increase. is there. For this reason, even if the number of work that can be executed is larger than the number of test work, the person in charge preferentially performs the test work from the viewpoint of suppressing an increase in the inventory of work in progress. There are cases where it should be.

  Therefore, the pattern selection unit 161 selects a pattern corresponding to the work amount in an executable state from among the WIP patterns based on the processes that can be executed by each person in charge as an assignment plan for the person in charge. . Thereby, the progress management support apparatus 100 can suppress the increase in the inventory amount of work in progress by appropriately allocating the person in charge to the process, such as proposing the person in charge who can perform the test to execute the test process.

In addition, the pattern selection unit 161 has a large difference between the number of persons in charge for each process and the value calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 for the process among a plurality of patterns of assignment of the person in charge to the process in the unit period. The pattern having the smallest sum for all processes is selected as an allocation plan.
Specifically, the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 calculates the ratio between processes so that the total value for each process of estimating the amount of work that can be performed is equal to the number of persons in charge. When the person in charge performs work according to the ratio calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165, work can be performed without biasing to a specific process, and an increase in the inventory amount of work in progress can be suppressed.

  However, from the above assumption 4, workers for each process cannot be assigned in decimal units. Further, the ratio calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 does not reflect the processes that can be executed by each person in charge. For example, there may be a case where the value of the test process is 2 or more in the ratio calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 even though there is only one worker who can execute the test.

Therefore, the pattern selection unit 161 selects a pattern evaluated to be most similar to the ratio calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 from WIP patterns in which the number of workers is assigned as an integer for each process. To do.
As a result, the progress management support apparatus 100 (the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 and the pattern selection unit 161) processes the magnitude of the difference between the value calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 and the number of persons in charge in each WIP pattern. An allocation plan can be selected by a simple process of calculating each time and selecting a pattern having the smallest total for all processes.

In addition, the estimate correction unit 166 corrects (corrects) the estimate of the work amount according to the work results, and the pattern selection unit 161 compares the amount of work in an executable state between the estimated process steps after the correction. Based on the above, the allocation plan to the person in charge is selected.
Thus, the pattern selection unit 161 can select a more appropriate pattern as the allocation plan by selecting the allocation plan for the person in charge based on the corrected estimate of the work amount. The increase in inventory amount can be further suppressed.

The predicted velocity calculation unit 162 calculates the predicted velocity for each process based on the WIP pattern selected by the pattern selection unit 161. The predicted velocity here is a value indicating an estimate of the amount of work that can be executed in a unit period.
The actual velocity calculation unit 163 calculates the actual velocity in the unit period for each process based on the work results in the unit period. Here, the actual velocity is a value indicating the amount of work executed in a unit period in comparison with the predicted velocity.

The executable work amount estimation unit 164 calculates an estimate of the amount of work in an executable state for each process. More specifically, the feasible work amount estimation unit 164 sums the work amount estimates for each process for the work that can be executed among the incomplete works (the previous work is completed).
The work amount ratio calculation unit 165 calculates the ratio between the steps of estimating the amount of work in an executable state, which is calculated by the executable work amount estimation unit 164 and corrected by the estimate correction unit 166 according to the work results. Find the total value equal to the number of persons in charge. As described above, the pattern selection unit 161 selects an allocation plan for the process of the person in charge in the unit period based on the ratio calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165.

  The estimate correction unit 166 corrects the estimate of the amount of work in an executable state for each process based on the ratio between the estimate of the amount of work in the process and the actual amount of work in the process in the unit period. To do. More specifically, the estimate correcting unit 166 calculates the velocity actual rate by dividing the actual velocity calculated by the actual velocity calculating unit 163 by the predicted velocity calculated by the predicted velocity calculating unit 162. The velocity performance rate here is the ratio of the actually performed work amount to the predicted work amount. Then, the estimate correction unit 166 corrects the work amount estimate by dividing the work amount estimate by the velocity performance rate. As described above, the pattern selection unit 161 selects an allocation plan for the process of the person in charge in the unit period based on the estimated work amount corrected by the estimate correction unit 166.

  The pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 calculates an evaluation value for each WIP pattern for the pattern selection unit 161 to select an allocation plan for the process of the person in charge. Specifically, the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 calculates, for each process, the magnitude of the difference between the value calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 and the number of persons in charge in each pattern of WIP, and sums up all the processes. Is calculated for each pattern and used as an evaluation value for each pattern.

Next, processing performed by the progress management support apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a process that can be executed by a person in charge. In the example of the figure, there are three persons in charge, who are the persons in charge, a, b and c. The person in charge a cannot execute the processes B and C, but can execute the process A. The person in charge b cannot execute the process C, but can execute the processes A and B. The person in charge c can execute any of the processes A, B, and C.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a WIP pattern obtained based on a process executable by the person in charge shown in FIG. In the pattern 1 of FIG. 3, the person in charge a, b, and c executes the process A. In the pattern 2, the person in charge a and one of the persons in charge b and c execute the process A, and the other of the persons in charge b and c executes the process B. In pattern 3, the persons in charge a and b execute the process A, and the person in charge c executes the process C. In the pattern 4, the person in charge a executes the process A, and the persons in charge b and c execute the process B. In the pattern 5, the person in charge a executes the process A, the person in charge b executes the process B, and the person in charge c executes the process C.

