Reports for email processing in an email response management system

• US 8,499,043 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2004
• Issued: 07/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Pricken, Thorsten, Zhou, Yufeng, Auhagen, Gero
• Primary Examiner(s): GOODCHILD, WILLIAM J
• Application Number:
  US10/917,103
• Publication Number:
  US 20060036694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,274 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

One implementation provides a method for providing display information that represents a quantity of received email messages that have been held for processing by a specific entity for a predefined time period in an electronic mail (email) response management system. In this implementation, the method includes determining a first value associated with a first quantity of received email messages that have been held for processing by the specific entity for a first predefined time period, wherein each email message has been sent from one end user. Upon determination of the first value, the method further includes causing to be displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI) a first representation of the first value in spatial relation to representations of the specific entity and the first predefined time period.

Claims

1. In an electronic mail (email) response management system, a computer-implemented method of managing processing of email messages, the method comprising:

receiving, in an email response management system, a plurality of email messages, and assigning each of the received email messages to one of a plurality of entities for processing;

providing supervisory information to manage the processing of emails by the plurality of entities, wherein providing the supervisory information comprises determining, for each of multiple predefined periods of time and for each of at least two of the plurality of entities, a quantity value indicating a number of email messages that i) have been assigned to the entity but wherein processing of the email message is not yet complete, and ii) have been in process for an amount of time that falls within the predefined period of time, and upon determination of the quantity values, causing to be displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI) a representation that shows, for each combination of one of the at least two entities and one of the predefined periods of time, the determined quantity value for the combination in spatial relation to representations of the assigned entity and the predefined time period to which the determined quantity value relates; and

receiving a user selection that determines which of at least two different sets of multiple predefined periods of time to use as the multiple predefined periods of time for which the quantity values are determined, and using the selected set of multiple predefined periods of time in the determination of the quantity values.

2. A computer program product tangibly embodied in memory medium, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed, perform a method of managing processing of email messages, the method comprising:

receiving, in an email response management system, a plurality of email messages, and assigning each of the received email messages to one of a plurality of entities for processing;

providing supervisory information to manage the processing of emails by the plurality of entities, wherein providing the supervisory information comprises determining, for each of multiple predefined periods of time and for each of at least two of the plurality of entities, a quantity value indicating a number of email messages that i) have been assigned to the entity but wherein processing of the email message is not yet complete, and ii) have been in process for an amount of time that falls within the predefined period of time, and upon determination of the quantity values, causing to be displayed in a graphical user interface (GUI) a representation that shows, for each combination of one of the at least two entities and one of the predefined periods of time, the determined quantity value for the combination in spatial relation to representations of the assigned entity and the predefined time period to which the determined quantity value relates; and

receiving a user selection that determines which of at least two different sets of multiple predefined periods of time to use as the multiple predefined periods of time for which the quantity values are determined, and using the selected set of multiple predefined periods of time in the determination of the quantity values.