Graphical user interface for a virtual team environment

• US 20060117264A1
• Filed: 01/17/2006
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bell Canada (BCE Incorporated), Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bell Canada (BCE Incorporated), Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Thompson, Christopher, Romaniuk, Roman, Liversidge, Douglas E., Williams, L. Lloyd, Grossner, Clifford P., Beaton, Brian F., Fortier, Stephane F., Bouchard, Jean J., Smith, Colin D.R., Zdralek, James F
• Granted Patent: US 7,516,411 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A collaboration services suite is adapted to support a plurality of integrated telecommunications services accessed by geographically dispersed team members using a virtual team environment (VTE) client that generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for each of the respective team members. Communications sessions are automatically set up by the collaboration services suite in response to request messages generated by the VTE client when a team member initiates a communications session request using the GUI. Team members require no knowledge of another team member'"'"'s communications device address in order to initiate a communications session. The collaboration services suite includes a VTE server that communicates with the VTE clients, a presence engine that collects and maintains a status of communications devices specified in a current profile of the team member; and, a call server for handling setup and control of a voice component of each communications session completed.

Claims

1. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) adapted to facilitate collaboration between a team member and other members of a geographically dispersed team, the GUI comprising:

means for accessing respective preference and presence information concerning each member of the team maintained by a persistent collaboration services suite;

a first graphical display including a representation of the preference and presence information respecting each of the other members of the team; and

means for initiating a selected one of a plurality of types of communications with at least one other member of the team over at least a Switched Telephone Network (STN).

2. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, wherein the types of communications comprise:

1-way messaging;

2-way messaging;

voice; and

multi-media.

3. A GUI as claimed in claim 2, wherein 1-way messaging comprises one or more of paging, and e-mail.

4. A GUI as claimed in claim 2, wherein 2-way messaging comprises instant messaging (IM).

5. A GUI as claimed in claim 2, wherein multi-media communications comprises one or more of:

document sharing;

application sharing;

1-way video conferencing; and

2-way video conferencing.

6. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for enabling the team member to interact with the persistent collaborative collaboration services suite to update at least the preference information respecting the team member.

7. A GUI as claimed in claim 6, wherein the preference information comprises information identifying a communications device selected by the team member as a preferred communications device for participation in the respective one of the plurality of types of communications.

8. A GUI as claimed in claim 6, wherein the preference information comprises an indication that the team member does not wish to participate in the respective one of the plurality of types of communications.

9. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, wherein an instance of the GUI is implemented for each member of the team, and the representation of the preference and presence information respecting each member of the team is substantially identical in each instance of the GUI.

10. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, wherein the preference and presence information is indicative of an ability of each team member to participate in each one of the plurality of types of communications.

11. A GUI as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first graphical display comprises one or more icons representing the preference and presence information concerning a respective team member.

12. A GUI as claimed in claim 11, wherein each icon is a composite icon comprising one or more of:

a communications type icon element representing a respective one of the plurality of types of communications; and

a presence icon element representing a current activity of the respective team member.

13. A GUI as claimed in claim 12, wherein the communications type icon element is further representative of preference information indicative of preferences of the respective team member for participation in the respective one of the plurality of types of communications.

14. A GUI as claimed in claim 13, wherein the preference information is defined by the respective team member.

15. A GUI as claimed in claim 14, wherein the preference information comprises information identifying a communications device selected by the respective team member as a preferred communications device for participation in the respective one of the plurality of types of communications.

16. A GUI as claimed in claim 14, wherein the preference information comprises an indication that the respective team member does not wish to participate in the respective one of the plurality of types of communications.

17. A GUI as claimed in claim 12, wherein the presence icon element is selected on a basis of presence information indicative of the activity of the respective team member.

18. A GUI as claimed in claim 17, wherein the presence information is automatically acquired by the persistent collaboration services suite.

19. A GUI as claimed in claim 18, wherein the persistent collaboration services suite is adapted to acquire the presence information by detecting an operational status of a communications device selected by the respective team member as a preferred communications device for participation in the respective one of the plurality of types of communications.

