Method of managing a task

• US 20070186214A1
• Filed: 12/19/2006
• Published: 08/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Promptu Technologies Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Promptu Technologies Corporation (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Morgan, Kevin
• Application Number:
  US11/642,052
• Publication Number:
  US 20070186214A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 718/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/485 Task life-cycle, e.g. stopping, restarting, resuming execution G06F9/4881 takes precedence

Abstract

Embodiments which provide a method of managing a task, the method involving updating a status of the task by determining a status of at least one lower level task associated with the task.

Claims

1. A method of managing a task, said method comprising updating a status of the task by determining a status of at least one lower level task associated with the task.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the status of an associated lower level task when the status of the associated lower level task changes.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising requesting the status of an associated lower level task and receiving the status of the associated lower level task.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the status of the task is:

a) incomplete if the status of all associated lower level tasks is incomplete;

b) partially complete if the status of any of the associated lower level tasks is partially complete;

c) complete if the status of all of the associated lower level tasks is complete; and

d) stalled if the status of any of the associated lower level tasks is stalled.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing details associated with at least one of the task and at least one of the associated lower level tasks on a management server.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising storing a status of the task or associated lower level tasks on the management server.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending details of at least one of the associated lower level tasks to a management server, and storing at least one of the details and the status of the associated lower level tasks on the management server.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising specifying notification points associated with at least one of the associated lower level tasks.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending a status update request to at least one of a user responsible for one of the associated lower level tasks and a management server when a progress of the associated lower level task should have reached one of the notification points associated with the associated lower level task.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending a notification to a user when a progress of a lower level task reaches one of the notification points associated with the lower level task.

11. A task management system programmed to:

determine a plurality of notification points associated with at least one lower level task associated with a task;

send status update requests to one or more users responsible for the associated lower level tasks; and

receive at least one communication from one or more users responsible for the associated lower level tasks indicating a status of an associated lower level task in response to the status update request.

12. The system of claim 11, further programmed to receive a status update from a user responsible for an associated lower level task when the user wishes to indicate the status of the associated lower level task.

13. A data processing system programmed to:

receive details of a task;

receive details of at least one lower level task associated with the task; and

update a task status of the task by obtaining a task status of the at least one associated lower level task.

14. The system of claim 13, further programmed to update the task status by requesting at least one task status update from at least one user responsible for an associated lower level task, receiving at least one task status update from the at least one user responsible for the associated lower level task, and updating the task status in response to the at least one task status update.

15. The system of claim 13, further programmed to send the updated task status to at least one of a user responsible for the task and at least one user responsible for an associated lower level task.

16. The system of claim 13, further programmed to update the task status by receiving at least one task status update from at least one user responsible for an associated lower level task, and updating the task status in response to the at least one task status update.

17. The system of claim 13, further programmed to set the task status to:

a) incomplete if the status of all associated lower level tasks is incomplete;

b) partially complete if the status of any of the associated lower level tasks is partially complete;

c) complete if the status of all of the associated lower level tasks is complete; and

d) stalled if the status of any of the associated lower level tasks is stalled.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the details of an associated lower level task include an indication of a plurality of notification points associated with the associated lower level task.

19. The system of claim 18, further programmed to send a communication to at least one of a user responsible for the task and at least one user responsible for an associated lower level task when the status of an associated lower level task should have reached one of the notification points associated with the associated lower level task.

20. A method of managing a task, said method comprising:

determining at least one of notification point associated with at least one lower level task associated with a task; and

requesting a status update for one of the associated lower level tasks; and

receiving a communication indicating a status of one of the associated lower level tasks in response to the status update request.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising receiving a communication indicating a status of an associated lower level task from a user responsible for the associated lower level task when the user wishes to provide details of the status of the associated lower level task.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein requesting a status update comprises sending a status update request to a user responsible for the associated lower level task.

23. A method of displaying a plurality of representations of tasks, said method comprising displaying the representations in a non-linear arrangement.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein representations of two consecutive tasks are displayed adjacent to each other.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the representation of a task includes an indication of the status of the task.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the indication of the status of the task includes the colour of the representation of the task.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the colour of the representation of the task comprises at least one of:

a) a first colour for an incomplete task;

b) a second colour for a partially complete task;

c) a third colour for a completed task; and

d) a fourth colour for a stalled task.

28. The method of claim 23, wherein at least one task comprises one or more associated lower level tasks.

29. A method as claimed in claim 28, wherein a user may interact with the at least one task to display representations of the associated lower level tasks.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising displaying the representations of the associated lower level tasks in a non-linear arrangement.

31. The method of claim 23, wherein the representations are displayed in a predetermined pattern.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the predetermined pattern is a spiral.

33. A computer program stored on computer readable medium, said computer program for causing a computer system to perform the functions of updating a status of a task by determining a status of at least one lower level task associated with the task.

34. A computer program stored on computer readable medium, said computer program for causing a computer system to perform the functions of:

determining at least one of notification point associated with at least one lower level task associated with a task; and

requesting a status update for one of the associated lower level tasks; and

receiving a communication indicating a status of one of the associated lower level tasks in response to the status update request.

35. A computer program stored on computer readable medium, said computer program for displaying a plurality of representations of tasks, said computer program for causing a computer system to perform the functions of displaying the representations in a non-linear arrangement.