For example, the operation input unit 120 receives an operation input of person-in-charge information including information on processes that can be executed by the person in charge as in the example of FIG. 2, and the storage unit 130 stores the person-in-charge information. Then, the control unit 160 (for example, the pattern selection unit 161) reads the person-in-charge information from the storage unit 130, and obtains a possible WIP pattern as in the example of FIG.
Hereinafter, information indicating possible WIP patterns is referred to as a “WIP pattern list”. The control unit 160 causes the storage unit 130 to store the obtained WIP pattern list.
The operation input unit 120 may receive a WIP pattern list input operation, and the storage unit 130 may store the WIP pattern list.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a WIP pattern selected by the pattern selection unit 161 for the first unit period. In the example shown in the figure, the pattern selection unit 161 selects the pattern 2 shown in FIG. The pattern selected by the pattern selection unit 161 for the first unit period only needs to include the most upstream process that does not have a previous process in the WIP. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 to 8, the process A is the most upstream process, and the pattern selection unit 161 selects the pattern 2 that assigns the person in charge to the process A.

  The pattern selection unit 161 randomly selects a WIP pattern for the first unit period from patterns including all the most upstream processes in WIP (all patterns in the example of FIG. 3). Alternatively, the pattern selection unit 161 may select a predetermined pattern such as selecting a pattern designated in advance by the user of the progress management support apparatus 100.

Based on the WIP pattern (pattern 2 in this case) selected by the pattern selection unit 161, the predicted velocity calculation unit 162 calculates the predicted velocity. Specifically, the predicted velocity calculation unit 162 calculates the predicted velocity based on Expression (1).
Predicted velocity = WIP x length of unit period (1)

That is, for each process, the predicted velocity calculation unit 162 sets the number of persons in charge assigned to the process in the WIP pattern and the length of the unit period (7 hours in the examples shown in FIGS. 2 to 8). ) And the total time that can be executed for each process is calculated as the predicted velocity.
In the example of FIG. 4, since the number of persons in charge of process A is 2, the predicted velocity of process A is 2 × 7 = 14. Further, since the number of persons in charge of process B is one, the predicted velocity of process A is 1 × 7 = 7. On the other hand, since no person in charge is assigned to the process C, the predicted velocity of the process C is 0 × 7 = 0.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a work execution status in the first unit period. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 to 8, the entire work to be performed by the person in charge is divided into functions 1 to 6. Further, priorities 1 to 6 are set for the functions 1 to 6, respectively. Here, the smaller the number of priorities, the higher the priorities.
Each function (each part obtained by dividing the entire work for each function) includes three processes A, B, and C. The initial estimate of each work specified by the combination of the function and the process is a value shown in each column of the period 1 estimate. For example, the amount of work in Steps A, B, and C of function 1 is estimated to be 7 hours, 3 hours, and 10 hours, respectively.

Moreover, the results of work in the first unit period (period 1) are shown in each column of period 1 results. In the example of FIG. 5, the process A and the process B are executed according to the WIP pattern shown in FIG.
In FIG. 5, the work performance is shown in comparison with the work amount estimation. For example, in the work in the process A of the function 2, the work for 3 hours is performed out of the estimation of the work amount for 3 hours. Therefore, step 2 of function 2 is completed.

By completing step A of function 2, step B, which is a subsequent step of step A, can be executed. Therefore, the person in charge of the process B executes the process B of the function 2. In the work in the process B of the function 2, the work for one hour is performed out of the estimation of the work amount for one hour. Therefore, step 2 of function 2 is completed.
On the other hand, in the process B of the function 3, the work for 3 hours is performed out of the estimation of the work amount for 10 hours. Therefore, in the process 3 of the function 3, 7 hours of work remains in the estimated work amount for 10 hours.

Estimated remaining work at the end of period 1 is shown in each column of period 2 estimate. For example, the operations in the process A and the process B of the function 2 are both completed as described above, and “−” indicates that there is no remaining work. On the other hand, in the process 3 of the function 3, the remaining work amount is estimated as “7” (the work amount for 7 hours in the initial estimate).
In each column of the period 2 estimate, work in an executable state is indicated by hatching. When period 1 expires (and therefore at the start of period 2, which is the next unit period), function 1 step A, function 2 step C, function 3 step B, function 4 step A, and function 5 step A Each operation in the process A of the function 6 is in an executable state.

