Metadata schema for interpersonal communications management systems

• US 8,249,060 B1
• Filed: 08/11/2006
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Horvitz, Eric J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jagannathan, Melanie
• Application Number:
  US11/464,153
• Time in Patent Office: 2,202 Days
• Field of Search: 370/352, 709/230, 709/246, 709/250, 398/115, 398/116, 398/118
• US Class Current: 370/356
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

A system and method for generating, managing and accessing a schema that facilitates maximizing utility of a managed communication is provided. The system provides a computer-based system for creating, accessing and/or managing a schema employed in utility-optimizing communication management. The system includes computer components for receiving communication related data and storing such communication related data, inferences concerning such data, probabilities and/or probability distributions associated with such data in an extensible, portable, data schema. The schema can facilitate making utility optimizing communication management decisions.

Claims

1. A method of processing a communication between a contactor and a contactee, the method comprising:

acquiring information relating to processing the communication between the contactor and the contactee, the information comprising at least one of;

a type of activity in which at least one of the contactor and the contactee is involved,

a preferred communication policy related to a priority of the communication, and

an attentional status of at least one of the contactor and the contactee;

generating, based on the acquired information, a schema comprising a plurality of elements;

populating at least one element of the plurality of elements of the schema with data extracted from the acquired information;

at a computing device associated with the contactee;

receiving a data packet, the data packet comprising;

a first field that stores a source identifier that identifies a computer component from which the data packet originated;

a second field that stores a destination identifier that identifies a computer component to which the data packet is destined; and

a third field that stores a schema identifier that identifies the schema with which the data packet is associated, the schema comprising the information relating to processing the communication between the contactor and the contactee;

using the schema identifier to access the schema to access the at least one element to obtain the information related to processing the communication;

using the obtained information to compute an indication of cost or value of the communication to at least one of the contactor or the contactee; and

routing the communication based on the computed indication.

2. The method of claim 1, where the schema identifier is at least one of a globally unique identifier, a uniform resource locator and a path name.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein using the schema identifier to access the schema to obtain the information related to processing the communication comprises accessing a computing device separate from the computing device associated with the contactee.

4. A method of processing a communication between a contactor and a contactee, the method comprising:

at a computing device associated with the contactee;

receiving a data packet, the data packet comprising;

a first field that stores preference data associated with a communicating party from at least one of the contactor or the contactee; and

a second field that stores context data associated with the communicating party;

generating, based on the preference data and the context data, a schema comprising a plurality of elements and a plurality of attributes;

parsing the preference data and the context data to extract at least one first value to populate at least one element from the plurality of elements of the schema and at least one second value to populate at least one attribute from the plurality of attributes of the schema;

storing the at least one first value in the at least one element of the schema and the at least one second value in the at least one attribute of the schema;

receiving a communication from the contactor directed to the contactee; and

selectively routing the communication based on the schema by selectively routing the communication based on the at least one first value and the at least one second value extracted from the preference data and the context data.

5. The method of claim 4, where the preference data comprises a data associated with deterministic preference values, and an inference concerning one or more non-deterministic preference values.

6. The method of claim 4, where the preference data comprises at least one of a preferred communication time, a preferred communication day, a preferred communicating party, a preferred hardware, a preferred software, a preferred communication policy, and a preferred interruptability data.

7. The method of claim 4, where the context data comprises a data associated with deterministic context values, and an inference concerning one or more non-deterministic context values.

8. The method of claim 4, where the context data comprises at least one of an activity type, a location, a calendar, a communication history, an ambient noise data, a time on task data, a gaze track data, a communication needs data, and an attentional status data.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the data packet comprises a third field that stores a group data associated with at least one of the contactor and the contactee.

10. The method of claim 4, where the group data comprises at least one of a group identity data, a group preference data, and a group context data.

11. The method of claim 9, where the group identity data comprises at least one of a group name, a group membership, a group classification data and a group inclusion criteria data.

12. The method of claim 11, where the group classification data comprises at least one of, a group formation data, a group addition data, a group deletion data, a group update data, and a group creator metadata associated.

13. The method of claim 11, where the group inclusion criteria data is information concerning traits that make a communicating party eligible for membership in the group, the information comprising, at least one of, a membership of a communicating party in an address book, a time since the communicating party last communicated, a time left until a deadline, a membership of the communicating party in a collection, a degree to which a communicating party is trusted, and the identity of a communication initiator.

14. The method of claim 4, where the group relevant data comprises at least one of a group hardware preference, a group software preference, a group membership preference, and a group communication time preference.

15. The method of claim 4, where the group relevant data comprises at least one of a group hardware context, a group software context, and a group availability context.

16. The method of claim 4, wherein the data packet comprises a third field that stores a time away data associated with at least one of the contactor or the contactee.

17. The method of claim 16, where the time away data comprises at least one of a current time away from a task data, a current time away from a computer component data, a current time away from a contextual data item state, a historical time away from a task data, a historical time away from a computer component data, a historical time away from a contextual data item state, information associated with the likelihood that a person will return to a task, information associated with the likelihood that a person will return to a computer component, calendar data, and information associated with the likelihood that a person will return to a contextual data item state.

18. The method of claim 4, wherein the data packet comprises a third field that stores a reliability data associated with a communication channel along which the managed communicating will occur.

19. The method of claim 18, where the reliability data comprises at least one of a current likelihood of degradation, an expected likelihood of degradation, a current disconnection likelihood, an expected disconnection likelihood, a current security compromise likelihood, an expected security compromise likelihood, a communication channel mean time between failure, an average communication channel failure duration, an average communication channel percent degradation, an atmospheric condition data, a scheduled communication channel maintenance data, a scheduled communication channel downtime data, an expected communication duration, a communication channel reliability history, a lost connection cost, a reconnecting cost, a communicating party attentional status, a communicating party activity, a partially completed communication utility, a lost connection frustration factor cost, a lost connection monetary cost, a lost connection opportunity cost, a reconnection time delay cost, and an embarrassment cost.

20. A method of processing a communication between a contactor and a contactee, the method comprising:

at a computing device associated with the contactee;

receiving a data packet comprising;

a first field that stores preference data associated with a communicating party; and

a second field that stores context data associated with the communicating party, wherein the context data comprises a task in which at least one of the contactee and the contactor is engaged;

generating, based on the preference data and the context data, a schema comprising a plurality of elements;

parsing the preference data and the context data to extract at least one value to populate at least one element from the plurality of elements of the schema;

storing the at least one value in the at least one element of the schema;

receiving a communication from the contactor directed to the contactee;

accessing the at least one element of the schema to obtain the at least one value to compute, based on the at least one value, an indication of an expected utility of the communication to at least one of the contactor and the contactee, wherein the expected utility indicates a value of the communication to at least one of the contactor and the contactee; and

selectively routing the communication based on the indication of the expected utility.