SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COLLABORATIVE COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION SHARING

• US 20120311451A1
• Filed: 12/07/2011
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Virtualagility Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Virtualagility Incorporated
• Inventors: Beaven, Douglas F.
• Granted Patent: US 9,202,202 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/736
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/9994 Distributed or remote access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99941 Database schema or data structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 : Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99956 : File allocation

Abstract

A system facilitates collaborative communications and information sharing in a network defined by a model. The model and a portion of the system are stored on a storage component coupled to a terminal. The system captures context information and user-defined data, the user-defined data provided during user interaction of the user in a first domain of the network, and dynamically stores the context information as metadata associated with the user-defined data, the user-defined data and the metadata stored on the storage component; a tracking component for tracking a change of the user from the first domain to a second domain of the network and dynamically updating the stored metadata based on the change, where the user accesses the user-defined data from the second domain; and an interface to the system that permits the user to create and view the user-defined data according to the model of the network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system that facilitates collaborative communications and information sharing in a network defined by a model, the model of the network accessible by a user through at least one terminal, the terminal having a processor, at least a portion of the system and the model stored on a storage component coupled to the terminal, the system, comprising:

a context component for capturing context information and user-defined data, the user-defined data provided during user interaction of the user in a first domain of the network, the context component dynamically storing the context information as metadata associated with the user-defined data, the user-defined data and the metadata stored on the storage component of the system;

a tracking component for tracking a change of the user from the first domain to a second domain of the network and dynamically updating the stored metadata based on the change, wherein the user accesses the user-defined data from the second domain; and

an interface component for providing an interface to the system accessible by the user at the terminal, the interface permitting the user to create and view the user-defined data according to the model of the network.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the context component is associated with a workspace comprising a collection of data and application functionality related to the user-defined data.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the context component is associated with a group, wherein the group relates to a collection of interrelated workspaces, and wherein the group maintains a location of data of the respective interrelated workspaces when data of one or more of the interrelated workspaces are moved into a different workspace interrelationship.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the context information includes a relationship between the user and one or more of an application, application data, and a user environment.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the context component captures context information of the first domain and context information related to at least one other domain.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the context information of the at least one other domain is at least one of stipulated by the user and determined by the system based upon criteria set by the user.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein data created in the first domain is associated with data created in the second domain.

8. The system of claim 1, the context information is tagged to the user-defined data using the metadata when the user-defined data is generated.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the model of the network is a hierarchical model, and the network comprises a hierarchy of domains.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the user-defined data comprises one or more of text, files, documents, and electronic messaging.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the text comprises alpha-numeric characters and icons, and wherein the system comprises text entry mechanisms including a free-form text entry window, a select list, a pull-down menu, and a template.

12. A computer-implemented method for collaborative communications and information sharing, comprising:

creating and displaying data related to a domain of a network through user interaction with the domain by a user using an application according to a model, the data in the form of at least files and documents;

dynamically associating context information with the data, the context information including information related to the user, the data, the application, and the domain;

storing the context information, as metadata, and the data, on a storage component;

tracking movement of the user from the domain of the network to a second domain of the network; and

dynamically updating the stored metadata with an association of the data, the application, and the second domain, wherein the user employs at least one of the application and the data from the second domain.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising capturing the information related to the user.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising indexing content of the domain, the content including the metadata and the data, such that a plurality of users can access the content from an associated plurality of domains.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one of the data and the application is associated automatically with the second domain.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing the domain and the second domain using a browser.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the storage component comprises a relational database system, and wherein the hierarchical model is stored in the relational database system.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing the network from a remote location using a URL address.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising accessing the network using a portable wireless device.

20. A computer-implemented method for collaborative communications and data sharing, comprising:

generating a plurality of domains in a web-based network;

ordering two or more of the domains according to different arrangements of the domains;

providing a plurality of applications for generating and processing data in the domains, wherein data of a domain is dynamically associated with the domain as metadata that corresponds to the data;

creating an association of the data with a second domain when the data is accessed from the second domain;

dynamically storing the association of the data with the second domain as second metadata;

storing ordering information related to the ordering of the two or more of the plurality of domains; and

traversing the different arrangements of the domains with one or more of the applications based on the ordering information to locate the data associated with the domains.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the act of traversing is performed using a link that includes traversal information for locating the data associated with a given domain.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the traversal information includes at least a user name and a password.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the different arrangements, domains, data and metadata comprise hierarchical relationships.

24. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing computer-executable instructions, executable by a processor, for a method for collaborative communications and information sharing, the instructions when executed, allowing performance of the method, comprising:

creating data related to user interaction of a user within a domain of a network using an application;

dynamically associating metadata with the data, the data and metadata stored on a storage component, the metadata including information related to the user of the domain, to the data, to the application, and to the domain;

tracking movement of the user from the domain to a second domain of the network;

dynamically associating the data and the application with the second domain in the metadata such that the user employs the application and data from the second domain; and

indexing the data created in the domain such that a plurality of different users can access the data based on the metadata from a corresponding plurality of different domains.