20. A GUI as claimed in claim 19, wherein the operational status comprises one of:

an In-Use status indicating that the preferred communications device has been used within a first predetermined period;

an Idle status indicating that the preferred communications device has not been used within a second predetermined period; and

an inaccessible status indicating that the collaboration services suite is unable to detect the operational status of the preferred communications device.

21. A GUI as claimed in claim 11, wherein the means for initiating a selected one of the plurality of types of communications is responsive to selection of an icon to initiate the respective type of communications represented by the communications type icon element.

22. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a second graphical display including session information respecting one or more active communications sessions between members of the team.

23. A GUI as claimed in claim 22, wherein the session information comprises any one or more of-:

a session type of the active communications session; and

a participant list identifying each team member participating in the active communications session.

24. A GUI as claimed in claim 23, wherein the session type of the active communications sessions comprises any one of:

text, voice and multi-media.

25. A GUI as claimed in claim 23, wherein the second graphical display comprises a session icon representing the session type of the active communications session.

26. A GUI as claimed in claim 25, wherein the session icon is selected from a library of icons comprising at least one icon for each of text, voice and multi-media.

27. A GUI as claimed in claim 25, wherein the GUI is adapted to enable the team member to join an active communications session using the respective session icon.

28. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, wherein the GUI further comprises a third graphical display including one or more team bulletins.

29. A GUI as claimed in claim 28, wherein the third graphical display comprises any one or more of:

information concerning each team bulletin;

means enabling the team member to edit a team bulletin; and

means enabling the team member to post a new team bulletin.

30. A GUI as claimed in claim 29, wherein further comprising means for forwarding each one of posted and edited team bulletins to the collaboration services suite.

31. A GUI as claimed in claim 1, wherein the GUI further comprises a fourth graphical display representing a communications session between the team member and one or more other parties to the communications session.

32. A GUI as claimed in claim 31, wherein the one or more other parties to the communications session comprises at least one other member of the team.

33. A GUI as claimed in claim 31, wherein the one or more other parties to the communications session comprises at least one person who is not a member of the team.

34. A GUI as claimed in claim 31, wherein the communications session comprises an exchange of any one or more of:

text, voice and multi-media data content between the parties to the communications session.

35. A GUI as claimed in claim 31, wherein the fourth graphical display comprises session information comprising any one or more of:

a session identifier;

text information of a session topic;

information identifying an initiating team member who initiated the communications session;

information concerning each party to the communications session;

a session start time;

text information of at least one session note;

information concerning a document shared between parties in the communications session.

36. A GUI as claimed in claim 35, wherein the session topic is defined by an initiating team member who initiated the communications session.

37. A GUI as claimed in claim 35, wherein the GUI is adapted to enable the user to change the text information of at least one session note during the communications session.

38. A GUI as claimed in claim 37, wherein GUI is adapted to enable the user to change the text information of at least one session note by either one or both of:

editing an existing session note and adding a new session note.

39. A GUI as claimed in claim 37, wherein a change in the text information of at least one session note effected by the user is replicated to each of the parties to the communications session.

40. A GUI as claimed in claim 35, wherein the information identifying a shared document comprises any one or more of:

a document ID identifying the shared document;

an address identifying a location of the shared document; and

a web-link enabling the user to access the shared document through a network.

41. A GUI as claimed in claim 35, wherein the communications session comprises an exchange of multi-media data content, and the session information further comprises information concerning real-time events exchanged during the communications session.

42. A GUI as claimed in claim 31, wherein the GUI is adapted to enable the user to invite a new party to join the communications session.

43. A GUI as claimed in claim 42, wherein the new party is another member of the team, and the GUI is adapted to enable the team member to send an invitation to the new party using the respective information concerning the new member contained in the first graphical display.

44. A GUI as claimed in claim 42, wherein the new party is not another member of the team, and the GUI is adapted to enable the team member to send an invitation to the new party using contact information concerning the new party.

45. A GUI as claimed in claim 44, wherein the contact information concerning the new party is provided by the team member.

46. A GUI as claimed in claim 44, wherein the contact information concerning the new party is contained in a contact directory accessible by the team member.

47. A GUI as claimed in claim 46, wherein the contact directory comprises any one or more of:

a personal contact directory maintained by the team member;

an enterprise directory maintained by an enterprise; and

a public directory.