TimeSimplicity & Other Product Ideas

The purpose of this idea is to increase the speed at which users can key in a schedule to the basic TWP scheduler and augment the logic of the tabbing sequence already in place.

When creating employee schedules, you have the option to add multiple blocks of time for each day.  For example, you may create a weekly schedule with two blocks of time each day so you can designate a lunch period.  Assuming a shift of 8am-4:30pm, that would mean the first block of time would be 8:00am-12:00pm and the second block of time would be 12:30pm-4:30pm.

When you're entering the schedules for the employees, you are typically entering each day one at a time.  So it would make sense for the tabbing sequence to follow this pattern:

Day 1, In Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 1, Out Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 1, In Time, Block #2
<tab>
Day 1, Out Time, Block #2
<tab>
Day 2, In Time, Block #1
etc.

However, the tabbing doesn't take you through one day at a time.  Rather, it takes you through one block at a time for the entire week, then moves to the second block for the entire week, following this pattern:

Day 1, In Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 1, Out Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 2, In Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 2, Out Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 3, In Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 3, Out Time, Block #1
<...>
Day 7, In Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 7, Out Time, Block #1
<tab>
Day 1, In Time, Block #2
<tab>
Day 1, Out Time, Block #2
<...>
Day 7, Out Time, Block #2
<tab>
Day 7, Out Time, Block #2

This sequencing makes no sense because employers don't key in schedules half a shift at a time, rather they key them in one day at a time.  So if the tabbing sequence addressed one day at a time vs. one block at a time, the input would be much easier and intuitive.

Customers already inherently expect this type of tabbing sequence when they go to use the TWP scheduler so implementing it for them would be meeting expectations that existed by virtue of common sense and reflect TWP as that much more logical in its functionality.