FOSTERING ENTERPRISE RELATIONSHIPS

• US 20100169134A1
• Filed: 12/31/2008
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sandquist, Jeff, Muzio, Simon C., Dumais, Susan T., Cheng, Lili, Chang, Eric I-Chao, Manolescu, Dragos A., Oberon, John, Meijer, Henricus (Erik) Johannes Maria, Braun, Owen Charles
• Application Number:
  US12/346,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20100169134A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06398 Performance of employee with respect to a job function

Abstract

The claimed subject matter relates to an architecture that can facilitate, enrich, or nurture relationships in a business enterprise environment. In particular, the architecture can construct a set of profiles associated with entities of the enterprise (e.g., employees, teams, departments, or the enterprise) based upon a wide range of transactions (e.g., behavior, activity, productivity, relationships, explicit or implicit feedback from collaborators . . . ) relating to the entity. Based upon these profiles, the architecture can determine a set of tasks and also identify advantageous relationships, wherein the tasks and relationships are deemed to facilitate accomplishing an objective to benefit the enterprise or entity. In addition, the architecture can nurture or cultivate the advantageous relationships by suggesting suitable behavior or performing opportunistic actions.

Claims

1. A computer implemented system that establishes or cultivates relationships in an enterprise environment, comprising:

a profiler component that monitors a transaction associated with an entity, the profile component constructs a comprehensive profile for the entity based upon the transaction;

an analysis component that receives an objective intended to benefit an enterprise, the analysis component determines a task suitable for the entity based upon the profile whereby the task facilitates accomplishment of the objective; and

a relationship component that compares the profile to a disparate profile associated with a disparate entity in order to automatically identify an advantageous relationship in connection with the objective.

2. The system of claim 1, the entity is at least one of an individual;

a group of individuals;

a team comprising multiple individuals with related enterprise-based goals;

a department or division within a hierarchy of the enterprise;

a set of individuals related by way of a social graph or network;

or the enterprise.

3. The system of claim 1, the transaction is at least one of an update to schedule information associated with the entity;

issuance of an employee review associated with the entity;

issuance of a review of previous positions, objectives, or tasks associated with the entity;

an access or input to an application, a tool, or a feature by the entity;

an access or input to a data source by the entity;

a change in a location of the entity;

an update to a location history for the entity;

a history of disparate entities in close proximity to the entity;

communication of an electronic message associated with the entity or a message log thereof, an update to a call or a call log associated with the entity;

an update to a social graph associated with the entity;

a biometric reading associated with the entity;

a reading of a facial expression, a verbal expression, or a gesture associated with the entity;

a change in environment or situational state of the entity;

or a corrective input performed by the entity.

4. The system of claim 1, the profiler component is operatively coupled to a set of servers employed to record the transaction.

5. The system of claim 1, the profiler component is operatively coupled to a set of sensors employed to monitor the entity, an environment associated with the entity, or a behavioral characteristic thereof in order to record the transaction.

6. The system of claim 1, the profile includes a determined proclivity characteristic associated with the entity that relates to an observed propensity determined based upon the transaction.

7. The system of claim 6, the proclivity characteristic relates to at least one of a preferred modality of communications by the entity;

a punctuality of the entity;

a rate of, a response time of, a target of, or a lack of response to a communication by the entity;

a tendency to initiate, to attend, or to avoid meetings or interaction with a disparate entity;

a preference related to organization;

a preference related to assignment of responsibilities;

a preference related to completion of responsibilities;

a measure of social capital;

a receptiveness by the entity to an interruption or a request;

a current or recent emotional state of the entity;

or a favorable strategy when directing an interruption or a request to the entity.

8. The system of claim 1, the objective is expressly input by at least one of the entity, a supervisor or administrator of the entity, or a supervisor or administrator of the enterprise or a disparate entity.

9. The system of claim 1, the objective is intelligently inferred based upon the transaction.

10. The system of claim 1, the advantageous relationship is identified based upon a characteristic featured in the disparate profile.

11. The system of claim 10, the characteristic is at least one of a desired characteristic for accomplishment of the objective or a correlate characteristic indicative of the desired characteristic.

12. The system of claim 1, the advantageous relationship is identified based upon a characteristic featured in the profile.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a coaching component that performs an automated action from a set of automated actions intended to cultivate the advantageous relationship between the entity and the disparate entity.

14. The system of claim 13, the automated action is at least one of providing an identity of the disparate entity to the entity;

scheduling a meeting or a recurring meeting that includes the entity and the disparate entity based upon respective schedule information;

setting up an impromptu engagement that includes the entity and the disparate entity based upon at least one of respective current activity or current geographic proximity;

reminding the entity to reply to a communiqué

;

suggesting tailored content for the reply based upon the disparate profile;

generating a communiqué

on behalf of the entity and propagating the communiqué

to the disparate entity;

suggesting suitable behavior to the entity for interacting with the disparate entity based upon a proclivity characteristic associated with the disparate entity, recommending for or against a merger between the entity and the disparate entity, or suggesting competitive, collaborative, or defensive activities for the entity with respect to the disparate entity.

15. The system of claim 1, the task relates to interacting with an outside individual employed by a disparate enterprise and the relationship component identifies a disparate entity that has an established relationship with the outside individual.

16. The system of claim 15, the profiler component is operatively coupled to data mining component that searches public sources for information associated with the outside individual, the profiler component constructs an outsider profile for the outside individual.

17. A computer implemented method for facilitating cultivation of relationships in a business enterprise setting, comprising:

examining a transaction associated with an entity;

building a comprehensive profile for the entity based at least in part upon the transaction;

obtaining an objective aimed at benefiting an enterprise;

determining a task for accomplishing the objective based upon the profile; and

analyzing the profile and a disparate profile associated with a disparate entity for automatically identifying an advantageous relationship in connection with the objective.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising at least one of the following acts:

employing one or more servers for logging the transaction;

employing one or more sensors for observing the entity, an environment associated with the entity, or an associated behavioral characteristic of the entity;

employing one or more data mining resources for constructing an outsider profile relating to a non-enterprise individual;

inferring a proclivity characteristic associated with an observed propensity of the entity based upon the transaction;

or

including the proclivity characteristic in the profile associated with the entity.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising at least one of the following acts:

receiving the objective as express input from at least one of the entity, a manager of the entity, a manager of the disparate entity, or a manager of the enterprise;

inferring the objective based upon the transaction;

selecting the advantageous relationship based upon a characteristic featured in the disparate profile;

selecting the advantageous relationship based upon a characteristic featured in the profile;

or

executing an automated action from a set of automated actions for cultivating the advantageous relationship between the entity and the disparate entity.

20. A computer implemented system that identifies, facilitates, enriches, or nurtures relationships in a business enterprise environment, comprising:

a profiler component that monitors a transaction associated with an entity, the profile component creates or updates a comprehensive profile for the entity based upon the transaction;

an analysis component that receives an objective intended to benefit an enterprise, the analysis component infers a task suitable for the entity based upon the profile whereby the task relates to accomplishment of the objective;

a relationship component that examines the profile and a disparate profile associated with a disparate entity in order to automatically identify an advantageous relationship in connection with the task; and

a coaching component that performs an automated action from a set of automated actions intended to cultivate the advantageous relationship between the entity and the disparate entity.