Notification by business rule trigger control

• US 6,775,658 B1
• Filed: 12/21/1999
• Issued: 08/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Rakuten, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Zothner, Eric R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, George B.
• Application Number:
  US09/468,461
• Time in Patent Office: 1,694 Days
• Field of Search: 706/47, 707/100, 705/28, 705/412, 709/202, 709/203
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply

Abstract

An approach for providing notification services using rules-based technology is disclosed. A business rule manager module maps the business rules to business triggers, in which any pre-defined action can be performed based on the rule execution. Business rule triggers map a set of object life cycle states or business processes to set(s) of business rules; these business rules are mapped to trigger conditions. Notifications are then mapped to the business triggers such that the appropriate information can be sent to the recipients according to the business conditions or business rule actions.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for providing a notification service to users, the method comprising:

receiving a request from a user to subscribe to a trigger point for receipt of a notification;

mapping a business rule to the trigger point, wherein the business rule corresponds to a business process at an object life cycle state of an object;

selecting one of a plurality of notifications based on the trigger point in the business process; and

filtering the selected notification according to a profile associated with a user;

sending the selected notification to the user.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

designating a notification template relating to the trigger point and being associated with the selected notification, wherein the notification template specifies at least one of a type of target for receiving the selected notification, a type of media over which the selected notification is sent, and message content.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an identifier associated with the business process point from a client system, wherein the selection of the notification is based on the identifier.

4. A system for providing notifications to users, the system comprising:

a subscription mechanism configured to receive a request from a user to subscribe to a trigger point for receipt of a notification;

a business rule manager module configured to map a business rule to the trigger point, the business rule corresponding to a business process at an object life cycle state of an object, the business rule manager module being further configured to select one of a plurality of notifications based on the trigger point in the business process; and

a notification manager module configured to filter the selected notification according to a profile associated with a user and to send the selected notification to the user according to a profile associated with the user.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the notification manager module is configured to designate a notification template relating to the trigger point and being associated with the selected notification, wherein the notification template specifies at least one of a type of target for receiving the selected notification, a type of media over which the selected notification is sent, and message content.

6. The system according to claim 4, wherein the notification manager module is configured to receive an identifier associated with the business process point, wherein the selection of the notification is based on the identifier.

7. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for providing a notification service to users, the one or more sequences of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

receiving a request from a user to subscribe to a trigger point for receipt of a notification;

mapping a business rule to the trigger point, wherein the business rule corresponds to a business process at an object life cycle state of an object;

selecting one of a plurality of notifications based on the trigger point in the business process; and

filtering the selected notification according to a profile associated with a user;

sending the selected notification to the user.

8. The computer-readable medium according to claim 7, wherein the one or more processors further perform the step of:

designating a notification template relating to the trigger point and being associated with the selected notification, wherein the notification template specifies at least one of a type of target for receiving the selected notification, a type of media over which the selected notification is sent, and message content.

9. The computer-readable medium according to claim 7, wherein the one or more processors further perform the step of:

receiving an identifier associated with the business process point from a client system, wherein the selection of the notification is based on the identifier.