ASYNCHRONOUS WORKFLOW PARTICIPATION WITHIN AN IMMERSIVE COLLABORATION ENVIRONMENT

• US 20090307189A1
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Miner, James Jerome, Walker, Douglas Jay, Morrison, William Henry IV, Pelton, Gregory Dean, Rossie, Jonathan Gregory JR., Bobbitt, Lisa Louise
• Application Number:
  US12/133,226
• Publication Number:
  US 20090307189A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor

Abstract

A system (and corresponding method) that enables establishment of a record associated with an immersive collaborative environment is provided. The record represents events and actions that occur within the virtual environment. Additionally, the system enables a user to modify the record following the initial capture. Upon modification, the record is ‘time-shifted’ such that the resultant record is a seamless chronological rendition of events and actions that occurred within the immersive collaborative environment or virtual workspace.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a record generation component that establishes a time-based historical record as a function of a virtual workspace; and

a record management component that enables asynchronous manipulation of a subset of the time-based historical record.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual workspace is a spatial representation of a workflow based upon a business process.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the record generation component comprises one or more monitor components that dynamically monitor a plurality of events within the virtual workspace.

4. The system of claim 3, further comprising a content analysis component that evaluates content of the virtual workspace, wherein the time-based historical record is established based at least in part upon the content.

5. The system of claim 3, further comprising a contacts analysis component that identifies a plurality of representations within the virtual workspace, wherein the time-based historical record is established based at least in part upon a subset of the contacts.

6. The system of claim 3, further comprising a context analysis component that establishes a plurality of circumstantial factors related to the virtual workspace, wherein the time-based historical record is based at least in part upon a subset of the circumstantial factors.

7. The system of claim 3, further comprising a capture component that chronologically records the plurality of events, wherein the captured plurality of events comprises a portion of the time-based historical record.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a tag management component that applies identification to each of the plurality of events.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising an index generation component that establishes an index of each of the plurality of events within the time-based historical record.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a search component that facilitates location of an event within the time-based historical record.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising a query generation component that facilitates generation of a search query, wherein the search query is based upon at least one of content, contacts or context.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a search engine that employs the search query to identify the subset of the time-based record.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a playback component that renders the subset of the time-based record to a user.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a record modification component that facilitates alteration of the time-based historical record.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising:

an update component that facilitates asynchronous modification of the time-based historical record, wherein the modification prompts a chronological shift in the time-based historical record; and

a notification component that alerts a group of participants bound to the virtual workspace.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a decision inference engine that dynamically modifies a result of the time-based historical record based at least in part upon the input or the modification.

17. A computer-implemented method for asynchronously modifying a time-based historical record, comprising:

accessing a portion of the time-based historical record, wherein the time-based historical record represents a chronology of events from a virtual workspace;

asynchronously modifying the portion of the time-based historical record;

notifying a plurality of participants bound to the virtual workspace, wherein the notification summarizes the modified portion of the time-based historical record;

shifting portions of the time-based historical record based upon the modified portion; and

inserting the modified portion into the time-based historical record.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising

monitoring a plurality of events within the virtual workspace;

and

establishing the time-based historical record based upon the plurality of events.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising capturing the plurality of events together with at least one of content, contacts or contextual factors associated with each of the plurality of events.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising analyzing at least one of content, contacts or context associated with the plurality of events.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, further comprising tagging each of the plurality of events based at least in part upon the content, contacts or context associated therewith.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising presenting the portion of the time-based historical record to facilitate asynchronous modification.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 18, further comprising inferring an alternative decision based upon the modified portion.

24. A computer-executable system, comprising:

means for generating a time-based record of events related to a virtual workspace; and

means for asynchronously modifying a portion of the record.

25. The computer-executable system of claim 24, further comprising means for inferring an alternative decision point based at least in part upon the modified portion of the time-based record.