Temporal visualizations of collaborative exchanges

• US 7,395,509 B1
• Filed: 11/26/2007
• Issued: 07/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Denner, Gary, O'Sullivan, Patrick J., Callanan, Sean, Zimmet, Carol S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hong; Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Faber; David
• Application Number:
  US11/944,886
• Time in Patent Office: 218 Days
• Field of Search: 715750-760
• US Class Current: 715/751
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A user interface (UI), which reflects exchanges in the past and the future between a user and entities. The UI includes a background having a user defined granularity, a plurality of dots, which can represent at least one collaborative exchange of a user and which are each arranged on the background, a graphic connection between any two or more dots which each represent exchanges between the user and similar entities, a first graphic which includes first level information, and a second graphic which includes second level information. For any set of one or more dots which each represent exchanges between the user and similar entities, the dot closest to or within the central area includes a graphical identifier that indicates whether the entity is currently available for a new exchange.

Claims

1. A memory storing code for rendering a real-time updateable user interface (UI) which reflects collaborative exchanges of the user on a display device, said code comprising code segments for causing render of:

a temporal display background having a user defined granularity including a central area which represents a present time, and markings which are arranged in steadily increasing radial distances from the central area and which correspondingly represent times of steadily increasing temporal distances from the present time, a relationship between the radial distances and the temporal distances being based on the user defined granularity;

a plurality of dots, which each represent a collaborative exchange between the user and an entity and which are each arranged on the temporal display background at respective radial locations which correspond to a time the collaborative exchange occurred;

a graphic connection between any two or more dots which each represent collaborative exchanges between the user and a similar entity;

a first graphic which is enabled by a first interaction of the user with any one of the plurality of dots and which includes first level information relating to the entity; and

a second graphic which is enabled by a second interaction of the user within the first graphic and which includes second level information relating to details of the collaborative exchange, wherein;

for any set of one or more dots which each represent collaborative exchanges between the user and a similar entity, the one dot closest to or within the central area includes a graphical identifier that indicates whether the entity is currently available for a new collaborative exchange, and

a third interaction of the user with the one dot initiates an Internet Messaging (IM) session between the user and the entity.

2. The UI according to claim 1, wherein the temporal display background is divided along a center line thereof into a first half which represents past times and a second half which represents future times.

3. The UI according to claim 1, wherein the dots representing collaborative exchanges which relate to similar subject matter are grouped together.

4. The UI according to claim 1, wherein:

the graphic connection comprises a line,

the first graphic comprises;

a virtual business card of the entity; and

details of the collaborative exchange,

the second graphic comprises a navigable collaborative exchange history with the entity, and

the graphical identifier comprises a modification of a color of the dot closest to or within the central area.

5. The UI according to claim 4, further comprising a tool to allow the user to:

define user preferences that alter the user defined granularity, an appearance and/or a performance of the UI,

to temporarily remove at least one dot or at least one graphic connection corresponding to collaborative exchanges at least one particular entity, and

to filter a display of the UI according to collaborative exchange frequency.