The user of the progress management support apparatus 100 inputs the work volume results for each unit period (in the example of FIG. 5, values in each column of the period 1 results) every time the unit period expires. Then, the control unit 160 (for example, the executable work amount estimation unit 164) subtracts the actual work amount from the work amount estimate at the start of the unit period, thereby estimating the remaining work amount (in the example of FIG. 5, (Value of each column of period 2 estimate) is calculated.
Alternatively, each time the unit period expires, the user of the progress management support apparatus 100 inputs an estimate of the remaining work amount when the unit period expires instead of or in addition to the actual work amount during the unit period. Also good.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the work amount ratio calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165. Both the initial WIP and the predicted velocity in the figure are the same as in FIG.
In each column of the actual velocity, the actual velocity value calculated by the actual velocity calculating unit 163 for each process is shown. The actual velocity calculating unit 163 calculates the actual velocity based on the equation (2).
Actual velocity = Σ Actual work amount (2)

In other words, the actual velocity calculation unit 163 calculates the actual velocity for each process by summing the actual values of the work amount indicated in comparison with the estimate of the work amount for each process.
In the example of FIG. 6, the actual velocity calculation unit 163 sums up the actual operation results in the process A of each function in FIG. 5 (values shown in each column of the period 1 actual result), and the actual velocity of the process A is 7 + 3 + 1 + 3 = 14. Calculated. The actual velocity calculation unit 163 calculates the actual velocity of the process B as 1 + 3 = 4 by summing up the operation results in the process B of each function of FIG. Further, the actual velocity calculation unit 163 calculates the actual velocity of the process C as 0 by summing up the operation results in the process C of each function of FIG.

Each velocity actual rate column indicates a velocity actual rate calculated by the estimate correcting unit 166 for each process. The estimate correction unit 166 calculates the velocity performance rate based on the equation (3).
Velocity performance rate = Actual velocity / Predicted velocity (3)

That is, as described above, the estimate correction unit 166 divides the actual velocity calculated by the actual velocity calculation unit 163 by the predicted velocity calculated by the predicted velocity calculation unit 162 for each process, and calculates the actual velocity rate for each process. Is calculated.
However, when the predicted velocity is 0, the estimate correction unit 166 sets the velocity performance rate to 0. In the example of FIG. 6, the predicted velocity of process C is 0, and the estimate correction unit 166 sets the actual velocity rate of process C to 0.

In each column of the executable work amount in FIG. 6, the executable work amount calculated by the executable work amount estimation unit 164 for each process is shown. The executable work amount estimation unit 164 calculates an executable work amount based on Expression (4).
Executable work amount = Σ Estimated amount of work that can be executed (4)
The estimated amount here is an estimate of the amount of work. That is, the feasible work amount estimation unit 164 calculates the feasible work amount for each process by adding the estimated amount of work that can be performed in the estimation of the remaining work amount when the unit period expires for each process.

  In the example of FIG. 6, the feasible work amount estimation unit 164 sums up the estimated amount of work that can be performed indicated by hatching among the remaining work amount estimates indicated in each column of the period 2 estimate in FIG. 5. Thus, the amount of work that can be performed in the process A is calculated as 1 + 2 + 3 = 6. Further, the executable work amount estimation unit 164 calculates the executable work amount of the process B as 3 + 7 = 10. Further, the executable work amount estimation unit 164 calculates the executable work amount of the process C as 3 (the work quantity in the process C of the function 2).

In each column of the post-correction work amount in FIG. 6, the post-correction work amount calculated by the estimate correction unit 166 for each process is shown. The post-correction work amount here is a value obtained by correcting the estimate of the remaining work amount according to the work results. The estimate correction unit 166 calculates a corrected work amount based on the equation (5).
Work volume after correction = Executable work volume / Velocity performance ratio (5)
That is, the estimate correction unit 166 calculates the corrected work amount for each process by dividing the executable work amount by the velocity performance rate for each process.
However, when the velocity performance rate is 0, the estimate correcting unit 166 does not correct the estimate of the remaining work amount. In the example of FIG. 6, the velocity performance rate of process C is 0, and the estimate correction unit 166 sets the executable work amount of process C as it is as the post-correction work amount.

In each column of the work amount ratio in FIG. 6, the work amount ratio between processes calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 is shown. The work amount ratio calculation unit 165 calculates the value of each process in the work amount ratio based on the equation (6).
Work volume ratio = (work volume after correction / work volume after Σ correction) x number of persons in charge (6)

  In other words, the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 obtains the ratio of the post-correction work amount between processes as a value that makes the total equal to the number of persons in charge. In the example of FIG. 6, the total value of the work amount ratios of the processes A to C is a value that can be regarded as being equal to the number of workers 3 although there is an error due to rounding of decimal numbers.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of WIP selected by the pattern selection unit 161. In the figure, patterns 1 to 5 of WIP shown in FIG. 3 are shown. In addition, in FIG. 7, the evaluation value of each pattern calculated by the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 is shown. The pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 calculates the evaluation value of the WIP pattern for each pattern based on Expression (7).
Evaluation value = Σ | WIP−Work amount ratio | (7)

That is, the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 obtains the absolute value of the difference between the WIP (the number of persons assigned to the process in the WIP pattern) and the work amount ratio for each process, and calculates the difference between the obtained differences. By summing the absolute values for the processes, the evaluation value of the WIP pattern is calculated.
In the example of FIG. 7, evaluation values obtained based on the number of workers for each process in each pattern shown in FIG. 7 and the work amount ratio shown in FIG. 6 are shown.
Based on the evaluation value calculated by the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167, the pattern selection unit 161 selects the pattern having the smallest evaluation value as an allocation plan for the process of the person in charge in the next unit period. In the example of FIG. 7, the pattern selection unit 161 selects the pattern 4 having the smallest evaluation value.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an execution status of work according to the WIP pattern selected by the pattern selection unit 161. The values in each column of the period 1 estimate, the values in each column of the period 1 result, and the values in each column of the period 2 estimate in FIG. 5 are all the same as those shown in FIG.
On the other hand, each column of period 2 results shows the results of work in the second unit period (period 2). In the example of FIG. 8, the process A and the process B are executed according to the pattern 4 (FIG. 7) selected by the pattern selection unit 161.

