Editing and Validating a Schedule

Once a schedule is generated, you might need to make last-minute adjustments due to sick calls, special requests, or other unforeseen events. AI Shift Planner’s Edit & Validate feature gives you the flexibility to make manual changes and the confidence to know they haven’t broken any of your original rules.

Note

The interactive editing and validation feature is currently available exclusively in Google Sheets™.

The Edit & Validate Workflow

This powerful workflow allows you to refine your schedule with precision, combining manual control with AI-powered verification.

1. Launch the Validator

   From the AI Shift Planner sidebar in Google Sheets™, click the Edit & Validate Schedule button. This will open the validation modal.

2. Load Your Schedule

   The modal will ask you to select the sheet that contains your original scheduling instructions. It will auto-detect the active sheet, but you can choose any sheet from the dropdown menu. Click Load Schedule to proceed.

3. Edit with Drag-and-Drop

   The editor displays your schedule in an interactive grid. Simply drag and drop employee names between different time slots to make changes. As you edit, the Employee Statistics panel updates in real-time, showing you the impact on workload distribution.

4. Run Validation

   Once you’ve made your edits, click the Validate Schedule button. The AI will perform a comprehensive check, comparing the current state of your schedule against every rule and constraint from your original instruction sheet.

5. Review the Results

   The AI will provide a clear report of its findings. You will see one of three outcomes:

   • ✅ Schedule is Valid: Congratulations! Your manual changes respect all the original rules. You can now confidently save the schedule.

   • ⚠️ Schedule Has Warnings: The AI found non-critical issues. The schedule is technically valid, but there might be minor imbalances or deviations from soft preferences you should review.

   • ❌ Schedule Has Validation Errors: Your changes have violated one or more of your original rules. The modal will display a detailed list of every conflict. Clicking on an error will highlight the exact cell in the schedule grid that needs attention, making it easy to find and fix the problem.

6. Save Your Changes

   After fixing any errors and achieving a valid state, click Save Changes. Your manually edited and fully validated schedule will be written back to your Google Sheet. If you want to discard your edits, simply click Revert Changes.

---

When to Use Edit & Validate

This feature is perfect for handling the day-to-day realities of managing a schedule.

Handling Sick Calls

An employee calls in sick. Quickly drag another available employee into their shift, then click Validate to ensure the swap doesn’t cause a new issue, like giving the replacement too many consecutive work days.

Accommodating Requests

Two employees ask to swap shifts. Make the change manually in the editor and run the validation to confirm the new arrangement doesn’t violate any skill requirements or workload limits.

Fine-Tuning the AI

The AI-generated schedule is 99% perfect, but you want to make a small tweak based on your personal experience. Make the adjustment and use the validator to guarantee your change maintains the overall integrity of the schedule.