System and method for integrating projects events with personal calendar and scheduling clients

• US 20040143472A1
• Filed: 01/22/2003
• Published: 07/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Shalabi, Sami M., Hill, Charles R., Estrada, Antonio
• Granted Patent: US 7,584,114 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063118 Staff planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06314 Calendaring for a resource
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system for integrating project events with personal calendar and scheduling clients, includes a first server including a place database having a member profiles database and an events database; a place server, and an email transport facility including an email application; a client including a calendar and scheduling program; the member profiles database being responsive to member input for storing member subscriptions to the calendar and scheduling program; the place server responsive to said email transport facility receiving a create, update, or delete event from a member of the place database for creating in the events database a project event; the place server responsive to a create, update, or delete event for determining from the member profiles database those members subscribing to each of a plurality of calendar and scheduling programs; said place server further for sending to each member subscribing to a calendar and scheduling program an email notification of the project event personalized to the calendar and scheduling program to which the member has subscribed.

Claims

1. A method for integrating project events with personal calendar and scheduling clients, comprising:

establishing a project calendar;

establishing a personal calendar for a member of said project;

receiving into a member profile indicia indicative of whether to send events published on said project calendar to said personal calendar;

receiving into said member profile indicia indicative of a calendar and scheduling format used by said member for said personal calendar; and

responsive to creation of an event in said project calendar, forwarding said event to said personal calendar of said member in said format.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating a place server for establishing and maintaining said project calendar;

displaying to said member a list of calendar and scheduling program formats for selection of said indicia, said list being controlled through a setting in a configuration file for said place server.

3. The method of claim 2, said configuration file being an XML configuration file.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from a user scheduling a project event indicia indicative of whether to forward said project event to members subscribing to calendar and scheduling applications.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

forwarding said project event to users who have set their member profile to receive in their calendar and scheduling client calendar events from said project.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

further responsive to creation of said event in said project calendar, determining from said member profile those members subscribing to receive calendar events;

for each said subscribing member, determining from said member profile said format; and

for each said format, generating and distributing email notifications in said format to members subscribing to said format.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

managing calendar integration at whole server, place by place, and room by room levels by forwarding said project event for a room within a place within a server only when calendar integration is enabled with respect to said server, said place, and said room.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

synchronizing project events to personal calendars of members joining a place or changing their subscription options.

9. A method for integrating project events with personal calendar and scheduling clients, comprising:

selectively creating, updating, or moving a project calendar event;

determining if calendar integration is enabled at server level, at place level, and at room level

responsive to calendar integration not being enabled at said server, place and room levels, terminating calendar integration with respect to said project calendar event;

otherwise

determining from member calendar subscriptions those members subscribing to each of a plurality of calendar and scheduling formats;

preparing for each said plurality of formats to which at least one member has subscribed an attachment in said format describing said project calendar event; and

sending to each said subscribing member an email notification of said project calendar event including said attachment in said format to which said member has subscribed.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

selectively enabling and disabling calendar integration at said sever level by way of an administration scene of said server;

selectively enabling and disabling calendar integration at said place level by way of an place change-basics option; and

selectively enabling and disabling calendar integration for a calendar of a specific room by way of a calendar folder option.

11. A system for integrating project events with personal calendar and scheduling clients, comprising:

a first server including a place database having a member profiles database and an events database;

a place server, and an email transport facility including an email application;

a client including a calendar and scheduling program;

said member profiles database being responsive to member input for storing member subscriptions to said calendar and scheduling program;

said place server responsive to said email transport facility receiving a create, update, or delete event from a member of said place database for creating in said events database for said place database a project event;

said place server responsive to said create, update, or delete event for determining from said member profiles database those members subscribing to each of a plurality of said calendar and scheduling programs;

said place server further for sending to each member subscribing to a calendar and scheduling program an email notification of said project event personalized to said calendar and scheduling program to which said member has subscribed.

12. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for integrating project events with personal calendar and scheduling clients, said method comprising:

establishing a project calendar;

establishing a personal calendar for a member of said project;

receiving into a member profile indicia indicative of whether to send events published on said project calendar to said personal calendar;

receiving into said member profile indicia indicative of a calendar and scheduling format used by said member for said personal calendar; and

responsive to creation of an event in said project calendar, forwarding said event to said personal calendar of said member in said format.

13. The program storage device of claim 12, said method further comprising:

operating a place server for establishing and maintaining said project calendar;

displaying to said member a list of calendar and scheduling program formats for selection of said indicia, said list being controlled through a setting in a configuration file for said place server.

14. The program storage device of claim 13, said configuration file being an XML configuration file.

15. The program storage device of claim 12, said method further comprising:

receiving from a user scheduling a project event indicia indicative of whether to forward said project event to members subscribing to calendar and scheduling applications.

16. The program storage device of claim 15, said method further comprising:

forwarding said project event to users who have set their member profile to receive in their calendar and scheduling client calendar events from said project.

17. The program storage device of claim 12, said method further comprising:

further responsive to creation of said event in said project calendar, determining from said member profile those members subscribing to receive calendar events;

for each said subscribing member, determining from said member profile said format; and

for each said format, generating and distributing email notifications in said format to members subscribing to said format.

18. The program storage device of claim 12, said method further comprising:

managing calendar integration at whole server, place by place, and room by room levels by forwarding said project event for a room within a place within a server only when calendar integration is enabled with respect to said server, said place, and said room.

19. The program storage device of claim 12, said method further comprising:

synchronizing project events to personal calendars of members joining a place or changing their subscription options.

20. A computer program product for integrating project events with personal calendar and scheduling clients according to the method comprising:

establishing a project calendar;

establishing a personal calendar for a member of said project;

receiving into a member profile indicia indicative of whether to send events published on said project calendar to said personal calendar;

receiving into said member profile indicia indicative of a calendar and scheduling format used by said member for said personal calendar; and

responsive to creation of an event in said project calendar, forwarding said event to said personal calendar of said member in said format.