Here, in the period 2, one person in charge is assigned to the process A and two persons in charge are assigned to the process B according to the pattern 4. Thereby, in the period 2, the work of the process B is progressing in particular, and the actual velocity of the process B is 3 + 7 + 4 = 14.
As the work of process B progresses, the executable work amount of process B, which was relatively large at the start of period 2, is reduced at the end of period 2. Specifically, the executable work amounts of the processes A, B, and C were 6, 10, and 3 at the start of the period 2, respectively, while 0, 3, and 19 at the end of the period 2, respectively. It has become.
In this way, by adopting the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100, concentration of executable work in a specific process can be eliminated. In this respect, by adopting the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100, the occurrence of a bottleneck can be avoided or eliminated before the bottleneck becomes large.

Next, the flow of information in the progress management support apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of information flow in the progress management support apparatus 100. The storage unit 130 stores each piece of information shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, the operation input unit 120 receives operation inputs of person-in-charge information, project basic information, and initial work estimate as initial information.

The person-in-charge information is information relating to each person in charge, and includes identification information (person-in-charge ID) for each person in charge and information (step-in-person skill) indicating processes that can be executed by the person in charge.
The basic project information is information related to the basic items of the target project, and is information indicating the length of the unit period (in the example of FIG. 9, the operation time of one day, that is, the work time that the person in charge can execute on one day). including.

  The work estimate is information indicating an estimate of the remaining work amount, and information for specifying a unit period (period ID), identification information for each function (function ID), identification information for each process (process ID), and specification The estimated amount (estimated time) of each work at the start of the given unit period and information (status) indicating the state of each work. As the estimated time and status, the estimated time and status of the work in the process of the function are shown in association with the function ID and the process ID, respectively. The status of the work indicated by the status includes execution impossible (waiting for completion of work in the previous process), execution possible, execution in progress, and execution completion.

The function priority is indicated by, for example, a function ID. For example, an identification number is included in the function ID, and the smaller the identification number, the higher the priority.
Further, the process context is indicated by, for example, a process ID. For example, the process ID includes an identification number, and a smaller identification number indicates an upstream process.
The initial work estimate indicates an estimate of the work amount at the start of the first unit period. Therefore, the initial work estimate includes a period ID indicating the initial unit period.

  The control unit 160 generates the WIP pattern list described with reference to FIG. 3 based on the person-in-charge information. The WIP pattern list includes identification information (WIP pattern ID) of each pattern of WIP, information indicating the number of workers assigned to each process in the pattern (in the example of FIG. 9, each of process A, process B, and process C) Value of WIP).

  Then, the pattern selection unit 161 selects one of the patterns in the WIP pattern list as an allocation plan for the process of the person in charge in the unit period. As described above, the pattern selection unit 161 selects, for example, a WIP pattern at random for the first unit period. In addition, for the second and subsequent unit periods, the pattern selection unit 161 selects a pattern having the smallest evaluation value based on the evaluation value of each pattern.

The next WIP pattern is information indicating the WIP pattern selected by the pattern selection unit 161. The display unit 110 displays the next WIP pattern, and the person in charge executes the work according to the next WIP.
Also, the predicted velocity calculation unit 162 calculates the predicted velocity for each process based on the next WIP pattern and the length of the unit period indicated by the project basic information.

When the unit period expires, the operation input unit 120 receives an input of work results in the unit period. The work achievement is information indicating the amount of work performed per unit time, and includes a period ID, a function ID, a process ID, an actual work time, and a status.
The period ID, function ID, process ID, and status are the same as in the case of work estimation. The work performance time indicates the work amount executed in the unit period specified by the period ID for each work. As the work performance time, the amount of work performed for the work in the process of the function is shown in association with the function ID and the process ID.
The actual velocity calculating unit 163 calculates the actual velocity described with reference to FIG. 6 for each process based on the actual operation results.

In addition, the control unit 160 (for example, the executable work amount estimation unit 164) updates the work estimate based on the work results. Specifically, as described with reference to FIG. 5, the control unit 160 subtracts the amount of work performed from the amount of remaining work at the start of the unit period, and calculates the amount of remaining work when the unit period expires. .
Then, the executable work amount estimation unit 164 calculates the executable work amount described with reference to FIG. 6 for each process based on the work estimate.

Further, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the estimate correction unit 166 calculates a velocity actual rate for each process based on the predicted velocity and the actual velocity, and corrects the executable work amount based on the velocity actual rate. The post-correction work amount is calculated for each process.
Then, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 calculates a work amount ratio between processes based on the corrected work amount.

