The typical process of planning and scheduling a rotating workforce in an o
rganization consists in designing shifts and then assigning employees to th
ese shifts and to periods of rest (days-off). Successfully solving these pr
oblems has high practical relevance: Results from ergonomics indicate that
shift schedules have a profound impact on the health and satisfaction of em
ployees as well as on their performance at work. The solutions must also sa
tisfy legal requirements and should meet the objectives of the employing or
ganization. In the research project Rota, undertaken by the Database and Ar
tificial Intelligence Group at the Vienna University of Technology in coope
ration with Ximes Corp., systems for the design of shifts and assignment of
employees to shifts and days-off were developed. We give an overview of th
ese systems.