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.