Further, as described with reference to FIG. 7, the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 calculates the evaluation value of each pattern included in the WIP pattern list based on the work amount ratio. The evaluation value list is a list indicating the evaluation value of each pattern calculated by the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167.
Then, the pattern selection unit 161 selects one of the patterns in the WIP pattern list as an allocation plan for the person in charge in the unit period based on the evaluation value list.

Next, the operation of the progress management support apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure of processing performed by the control unit 160.
In the process of FIG. 5, the control unit 160 acquires initial information by an operation input received by the operation input unit 120 (step S101).
Next, the control unit 160 (for example, the pattern selection unit 161) generates a WIP pattern list based on the person-in-charge information acquired as the initial information (step S102).
Then, the pattern selection unit 161 selects one of the patterns in the WIP pattern list as the WIP pattern in the first unit period (step S103).

Next, the predicted velocity calculation unit 162 calculates the predicted velocity for each process based on the WIP pattern selected by the pattern selection unit 161 in step S103 and the length of the unit period indicated by the initial information (step S111). .
And the control part 160 waits for the operation input part 120 to receive the input of a performance record (step S112).

When the unit period expires and the operation input unit 120 receives an input of work results, the result velocity calculation unit 163 calculates the result velocity for each process based on the work results (step S113).
Then, the estimate correcting unit 166 calculates a velocity actual rate for each process based on the predicted velocity and the actual velocity (step S114).

Further, the executable work amount estimation unit 164 calculates an executable work amount based on the work estimate (step S115).
Then, the estimate correction unit 166 calculates a corrected work amount for which the executable work amount is corrected based on the velocity performance rate obtained in step S114 for each process (step S116).

Next, the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 calculates the work amount ratio between processes based on the corrected work amount (step S117).
Then, the pattern evaluation value calculation unit 167 calculates the evaluation value of each pattern included in the WIP pattern list based on the work amount ratio (step S118).
Then, the pattern selection unit 161 selects one of the patterns as an allocation plan for the person in charge in the next unit period based on the evaluation value of each pattern included in the WIP pattern list (step S119).

Next, the control unit 160 determines whether or not the entire period has ended (step S120). When all work is completed or when the budget of the target project is exhausted, the entire period ends when an event of termination of the target project occurs.
In step S120, when it is determined that the whole period has not ended (step S120: NO), the process returns to step S111, and the process in the next unit period is continued.
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S120 that the entire period has ended (step S120: YES), the processing in FIG. 10 ends.

As described above, the pattern selection unit 161 sets the ratio between processes for predicting the amount of work that can be performed in a unit period among a plurality of patterns assigned to processes of a person in charge in a unit period to an executable state. A pattern that most closely approximates the ratio between processes for estimating the amount of work is selected as an allocation plan.
In this way, by selecting a pattern according to the amount of work in an executable state, the pattern selection unit 161 can select a pattern that eliminates the concentration of executable work in a specific process. In this regard, by adopting the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100, the occurrence of bottlenecks can be avoided or eliminated before the bottlenecks become large, and the inventory of work in progress increases. Can be suppressed.

Further, the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 obtains a ratio (work amount ratio) between processes for estimating the amount of work in an executable state with a value that makes the total equal to the number of persons in charge. And the pattern selection part 161 is the magnitude | size of the difference of the number of persons in charge for every process and the value which the work amount ratio calculation part 165 calculated about the said process among the several patterns of the allocation to the process of the person in charge in a unit period. The pattern having the smallest sum for all processes is selected as an allocation plan.
As a result, the progress management support apparatus 100 calculates, for each process, the magnitude of the difference between the value calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit 165 and the number of persons in charge in each WIP pattern, and the sum for all processes is the smallest. An allocation plan can be selected by a simple process of selecting a pattern.

Further, the estimate correcting unit 166 estimates the amount of work in an executable state for each process (executable work amount) based on the ratio between the estimated amount of work for each process and the actual result (velocity actual rate). To correct. Then, the pattern selection unit 161 selects an allocation plan for the process of the person in charge based on the ratio of the amount of work in an executable state to the estimated process after correction.
Thus, the pattern selection unit 161 can select a more appropriate pattern as the allocation plan by selecting the allocation plan for the person in charge based on the corrected estimate of the work amount. The increase in inventory amount can be further suppressed.

