The significance of rota representation in the design of rotas

摘要

Shifts scheduling is based on some representation of shift schedules. The number of different representations currently used is high, and one might expect small practical differences between these representations. However, an analysis of several prominent representations revealed strong differences regarding possible outcomes of the scheduling process and the effort needed for their assessment. Limitations of some representations do not only concern specific rota design issues, such as different staffing levels or different workhours, but also rather simple and straightforward rotas. Furthermore, there is no single representation that is strictly and unequivocally better than the others.