SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HUNTING OUT MAIL RECIPIENTS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A RESPONSE

• US 20080052362A1
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Twitter Inc (X Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Marmigere, Gerard, Bauchot, Frederic
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,549 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

The present invention discloses a method, system and computer program to be executed on a sender side of a mail management application, for automatically hunting out electronic mail recipients for whom a response is expected when no response is received within a predefined period of time. The method comprises the steps of: receiving a selection of one or a plurality of recipients of a mail for whom a response to said mail is expected within a given period of time; recording means for identifying each selected recipient of the mail; sending the mail to selected recipients from whom a response is expected and to all other recipients designated in the mail; recording each response received from each selected recipient of the mail; at expiration of the given period of time, identifying among the selected recipients of the mail, the recipients who have not yet responded; sending a hunt out message to each recipient who has not yet responded.

Claims

1. A method to be executed on a sender side of a mail management application, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving a selection of one or a plurality of recipients of a mail for whom a response to the mail is expected within a predetermined period of time;

recording means for identifying each selected recipient of the mail;

sending the mail to selected recipients from whom a response is expected and to all other recipients designated in the mail;

recording each response received from each selected recipient of the mail;

identifying among the selected recipients of the mail, the recipients who have not yet responded at expiration of the predetermined period of time; and

sending a hunt out message to each recipient that has not yet responded.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a selection of one or a plurality of recipients comprises the step of:

receiving a value specifying the time period after which the hunt out message is sent to a selected recipient when no response is received from the selected recipient.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of:

receiving a value specifying a time period after which the hunt out message is sent to a selected recipient when no response is received from the selected recipient.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the means for identifying each recipient of the mail for whom a response is expected comprises:

means for identifying the mail;

means indicating when the mail has been sent;

means for identifying the recipient;

a response status indicating whether a response from the recipient is received or not; and

means indicating when the response from the recipient is received.

5. The method according to claim 4 wherein the step of sending the mail to selected recipients from whom a response is expected and to all other recipients designated in the mail, comprises the step of:

setting for each selected recipient of the mail, a response status indicating that a response is expected from each of the selected recipients.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein the step of recording each response of the mail received from each selected recipient, further comprising the step of:

updating a response status indicating that the response is been received from the selected recipient.

7. The method according to claim 6 further comprising the step of:

determining whether or not the content of the received response is the content expected by the sender of the mail; and

if the content of the received response is not the content expected by the sender of the mail, updating a response status indicating that a response has not been received from the selected recipient;

or if the content of the received response is the content expected by the sender of the mail, updating a response status indicating that a response has been received from the selected recipient.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein each hunt out message sent to a recipient comprises no means to identify any other selected recipient.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein the selection of one or a plurality of recipients of the mail for whom a response is expected within a predetermined period of time, is performed by means of a user graphical interface.

10. The method according to claim 9 wherein the value of the time period is received by means of a user graphical interface.

11. The method according to claim 9 wherein the step of sending a hunt out message to each recipient who has not yet responded after a predetermined period of time, further comprises the step of:

sending the hunt out message at predetermined time intervals until all selected recipients have responded.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of:

informing the sender of the mail that the mail has been received by all selected recipients when all selected recipients have responded to the mail.

13. A system on the sender side of a mail application comprising means adapted for carrying out the method according to claim 1.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein means for receiving a selection of one or a plurality of recipients comprises:

means for receiving a value specifying the time period after which the hunt out message is sent to a selected recipient when no response is received from the selected recipient.

15. The system of claim 13 further comprising means for receiving a value specifying a time period after which the hunt out message is sent to a selected recipient when no response is received from the selected recipient.

16. The system of claim 15 further comprising:

means for determining whether or not the content of the received response is the content expected by the sender of the mail; and

if the content of the received response is not the content expected by the sender of the mail, updating a response status indicating that a response has not been received from the selected recipient;

or

if the content of the received response is the content expected by the sender of the mail, updating a response status indicating that a response has been received from the selected recipient.

17. The system of claim 16 further comprising means for informing the sender of the mail that the mail has been received by all selected recipients when all selected recipients have responded to the mail.

18. A computer program comprising instructions for carrying out the method according to claim 1 when the computer program is executed on a computer system.

19. The computer program including instructions for carrying out the method according to claim 18 when the computer program is executed on the computer system, the method further comprising the step of receiving a value specifying a time period after which the hunt out message is sent to a selected recipient when no response is received from the selected recipient.

20. The computer program including instructions for carrying out the method of claim 19 when the computer program is executed on the computer system wherein the step of receiving a selection of one or a plurality of recipients comprises the step of:

receiving a value specifying the time period after which a hunt out message is sent to a selected recipient when no response is received from the selected recipient.