A set of defining guidelines, referred to as a schema, can be used to
create, append, or merge a work management file. The data for the work
management file can be received from files made with different
application programs, such as spreadsheet or database software. The
schema can be configured in extensible markup language (XML). The schema
can reside in memory or it can reside in a file. The schema can be used
with serializers that retrieve data from files that may have not been
created by a work management program in order to retrieve a work
management file. A scheduling engine that includes rules can resolve any
work management conflicts that may exist in the data after it has been
validated with the schema.