Computer assisted and/or implemented method and system for layered access and/or supervisory control of projects and items incorporating electronic information

• US 7,353,232 B1
• Filed: 10/01/2003
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stevens Love
• Original Assignee: Q.Know Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Skeen, Jason D., Kalucha, Vineet, Visalli, Gregory C., Geaney, Joseph, Rensin, David K., Riemer, Michael S.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, CHERYL RENEA
• Application Number:
  US10/674,890
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9, 707/104.1, 707/1, 707/100, 707/10
• US Class Current: 705/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/217 Database tuning G06F16/2282 takes precedence; database performance monitoring G06F11/3409
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/284 Relational databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program device provides layered access and/or supervisory oversight and management of projects and items, and the projects incorporate associatively filed electronic information. Optionally, layered access includes peer groups of individual users, with access across multiple projects. A plurality of items incorporate the electronic information, and are associated with a project, and optionally the items have different corresponding native applications.

Claims

1. In a computer-implemented system, a method for at least one of controlling access, overseeing, and managing at least one of electronic information including at least one of structured and unstructured electronic data, documentation, and other information, a plurality of items comprising the electronic information, and of a plurality of projects comprising at least a portion of the plurality of items, said method comprising at least one of the sequential, non-sequential, and sequence independent steps of:

(A) classifying the plurality of items in a plurality of classes, wherein the classes are selected from;

activities, people, places, objects, and time;

(B) associating at least one user with at least one reference, wherein the at least one user is indicated as having at least one access level of a plurality of access levels, wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a unique identifier, a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words;

(C) determining retrieval criteria including the at least one reference for at least one class of interest selected from the plurality of classes;

(D) associating the at least one reference with at least one of at least one item and at least one project, and at least one of;

removing the at least one user from the at least one reference, adding the at least one user to the at least one reference, and assigning at least one user in at least one group associated with the at least one project;

(E) retrieving the at least one of the at least one item and at least one project associated with the at least one reference;

(F) associating a plurality of users, including the at least one user, with at least one group, and assigning the at least one group access level to the at least one of the at least one item and the at least one project;

(G) responsive to the at least one user, providing information representative of the at least one of the at least one item and the plurality of items in the at least one project associated with the at least one of the least one reference and the at least one group; and

(H) providing the at least one item to the at least one user with the at least one access level corresponding to the at least one reference associated therewith.

2. The method of claim 1, the plurality of access levels including at least two of:

read access, read-write access, and no access.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one access level corresponds to a most restrictive access of the at least one reference.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one project further includes at least one owner, and wherein at least one user is assigned as the at least one owner, wherein the at least one owner is provided access to the plurality of items in the at least one project regardless of the access level.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of denying access to at least one other user wherein at least one of the at least one reference and the at least one project are not associated with the at least one other user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying at least a portion of the representative information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of selecting the at least one project and listing the plurality of items in the project, and responsive to a selection of at least one of the plurality of items, displaying information characterizing the item, via a native application cooperating therewith.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one item is one of:

a communication, a document, a transaction, an e-mail, a task, a meeting, a contact, a message, an image, music, a note item in a massaging and collaboration application, video, a multimedia file, an other native application content, and a project.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the document is at least one of:

a text document, an image document, a resolved universal resource locator (URL), a bitmap document, and a digitized document.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of items cooperate with at least one native application associated therewith.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one native application includes at least one of:

massaging and collaboration application, presentation graphics application, spreadsheet application, word processing application, graphical file management application, graphical web browser, portable document converter and reader, and file archiver and compressor.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one project is assigned to one of a plurality of project types, and a plurality of classes are associated with a plurality of items, wherein at least two items of the plurality of items have different corresponding native applications;

further comprising determining at least one reference for at least one class, associating the determined at least one reference with the at least one class for at least one item, associating the at least one item with the at least one project, displaying information characterizing the at least one project and the at least one item associated therewith, selecting the at least one item thereof and opening the at least one item in a native application corresponding thereto.

