Event triggered notifications for collaborative processes

• US 10,320,858 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2018
• Issued: 06/11/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Barber-Mingo, Cynthia E., Denne, Arno, Harpur, Liam S., Kennedy, John, Prendergast, Paula
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Michael C
• Application Number:
  US15/967,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20180248922A1
• Time in Patent Office: 406 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference

Abstract

Notifications related to activity associated with a collaborative process are propagated to an originator to alert the originator of activity on the collaborative process. A collaborative process server receives an indication that the originator has initiated a collaborative process that generates collaborative content to be tracked. The collaborative process server is utilized to share the collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient. Computer implemented event(s) associated with the shared collaborative content by recipients are detected. Information associated with the collaborative process is automatically transformed in response to detected event(s) associated with the shared collaborative content, wherein a notification of the occurrence of the event(s) is propagated to the originator. The notification is generated in response to detected event(s) and is based upon the transformed information. Propagating the notification can include evaluating a rule to determine a when or how the notification is propagated.

Claims

1. A method of tracking a collaborative process and propagating a notification of an occurrence of an event to an originator comprising:

receiving at a collaborative process server computer coupled to a network environment, an indication that an originator has initiated, with a first collaborative process application, a computer implemented collaborative process that generates collaborative content associated with the collaborative process;

obtaining by the collaborative process server computer, a designation that events associated with the initiated collaborative process are to be tracked;

sharing the generated collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient;

obtaining by the collaborative process server computer, information identifying the occurrence of at least one computer detectable event associated with the shared generated collaborative content other than a communication from any recipient back to the originator;

automatically transforming information associated with the collaborative process in response to at least one detected event associated with the shared generated collaborative content; and

propagating a notification to the originator that informs the originator of the at least one detected event, wherein the notification is generated in response to the at least one detected event and is based upon the transformed information;

wherein;

sharing the generated collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient further comprises;

providing a notice to at least one recipient that events are being tracked to send notifications to the originator, and

providing each recipient that receives the notice with an option to enable sending notifications or disable sending notifications; and

propagating a notification to the originator further comprises;

refraining from propagating the notification when the at least one detected event is associated with a recipient that received the notice and that indicated the option to disable sending notifications, and

evaluating at least one rule to determine at least one of when or how, the notification is propagated to the originator.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the originator, by the collaborative process server computer, the at least one rule.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule specifies a delivery format for the notification.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule specifies a delivery address for the notification.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule limits an amount of notifications received over a given period of time.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule specifies propagating the notification to the originator only within a certain time period after receiving the indication that the originator initiated the computer implemented collaborative process.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule specifies receiving the notification only during certain hours of a day.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule specifies varying a delivery address of the notification based on a time of day the notification is generated.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule specifies varying a delivery format of the notification based on a time of day the notification is generated.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one rule is selected by the originator based on the at least one recipient.

11. A collaborative process server computer comprising:

a memory device storing executable code; and

a processor in communication with the memory device, wherein the executable code, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to;

receive at the collaborative process server computer, an indication that an originator has initiated, with a first collaborative process application, a computer implemented collaborative process that generates collaborative content associated with the collaborative process;

obtain by the collaborative process server computer, a designation that events associated with the initiated collaborative process are to be tracked;

share the generated collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient;

obtain by the collaborative process server computer, information identifying the occurrence of at least one computer detectable event associated with the shared generated collaborative content other than a communication from any recipient back to the originator;

automatically transform information associated with the collaborative process in response to at least one detected event associated with the shared generated collaborative content; and

propagate a notification to the originator that informs the originator of the at least one detected event, wherein the notification is generated in response to the at least one detected event and is based upon the transformed information;

wherein;

sharing the generated collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient further comprises;

providing a notice to at least one recipient that events are being tracked to send notifications to the originator, and

providing each recipient that receives the notice with an option to enable sending notifications or disable sending notifications; and

propagating the notification to the originator further comprises;

refraining from propagating the notification when the at least one detected event is associated with a recipient that received the notice and that indicated the option to disable sending notifications, and

evaluating at least one rule to determine at least one of when or how, the notification is propagated to the originator.

12. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule specifies a delivery format for the notification.

13. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule specifies a delivery address for the notification.

14. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule limits an amount of notifications received over a given period of time.

15. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule specifies propagating the notification to the originator only within a certain time period after receiving the indication that the originator initiated the computer implemented collaborative process.

16. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule specifies receiving the notification only during certain hours of a day.

17. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule specifies varying a delivery address of the notification based on a time of day the notification is generated.

18. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule specifies varying a delivery format of the notification based on a time of day the notification is generated.

19. The collaborative process server computer of claim 11, wherein the at least one rule is selected by the originator based on the at least one recipient.

20. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon, the program code executable by a data processing system to initiate operations including;

receiving at a collaborative process server computer coupled to a network environment, an indication that an originator has initiated, with a first collaborative process application, a computer implemented collaborative process that generates collaborative content associated with the collaborative process;

obtaining by the collaborative process server computer, a designation that events associated with the initiated collaborative process are to be tracked;

sharing the generated collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient;

obtaining by the collaborative process server computer, information identifying the occurrence of at least one computer detectable event associated with the shared generated collaborative content other than a communication from any recipient back to the originator;

automatically transforming information associated with the collaborative process in response to at least one detected event associated with the shared generated collaborative content; and

propagating a notification to the originator that informs the originator of the at least one detected event, wherein the notification is generated in response to the at least one detected event and is based upon the transformed information;

wherein;

sharing the generated collaborative content associated with the collaborative process with at least one recipient further comprises;

providing a notice to at least one recipient that events are being tracked to send notifications to the originator, and

providing each recipient that receives the notice with an option to enable sending notifications or disable sending notifications; and

propagating a notification to the originator further comprises;

refraining from propagating the notification when the at least one detected event is associated with a recipient that received the notice and that indicated the option to disable sending notifications, and

evaluating at least one rule to determine at least one of when or how, the notification is propagated to the originator.