Next, referring to FIGS. 11 to 19, a case where the work is performed based on the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100 and a case where the work is performed based on the pattern are not taken as an example. Compare based on.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of a process that can be executed by a person in charge. In the example of the figure, there are three persons in charge, who are the persons in charge, a, b and c. Neither the person in charge a or b can execute the process B, but can execute the process A or the process C. The person in charge c cannot execute the process C, but can execute the process A and the process B.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a WIP pattern obtained based on processes that can be executed by the person in charge shown in FIG. In the pattern 1 of FIG. 12, the person in charge a, b, and c performs the process A. In pattern 2, the persons in charge a and b execute the process A, and the person in charge c executes the process B. In the pattern 3, either one of the persons in charge a and b and the person in charge c execute the process A, and the other of the persons in charge a and b executes the process C. In the pattern 4, the person in charge c executes the process A, and the persons in charge b and c execute the process C. In the pattern 5, one of the persons in charge a and b executes the process A, the person in charge c executes the process B, and the other of the persons in charge a and b executes the process C. In the pattern 6, the person in charge c executes the process B, and the persons in charge a and b execute the process C.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an execution state of work when the work is performed without being based on the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100. In the example of the figure, an example is shown in which executable work is executed in the order in which execution is possible.
At the start of the period 1, the functions A to 6 of the functions 1 to 6 can be executed. Accordingly, the persons in charge a, b, and c execute the function A step A, the function 2 step A, and the function 3 step A in descending order of priority.

When 3 hours have elapsed since the start of period 1 and person in charge b completes the work in step A of function 2, the person in charge b can execute at the start of period 1 and The work in the process 4 of the function 4 having the highest priority is executed.
Thereby, the estimate of the remaining work amount at the expiration of period 1 (and therefore at the start of period 2) is shown in each column of period 2 estimation.

The person in charge a completes the work in the process 1 of the function 1 at the end of the period 1. In the period 2, the person in charge a first performs the work in the process A of the function 5 that can be executed at the start of the period 1.
The person in charge b completes the work in the process 4 of the function 4 at the end of the period 1, and in the period 2, the work in the process A of the function 6 that can be executed at the start of the period 1 is performed first. Do.
On the other hand, the person in charge c continues the work in the process A of the function 3 performed at the time of the expiration of the function 1 even in the period 2.

When the person in charge a completes the work in the process A of the function 5 after 2 hours have elapsed from the start of the period 2, both the functions A and C that can be executed by the person in charge a can be executed. Not. For this reason, the person in charge a waits for the generation of work that can be performed without performing work.
In addition, when the person in charge b completes the work in the process 6 of the function 6 after 3 hours have elapsed from the start of the period 2, the work in the functions A and C that can be executed by the person in charge b can be executed. It is not. For this reason, the person in charge b waits for the occurrence of work that can be performed without performing work.

Further, the person in charge c who has completed the work in the process 3 of the function 3 after 3 hours have elapsed from the start of the period 2 executes the work in the process B of the function 1 having the highest priority among the work that can be executed. To do.
When 3 hours elapse and the person in charge c completes the work in the process B of the function 1, the work in the process C of the function 1 can be executed. Therefore, the person in charge a performs the work in the process C of the function 1. Further, the person in charge c who has completed the work in the process B of the function 1 executes the work in the process B of the function 2.
Thereby, the estimate of the remaining work amount at the expiration of period 2 (and therefore at the start of period 3) is shown in each column of period 3 estimate.

In the period 3 estimation in FIG. 13, the work in the process A is completed for all the functions 1 to 6. On the other hand, there is no function that has been completed in the process C.
Therefore, all of the functions 1 to 6 are work-in-progress, and there is a great disadvantage when there is a request change. For example, when the specification change occurs in any of the functions 4 to 6 at the start of the period 3, the work of the process A performed for the function may be wasted.

On the other hand, FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an execution state of work when the work is performed based on the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100.
In the period 1 of the example in the figure, the persons in charge a and b are assigned to the process A and the person in charge c is assigned to the process B according to the WIP pattern. In the period 1, the person in charge a performs the work in the process A of the function 1. In addition, the person in charge b performs the work in the process A of the function 2.
On the other hand, at the start of period 1, none of the operations in step B are in an executable state. For this reason, the person in charge c waits for the occurrence of work that can be performed without performing work.

The person in charge b who has completed the work in the process A of the function 2 after 3 hours have elapsed from the start of the period 1 performs the work in the process A of the function 3. Further, when the work in the process 2 of the function 2 is completed, the work in the process B of the function 2 can be executed. Therefore, the person in charge c starts executing the work in the process B of the function 2.
Thereby, the estimate of the remaining work amount at the expiration of period 1 (and therefore at the start of period 2) is shown in each column of period 2 estimation.

In the period 2, the persons in charge a, b, and c are assigned to the processes C, A, and B, respectively. In accordance with this, the person in charge a performs the work in the process C of the function 2 and, when completing the work, performs the work in the process C of the function 1.
In addition, the person in charge b performs the work in the process 3 of the function 3 and, when completing the work, performs the work in the process A of the function 4.

