Determining quality of communication

• US 8,139,495 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2007
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Gollapudi, Sreenivas, Halverson, Alan D., Kenthapadi, Krishnaram G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ferris, Derrick
• Assistant Examiner(s): KHIRODHAR, MAHARISHI V
• Application Number:
  US11/854,918
• Publication Number:
  US 20090073888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,650 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5093 wherein the managed service relates to messaging or chat services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

A method, computer-readable medium, and system for providing a quality measurement based on communications within a communication application. Communication attributes that include information associated with a user'"'"'s communications are obtained. In embodiments, such communication attributes may pertain to communication duration and communication frequency. Upon obtaining communication attributes, a quality measurement may be determined based on the communication attributes. Such a quality measurement provides an indication of the quality of the user'"'"'s communications. In embodiments, the quality measurement may be stored, communicated to a user, or implemented within a communication application.

Claims

1. A method for providing quality measurements based on communications within an instant messenger application, the method comprising:

obtaining at least one frequency attribute comprising a frequency of a first user'"'"'s communication with a second user within the instant messenger application that occurs within a predetermined time period;

obtaining an aggregate session duration attribute comprising a total amount of time the first user is involved in one or more instant message sessions with the second user that occur within the predetermined time period and an aggregate participating duration attribute comprising a total amount of time the first user prepares one or more instant messages intended for the second user within the one or more instant message sessions that occur within the predetermined time period;

utilizing the aggregate session duration attribute and the aggregate participating duration attribute to determine a send message rate in association with one or more communications from the first user to the second user, the send message rate comprising a fraction of the total amount of time the first user prepares the one or more instant messages compared to the total amount of time the first user is involved in the one or more instant message sessions with the second user;

determining, via a computing device, a relative send message rate using the send message rate, wherein the relative send message rate comprises a relative fraction of the send message rate in association with the one or more communications from the first user to the second user compared to a global send message rate in association with one or more communications from the first user to any users of the instant messenger application;

calculating a quality measurement for the first user based on the at least one frequency attribute and the relative send message rate, the quality measurement providing an indication of the quality of one or more communications of the first user within the instant messenger application; and

communicating the quality measurement to the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the quality measurement comprises a value, text, a symbol, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user comprises a source communicator.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user comprises a destination communicator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one frequency attribute comprises at least one session frequency attribute, at least one participation frequency attribute, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising converting the quality measurement to a second quality measurement, wherein the second quality measurement provides a meaningful indication of the quality of one or more communications of the first user.

7. One or more computer-readable storage media, not being a signal per se, having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for providing quality measurements based on communications within an instant messenger application, the method comprising:

obtaining at least one frequency attribute comprising a frequency of a first user'"'"'s communication with a second user within the instant messenger application that occurs within a predetermined time period;

obtaining an aggregate session duration attribute comprising a total amount of time the first user is involved in one or more instant message sessions with the second user that occur within the predetermined time period and an aggregate participating duration attribute comprising a total amount of time the first user prepares one or more instant messages intended for the second user within the one or more instant message sessions that occur within the predetermined time period;

utilizing the aggregate session duration attribute and the aggregate participating duration attribute to determine a send message rate in association with one or more communications from the first user to the second user, the send message rate comprising a fraction of the total amount of time the first user prepares the one or more instant messages compared to the total amount of time the first user is involved in the one or more instant message sessions with the second user;

determining a relative send message rate using the send message rate, wherein the relative send message rate comprises a relative fraction of the send message rate in association with the one or more communications from the first user to the second user compared to a global send message rate in association with one or more communications from the first user to any users of the instant messenger application;

calculating a quality measurement for the first user based on the at least one frequency attribute and the relative send message rate, the quality measurement providing an indication of the quality of one or more communications of the first user within the instant messenger application; and

communicating the quality measurement to the second user.

8. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 7 further comprising converting the quality measurement to a second quality measurement, wherein the second quality measurement provides a meaningful indication of the quality of one or more communications of the first user.

9. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 7, wherein the quality measurement accounts for more distant communications being given less weight and more recent communications being given more weight.

10. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 7, wherein the total amount of time the first user prepares the one or more instant messages intended for the second user is determined by measuring the amount of time the first user strokes keys.

11. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 7, wherein the quality measurement is greater when the send message rate is high and the at least one frequency attribute is low.

12. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 7, wherein the quality measurement comprises a global quality measurement, wherein the global quality measurement is based on the one or more communications of the first user with a plurality of communicators.