Job allocation method for document production

A system for processing a plurality of print jobs in a document production environment, the system comprising;

• a plurality of autonomous cells, wherein each autonomous cell is configured to process print jobs, wherein each autonomous cell comprises one or more resources;
• and
• a print job workflow management system configured to:
• for each of a plurality of print jobs:
• determine a number of feasible routes for processing the print job, wherein each feasible route comprises at least one resource in at least one of the plurality of autonomous cells,
• for each feasible route, determine a job processing time comprising an amount of time required to process the print job via the feasible route, and
• assign the print job to a first feasible route,
• determine a first value for an objective function based on a total processing time for each autonomous cell to process each print job assigned to the autonomous cell,
• select a print job based on the number of feasible routes for each print job.
• select a second feasible route for the selected print job based on the job processing time for each feasible route for the selected print job,
• determine a second value for the objective unction based on the total processing time for each autonomous cell to process each print job assigned to the autonomous cell including the second feasible route, and
• if the second value is less than a third value:
• reassign the selected print job to the second feasible route, and
• replace the first value with the second value,
• wherein the print job workflow management system is configured to perform at least said selecting a print job, said selecting a second feasible route, and said determining a second value a plurality of times for each of the plurality of print jobs.

A computer-implemented method of processing a plurality of print jobs, the method comprising:

• for each of the plurality of print jobs, assigning a first feasible route selected from a plurality of feasible routes, wherein each of the plurality of feasible routes comprises at least one resource in at least one of a plurality of autonomous cells, wherein each of the plurality of autonomous cells comprises one or more resources,
• determining a first value for an objective function based on a total processing time for each of the plurality of autonomous cells to process each print job assigned to the autonomous cell;
• selecting one of the plurality of print jobs based on the number of feasible routes for each of the plurality of print jobs;
• selecting a second feasible route for the selected print job based on the job processing time for each feasible route for the selected print job;
• determining a second value for the objective function based on the total processing time for each autonomous cell to process each print job assigned to the autonomous cell including the second feasible route,
• if the second value is less than a third value:
• reassigning the selected print job to the second feasible route, and
• replacing the first value with the second value;
• and
• processing the plurality of print jobs based on the assigned feasible routes.