In addition, the person in charge c performs the work in the process B of the function 1 and, when completing the work, waits for the completion of the work in the process A of the function 3 and performs the work in the process B of the function 3.
Thereby, the estimate of the remaining work amount at the expiration of period 2 (and therefore at the start of period 3) is shown in each column of period 3 estimate.
In the period 3 estimation in FIG. 14, both the functions 5 and 6 have not been started, and the function 4 is only performed for one hour.
Therefore, even if there is a request change in any of the functions 4 to 6, the disadvantage is small.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the status of work at the start of period 1 in the example of FIG. As shown in each column of the period 1 estimate in FIG. 13, at the start of the period 1, all the six operations in the process A are in an executable state, and the total estimated amount of work is 29. In addition, none of the operations in the processes B and C are in an executable state, and the total estimated work amounts are 14 and 26, respectively.
14 is the same as that in FIG. 13 at the start of period 1 in the example of FIG. Accordingly, FIG. 15 is also a graph showing the work status at the start of period 1 in the example of FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a graph showing the work status at the time of expiration of period 1 in the example of FIG. As shown in each column of the period 2 estimate in FIG. 13, when the period 1 expires (at the start of the period 2), two of the operations in the process A are in an executable state, and the total estimated amount of work Is 5. Of the work in the process A, the execution is completed for 14 hours, and the work for 3 hours is being executed.

At the start of period 2, three of the operations in process B are in an executable state, and the total estimated amount of work is eight. Of the work in the process B, 6 hours are not executable and 3 hours are being executed.
In addition, at the start of the period 2, any work in the process C is in an inexecutable state, and the total work amount estimate is 16.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing the work status when the period 2 in the example of FIG. 13 expires. As shown in each column of the period 3 estimate in FIG. 13, when the period 2 expires (at the start of the period 3), all the operations in the process A are completed, and the total estimated amount is 29. Yes.
In addition, at the start of period 3, four of the operations in process B are in an executable state, and the total estimated amount of work is 10. Further, of the work in step B, execution is completed for 4 hours.
At the start of period 3, one of the operations in process C is in an executable state, and the total estimated work amount is 3. Of the work in the process B, 13 hours cannot be executed, and 9 hours are being executed.

  The numbers of operations that can be performed in the process B are 0, 3, and 6 in FIGS. 15, 16, and 17, respectively. In this way, in the example of FIG. 13, the work that can be performed is concentrated in the process B, and the process B is a bottleneck.

  FIG. 18 is a graph showing the work status at the time of expiration of period 1 in the example of FIG. As shown in each column of the period 2 estimate in FIG. 14, when the period 1 expires (at the start of the period 2), three of the operations in the process A are in an executable state, and the total estimated amount of work Is 9. Of the work in the process A, 10 hours have been completed and 6 hours are being executed.

At the start of period 2, one of the operations in process B is in an executable state, and the total estimated amount of work is 3. Of the work in the process B, execution is completed for 1 hour, and execution for 10 hours is impossible.
Further, at the start of the period 2, one of the operations in the process C is in an executable state, and the total estimated work amount is 3. Of the work in process C, 23 hours cannot be executed.

  FIG. 19 is a graph showing the work status at the end of period 2 in the example of FIG. As shown in each column of the period 3 estimate in FIG. 14, when the period 2 expires (at the start of the period 3), two of the operations in the process A are in an executable state, and the total estimated amount is 5 It has become. Of the work in the process A, 10 hours have been executed, and 3 hours are being executed.

In addition, at the start of period 3, there is no work that can be performed among the work in process B. Further, among the operations in the process B, execution is completed for 4 hours, execution for 7 hours is impossible, and execution for 2 hours is in progress.
In addition, at the start of period 3, there is no work that can be performed among the work in process B. Of the work in the process B, execution for 3 hours is completed, execution for 13 hours is impossible, and execution for 6 hours is in progress.

Unlike the example of FIG. 13, in the example of FIG. 14, the number of work that can be performed is concentrated only in the process A in the initial state (at the start of the period 1). In this regard, no bottleneck has occurred in the example of FIG.
As described above, the bottleneck is generated in the example in which the work is performed based on the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100, whereas the work based on the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100 is performed. No bottleneck has occurred in the example. That is, by following the WIP pattern proposed by the progress management support apparatus 100, the occurrence of bottlenecks is suppressed.

Note that when the past project and the person in charge are the same, the actual velocity may be calculated using the data in the past project. This point will be described with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21. FIG.
FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the actual velocity calculated by the actual velocity calculating unit 163 using data in the past project.

In the example of FIG. 4, WIP (initial WIP) in the first unit period is selected at random from, for example, a WIP pattern list, as in the case of FIG.
In addition, the past average result is obtained by dividing the actual velocity in the past project by the number of persons in charge assigned to the process for each process. That is, the actual velocity calculating unit 163 calculates the past average actual result based on the equation (8).
Past average result = Past result velocity / Number of persons in charge (8)

For example, the actual velocity in the past project is 14, 7, and 0 for the processes A, B, and C, respectively, and the number of persons in charge assigned to the processes A, B, and C is 2, 1, and 0, respectively. In the case of a person, the past average results are as shown in FIG.
When there are a plurality of actual velocities in the past project, the actual velocity calculating unit 163 may calculate a past average actual result based on the latest actual velocity. Alternatively, the actual velocity calculation unit 163 may calculate the past average results for each of the actual velocities in the past projects, and take the average of the obtained past average results.

