Utilizing group statistics for groups of participants in a human-to-human collaborative tool

• US 20060242233A1
• Filed: 04/20/2005
• Published: 10/26/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lyle, Ruthie D., Francis, Arthur R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,918,458 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus for utilizing statistics in a human-to-human collaborative tool. A method for utilizing group statistics for a group participating in a collaborative session can include collecting group statistics for a grouped set of participants designated to participate in a collaborative session and rendering the group statistics in a user interface in association with a hierarchical listing of participants in the collaborative session. The group statistics can include, for example, a distribution of status data for the participants in the group, a distribution of time zones for the participants in the group, and a distribution of geographical locations for the participants in the group.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing group statistics for a group participating in a collaborative session, the method comprising the steps of:

collecting group statistics for a grouped set of participants designated to participate in a collaborative session; and

,

rendering said group statistics in a user interface in association with a hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said collecting step comprises the steps of:

determining a status for each of said participants in said group; and

,

computing a distribution of status data for said participants in said group.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said collecting step comprises the steps of:

determining a time zone for each of said participants in said group; and

,

computing a distribution of time zones for said participants in said group.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said collecting step comprises the steps of:

determining a geographical location for each of said participants in said group; and

,

computing a distribution of geographical locations for said participants in said group.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said rendering step comprises the steps of:

detecting a selection of said group in a hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session; and

,

responsive to said detection, rendering said group statistics in a user interface in association with said hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said rendering step further comprises the steps of:

detecting a selection of a statistic in said user interface; and

,

responsive to said detection, rendering an additional user interface having a sub-set of statistics associated with said selected statistic.

7. A system for utilizing group statistics for a group participating in a collaborative session, the system comprising:

a collaborative tool;

presence detection logic coupled to said collaborative tool; and

,

statistics processing logic coupled to said presence detection logic.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said collaborative tool comprises an instant messenger.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said statistics processing logic comprises logic programmed to collect group statistics for a grouped set of participants designated to participate in a collaborative session accessed through said collaborative tool and to render said group statistics in a user interface in association with a hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session.

10. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer program for utilizing group statistics for a group participating in a collaborative session, the computer program comprising a routine set of instructions which when executed by a machine causes the machine to perform the steps of:

collecting group statistics for a grouped set of participants designated to participate in a collaborative session; and

,

rendering said group statistics in a user interface in association with a hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session.

11. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said collecting step comprises the steps of:

determining a status for each of said participants in said group; and

,

computing a distribution of status data for said participants in said group.

12. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said collecting step comprises the steps of:

determining a time zone for each of said participants in said group; and

,

computing a distribution of time zones for said participants in said group.

13. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said collecting step comprises the steps of:

determining a geographical location for each of said participants in said group; and

,

computing a distribution of geographical locations for said participants in said group.

14. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said rendering step comprises the steps of:

detecting a selection of said group in a hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session; and

,

responsive to said detection, rendering said group statistics in a user interface in association with said hierarchical listing of participants in said collaborative session.

15. The machine readable storage of claim 10, wherein said rendering step further comprises the steps of:

detecting a selection of a statistic in said user interface; and

,

responsive to said detection, rendering an additional user interface having a sub-set of statistics associated with said selected statistic.