Responding to electronic mail messages

• US 20060149819A1
• Filed: 01/03/2005
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Auhagen, Gero
• Granted Patent: US 7,657,600 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

One implementation provides a method of replying to a user electronic mail (email) message sent from a user within a system that processes incoming user email messages and delivers responses to these incoming user email messages. The method includes processing a user email message sent from a user to determine its content. A response based on the content of the user email message is then created. The response is delivered to the user along with a request for feedback regarding quality of the response to the user. Any returned feedback from the user is received. The returned feedback or an absence of returned feedback within a predetermined period of time is processed to determine if additional response is to be sent to the user.

Claims

1. In a system that processes incoming user electronic mail (email) messages and delivers responses to these incoming user email messages, a method of replying to a user email message sent from a user, the method comprising:

processing a user email message sent from a user to determine its content;

creating a response based on the content of the user email message;

delivering the response to the user along with a request for feedback regarding quality of the response to the user;

receiving any returned feedback from the user; and

processing either the returned feedback or an absence of returned feedback within a predetermined period of time to determine if an additional response is to be sent to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the response includes receiving input from a human agent, the input specifying a basis for the response.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the response includes creating at least a portion of the response by the system without human intervention.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein delivering the response to the user comprises:

storing the response-in a database;

sending a link to the user, the link referencing the response that is stored in the database;

receiving a request for the response when the user accesses the link; and

sending the response to the user in response to the request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the response stored in the database is updated before the user accesses the link.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving input from a human agent to process the response before it is delivered to the user.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving input from the human agent to process the response includes receiving input to modify the response.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for feedback includes hypertext markup language (HTML) instruction code.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining if the additional response is to be sent to the user includes routing the user email message and the response to a human agent for additional processing.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the additional processing includes creating and sending the additional response to the user.

11. A computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed, perform a method of replying to a user electronic mail (email) message sent from a user within a system that processes incoming user email messages and delivers responses to these incoming user email messages, the method comprising:

processing a user email message sent from a user to determine its content;

creating a response based on the content of the user email message;

delivering the response to the user along with a request for feedback regarding quality of the response to the user;

receiving any returned feedback from the user; and

processing either the returned feedback or an absence of returned feedback within a predetermined period of time to determine if an additional response is to be sent to the user.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein creating the response includes receiving input from a human agent, the input specifying a basis for the response.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein creating the response includes creating at least a portion of the response by the system without human intervention.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein delivering the response to the user comprises:

storing the response in a database;

sending a link to the user, the link referencing the response that is stored in the database;

receiving a request for the response when the user accesses the link; and

sending the response to the user in response to the request.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the response stored in the database is updated before the user accesses the link.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising receiving input from a human agent to process the response before it is delivered to the user.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein receiving input from the human agent to process the response includes receiving input to modify the response.

18. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the request for feedback includes hypertext markup language (HTML) instruction code.

19. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein determining if the additional response is to be sent to the user includes routing the user email message and the response to a human agent for additional processing.

20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the additional processing includes creating and sending the additional response to the user.