In each column of actual velocity, actual velocity in the first unit period of this project is shown.
Further, the next average performance is obtained by taking the average of the value obtained by dividing the performance velocity in the current project by the number of persons in charge assigned to the process and the past average performance for each process. That is, the actual velocity calculating unit 163 calculates the next average actual result based on the equation (9).
Next term average result = (Past average result + Result velocity / WIP) / 2 (9)

The actual velocity calculating unit 163 calculates the actual velocity rate by dividing the next average actual result by the length of the unit period for each process. That is, the actual velocity calculating unit 163 calculates the actual velocity rate based on the equation (10) instead of the equation (3).
Velocity performance rate = next average performance / length of unit period (10)
The method for obtaining the actual work amount, the post-correction work amount, and the work amount ratio is the same as in FIG.

  FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of WIP selected by the pattern selection unit 161 based on the work amount ratio obtained in FIG. The method of calculating the evaluation value of the WIP pattern shown in FIG. 21 is the same as that in FIG. In addition, the method by which the pattern selection unit 161 selects a WIP pattern based on the evaluation value is the same as in the case of FIG.

  When the estimate correcting unit 166 calculates the velocity result rate, the result velocity calculating unit 163 updates the value of the past average result to the value of the next average result. Thereby, the estimate correction unit 166 newly calculates the next average result by using the value of the next average result calculated in the current unit period as the value of the past average result in the next unit period.

As described above, the estimate correcting unit 166 corrects the estimate of the amount of work in an executable state for each process (executable work amount) based on the results of the amount of work for each process in a plurality of unit periods. To do.
As a result, the pattern selection unit 161 can select the WIP pattern stably by reducing the influence of temporary fluctuation factors, such as when the person in charge has processed an urgent task and could not work temporarily. can do.

Note that a program for realizing all or part of the functions of the progress management support apparatus 100 is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into a computer system and executed. You may process each part by. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
Further, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) if a WWW system is used.
The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a compact disk, and a storage device such as a hard disk built in the computer system. Furthermore, the “computer-readable recording medium” dynamically holds a program for a short time like a communication line when transmitting a program via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In this case, a volatile memory in a computer system serving as a server or a client in that case, and a program that holds a program for a certain period of time are also included. The program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above, and may be a program capable of realizing the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded in a computer system.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes design changes and the like within a scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Progress management support apparatus 110 Display part 120 Operation input part 130 Storage part 160 Control part 161 Pattern selection part 162 Predictive velocity calculation part 163 Actual velocity calculation part 164 Executable work amount estimation part 165 Work amount ratio calculation part 166 Estimation correction part 167 Pattern evaluation value calculator

Claims (6)

The entire work is divided into a plurality of parts, and a process of a person in charge in a predetermined unit period for a plurality of persons in charge of a project in which a plurality of processes executed in a predetermined order are included in each part. A progress management device that outputs an allocation plan to
Among a plurality patterns of allocation to personnel step in the unit period, the ratio between the prediction step of the amount of work that can be done for each pattern of the allocation definitive in the unit period, the at the start of the unit period Progress comprising a pattern selection unit that selects, as the allocation plan, a pattern that most closely approximates the ratio between processes for estimating the amount of work that can be executed when the predetermined order is maintained Management support device. A work amount ratio calculation unit for obtaining a ratio between processes for estimating the amount of work in an executable state, which is obtained by a value in which the total is equal to the number of persons in charge,
The pattern selection unit is a size of a difference between the number of persons in charge for each process and a value calculated by the work amount ratio calculation unit for the process among a plurality of patterns of allocation of the person in charge to the process in the unit period. The progress management support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pattern having the smallest sum for all processes is selected as the allocation plan. An estimate correction unit that corrects the estimate of the amount of work in an executable state for each process based on the ratio between the estimate of the amount of work in the process and the actual amount of work in the unit during the unit period Comprising
The said pattern selection part selects the said allocation plan based on ratio between the processes of estimation of the quantity of the work in the said executable state after correction, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Progress management support device.   The estimate correction unit divides the estimate of the amount of work in the executable state for each process by the velocity actual product ratio indicating the ratio of the actually performed work amount to the predicted work amount. The progress management support apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the estimate is corrected. The entire work is divided into a plurality of parts, and a process of a person in charge in a predetermined unit period for a plurality of persons in charge of a project in which a plurality of processes executed in a predetermined order are included in each part. A progress management method of a progress management device that outputs an allocation plan to
Among a plurality patterns of allocation to personnel step in the unit period, the ratio between the prediction step of the amount of work that can be done for each pattern of the allocation definitive in the unit period, the at the start of the unit period A progress comprising a pattern selection step of selecting, as the allocation plan, a pattern that most closely approximates the ratio between the steps of estimating the amount of work that can be executed when the predetermined order is maintained Management support method. The entire work is divided into a plurality of parts, and a process of a person in charge in a predetermined unit period for a plurality of persons in charge of a project in which a plurality of processes executed in a predetermined order are included in each part. To the computer as the progress management device that outputs the allocation plan to
Among a plurality patterns of allocation to personnel step in the unit period, the ratio between the prediction step of the amount of viable tasks for each pattern of the allocation definitive in the unit period, the at the start of the unit period A program for executing a pattern selection step of selecting, as the allocation plan, a pattern that most closely approximates the ratio between processes for estimating the amount of work that can be executed when a predetermined order is maintained .

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