User Guide

Introduction

FastScheduler (FS) is a desktop app for restaurant managers to schedule employees for work, optimised for use via a Command Line Interface (CLI) while still having the benefits of a Graphical User Interface (GUI). If you can type fast and prefer typing, FS can help you manage the schedules of employees and shifts faster than traditional GUI apps.

Quick Start

  1. Ensure you have Java 11 or above installed on your computer.
  2. Download the latest FastScheduler.jar here.
  3. Copy the file to the folder you want to use as the home folder for your FastScheduler APP.
  4. Double-click the file to start the APP.

Features

Add an employee: add employee

Adds an employee to the restaurant’s database

Step 1: add employee
System feedback: enter Employee name
Step 2: employee_name (eg. Tom)
System feedback: Employee added

Add new employee’s schedules: add schedule

Adds the employees schedule to the restaurant’s database (A valid schedule has the following restrictions: Year is between 2021 and 2099. Month is between 1 and 12. Day is between 1 and 31)

Step 1: add schedule
System feedback: enter Employee name
Step 2: employee_name (eg. Tom)
System feedback: enter Employee schedule
Step 3: dd/mm/yyyy (eg. 28/08/2021)
System feedback: schedule added

Drop existing employee’s schedules: drop schedule

Drops existing employee’s schedule from the restaurant’s database

Step 1: drop schedule
System feedback: enter Employee name
Step 2: employee_name (eg. Tom)
System feedback: enter Employee schedule
Step 3: dd/mm/yyyy (eg. 28/08/2021)
System feedback: schedule dropped

Add a shift: add shift

Adds a shift to the restaurant’s database.

Each shift consists of the employees on a shift, shift date, shift index and vacancy (number of slots remaining).

A valid shift date has the following restrictions: Year is between 2021 and 2099. Month is between 1 and 12. Day is between 1 and 31.

Each shift represents a 4-hour block and there are 6 shift indexes from 1 to 6, meaning there are 6 shifts in a day, where shift index 1 represents 0000h to 0400h, shift index 2 represents 0400h to 0800h, etc.

Step 1: add shift
System feedback: Enter Shift date (in dd/MM/yyyy):
Step 2: dd/MM/yyyy (e.g. 28/08/2021)
System feedback: Enter Shift index:
Step 3: shift_index (e.g. 3)
System feedback: Enter Vacancy:
Step 4: vacancy (e.g. 1)
System feedback: Enter an employee name to assign to this shift:
Step 5: employee_name (e.g. Tom)
System feedback: Employee Tom is available to work!
System feedback: Employee Tom is successfully assigned to this shift.
System feedback: Shift created.

Assign employees to shift: assign employee

Assigns an employee who is available according to schedule to a stipulated shift.

Step 1: assign employee
System feedback: Enter Shift date (in dd/MM/yyyy):
Step 2: dd/MM/yyyy (e.g. 28/08/2021)
System feedback: Enter Shift index:
Step 3: shift_index (e.g. 3)
System feedback: Enter an employee name to assign:
Step 4: employee_name (e.g. Tom)
System feedback: Employee Tom is available to work!
System feedback: Employee Tom is successfully assigned to this shift.

Unassign employees from an assigned shift: unassign employee

Unassign a specific employee from a shift he was assigned to

Step 1: unassign employee
System feedback: Enter Shift date (in dd/MM/yyyy):
Step 2: dd/MM/yyyy (e.g. 28/08/2021)
System feedback: Enter Shift index:
Step 3: shift_index (e.g. 3)
System feedback: Enter an employee name to unassign:
Step 4: employee_name (e.g. Tom)
System feedback: Employee Tom is successfully unassigned from this shift.

View employee’s schedule: view employee schedule

Views a specific employee’s schedules

Step 1: view employee schedule
System feedback: enter Employee name
Step 2: employee_name (e.g. Tom)
System feedback: employee_schedule(e.g. 21/05/2021)

View employees assigned for a particular shift: view one shift

View all the employee names who are assigned for a particular shift

Step 1: view one shift
System feedback: Enter Shift date (in dd/MM/yyyy):
Step 2: shift_index (e.g. 1)
System feedback: The people assigned ot the shift are: (employee_names e.g. Tom, Jerry)

View restaurant’s shift schedule: view shift status

View the restaurant’s shift schedule for the current week

Step 1: view shift status
System feedback:
On 21/05/2021 shift index 1, the employees on shift are: (employee_names e.g. Tom, Jerry)
Vacancy left: (vacancy e.g. 3)

View list of all employees: list

View the list of all employees in the restaurant

System feedback:
Here is the employee list:
1) (employee 1 name)
2) (employee 2 name)

View list of commands: help

View the list of commands for the application

Format: help

Close application and save state: quit

Closes the application and saves the state of employees and shifts into 2 separate text files

Format: quit

FAQ

Q: What is the difference between schedule and shift?

A: Schedule belongs to the employee, i.e. employee’s availability. Shift refers to the restaurant’s work shifts.

Q: What is shift index?

A: Shift index refers to a 4-hour block on a particular shift date. Shift index can be integer values 1 to 6, where 1 refers to 4-hour block from 0000 to 0400, 2 refers to 4-hour block from 0400 to 0800 and etc.

Command Summary