A study of workforce management

Abstract

The purpose of this master thesis is to examine the domain of workforce management of mobile workforces. A market inventory of workforce management systems and case studies of how workforce management is practiced have been made. The observations from these studies have been used to develop a number of design implications for the workforce management module in the Ericsson Trouble Management solution. A subset of the design implications have been implemented in the Ericsson workforce management module. A key function in a workforce management system should be to relieve the pressure of the workforce manager. The case study shows that the prerequisite for well functioning mobile workforce management is a good technical infrastructure for both the workforce manager and members of the workforce. Essential functions of a workforce management system are to support the mobile workforce and the workforce administrator in two way communication. This will make reporting of accomplished tasks directly to the system possible instead of via the workforce administrator. In addition to these aspects the market inventory points out a number of features that exists in other workforce management systems. Some of the features presented are; automatic scheduling, future planning, schedule optimization, mobility support and technician workload presentation.