13. In a computer-based system, a method for at least one of controlling access, overseeing, and managing at least one of electronic information including at least one of structured and unstructured electronic data, documentation, and other information, a plurality of items comprising the electronic information, and of a plurality of projects comprising at least a portion of the plurality of items, said method comprising at least one of the sequential, non-sequential, and sequence independent steps of:

(A) associating at least one user with at least one reference, wherein the at least one user is indicated as having at least one of read access, read-write access and no access;

wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words, wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a unique identifier, a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words;

(B) associating the at least one reference with at least one of at least one item and at least one project;

(C) associating a plurality of users, including the at least one user, with at least one group, and assigning the at least one group to at least one of the at least one item and the at least one project;

(D) responsive to the at least one user, providing information representative of at least one of the at least one item and the plurality of items in the at least one project associated with the at least one of the least one reference and the at least one group;

(E) wherein the at least one item is provided to the at least one user with an access level corresponding to a most restrictive access of the plurality of references associated therewith;

(F) wherein the at least one project further includes at least one owner, and wherein at least one user is assigned as the at least one owner, wherein the at least one owner is provided access to the plurality of items in the at least one project regardless of the access level associated therewith;

(G) denying access to at least one other user wherein at least one of the at least one reference and the at least one project are not associated with the at least one other user; and

(H) at least one of selecting the at least one project and listing the plurality of items in the project, and responsive to a selection of at least one of the plurality of items, displaying information characterizing the item, via a native application cooperating therewith.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of items are classified in a plurality of classes, further comprising the step of determining retrieval criteria including the at least one reference for at least one class of interest selected from the plurality of classes, and retrieving the at least one of the at least one item and at least one project associated with the at least one reference.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of displaying at least a portion of the representative information.

16. A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions being read by at least one computer, for at least one of controlling access, overseeing, and managing at least one of electronic information including at least one of structured and unstructured electronic data, documentation, and other information, a plurality of items comprising the electronic information, and of a plurality of projects comprising at least a portion of the plurality of items, said instructions for implementing at least one of the sequential, non-sequential, and sequence independent steps of:

(A) associating at least one user with at least one reference, wherein the at least one user is indicated as having at least one access level of a plurality of access levels, wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

unique identifier, a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words;

(B) associating the at least one reference with at least one of at least one item and at least one project;

(C) associating a plurality of users, including the at least one user, with at least one group, and assigning the at least one group access level to the at least one of the at least one item and the at least one project;

(D) responsive to the at least one user, providing information representative of the at least one of the at least one item and the plurality of items in the at least one project associated with the at least one of the least one reference and the at least one group;

(E) providing the at least one item to the at least one user with the at least one access level corresponding to the at least one reference associated therewith; and

(F) at least one of selecting the at least one project and listing the plurality of items in the project, and responsive to a selection of at least one of the plurality of items, displaying information characterizing the item, via a native application cooperating therewith.

17. The medium of claim 16, wherein the at least one access level corresponds to a most restrictive access of the at least one reference.

18. A computer-implemented system for at least one of controlling access, overseeing, and managing at least one of electronic information including at least one of structured and unstructured electronic data, documentation, and other information, a plurality of items comprising the electronic information, and of a plurality of projects comprising at least a portion of the plurality of items, said system comprising:

(A) means for associating at least one user with at least one reference wherein the at least one user is indicated as having at least one access level of a plurality of access levels, wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a unique identifier, a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words;

(B) means for associating the at least one reference with at least one of at least one item and at least one project;

(C) means for associating a plurality of users, including the at least one user, with at least one group, and assigning the at least one group access level to the at least one of the at least one item and the at least one project;

(D) means, responsive to the at least one user, for providing information representative of the at least one of the at least one item and the plurality of items in the at least one project associated with the at least one of the least one reference and the at least one group;

(E) means for providing the at least one item to the at least one user with the at least one access level corresponding to the at least one reference associated therewith; and

(F) means for at least one of selecting the at least one project and listing the plurality of items in the project, and responsive to a selection of at least one of the plurality of items, displaying information characterizing the item, via a native application cooperating therewith.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the at least one access level corresponds to a most restrictive access of the at least one reference.

20. In a computer-based system, a method for at least one of controlling access, overseeing, and managing at least one of electronic information including at least one of structured and unstructured electronic data, documentation, and other information, a plurality of items comprising the electronic information, and of a plurality of projects comprising at least a portion of the plurality of items, said method comprising at least one of the sequential, non-sequential, and sequence independent steps of:

(A) associating at least one user with at least one reference, wherein the at least one user is indicated as having at least one of read access, read-write access and no access;

wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a unique identifier, a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words, wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words;

(B) associating the at least one reference with at least one of at least one item and at least one project, wherein the at least one project is assigned to one of a plurality of project types, and a plurality of classes are associated with a plurality of items, wherein at least two items of the plurality of items have different corresponding native applications;

(C) determining at least one reference for at least one class, associating the determined at least one reference with the at least one class for at least one item, associating the at least one item with the at least one project, displaying information characterizing the at least one project and the at least one item associated therewith, selecting the at least one item thereof and opening the at least one item in a native application corresponding thereto;

(D) associating a plurality of users, including the at least one user, with at least one group, and assigning the at least one group to at least one of the at least one item and the at least one project;

(E) responsive to the at least one user, providing information representative of at least one of the at least one item and the plurality of items in the at least one project associated with the at least one of the least one reference and the at least one group,

wherein the at least one item is provided to the at least one user with an access level corresponding to a most restrictive access of the plurality of references associated therewith,

wherein the at least one project further includes at least one owner, and wherein at least one user is assigned as the at least one owner, wherein the at least one owner is provided access to the plurality of items in the at least one project regardless of the access level associated therewith; and

(F) re-associating the at least one user with the at least one reference, wherein the re-associating further comprises at least one of;

removing the at least one user from the at least one reference, adding the at least one user to the at least one reference, and reassigning at least one user in at least one group associated with the at least one project.

21. In a computer-based system, a method for at least one of controlling access, overseeing, and managing at least one of electronic information including at least one of structured and unstructured electronic data, documentation, and other information, a plurality of items comprising the electronic information, and of a plurality of projects comprising at least a portion of the plurality of items, said method comprising at least one of the sequential, non-sequential, and sequence independent steps of:

(A) associating at least one user with at least one reference, wherein the at least one user is indicated as having at least one of read access, read-write access and no access;

wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a unique identifier, a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words, wherein the at least one reference includes at least one of;

a keyword, a root term, a portion of a keyword, and a plurality of words;

(B) associating the at least one reference with at least one of at least one item and at least one project,

(C) associating a plurality of users, including the at least one user, with at least one group, and assigning the at least one group to at least one of the at least one item and the at least one project;

(D) responsive to the at least one user, providing information representative of at least one of the at least one item and the plurality of items in the at least one project associated with the at least one of the least one reference and the at least one group,

wherein the at least one item is provided to the at least one user with an access level corresponding to a most restrictive access of the plurality of references associated therewith,

wherein the at least one project further includes at least one owner, and wherein at least one user is assigned as the at least one owner, wherein the at least one owner is provided access to the plurality of items in the at least one project regardless of the access level associated therewith; and

(E) denying access to at least one other user wherein at least one of the at least one reference and the at least one project are not associated with the at least one other user

(F) selecting the at least one project and listing the plurality of items in the project, and responsive to a selection of at least one of the plurality of items, displaying information characterizing the item, via a native application cooperating therewith; and

(G) re-associating the at least one user with the at least one reference, wherein the re-associating further comprises at least one of;

removing the at least one user from the at least one reference, adding the at least one user to the at least one reference, and reassigning at least one user in at least one group associated with the at least one project.