Managing collaborative activity

• US 8,977,689 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2014
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Virtualagility Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Virtualagility Incorporated
• Inventors: Beaven, Douglas F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Daftuar, Saket K
• Application Number:
  US14/297,058
• Publication Number:
  US 20140289135A1
• Time in Patent Office: 278 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 709/206, 709/213, 709/217, 709/219, 709/220, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/226, 709/229, 709/230, 709/231, 700/29, 700/30, 705/36.R, 705/300, 705/301, 705/50, 705/7.11, 705/7.29, 707/827, 707/608, 707/609, 707/610, 707/705, 707/736, 707/737, 707/741, 707/748, 707/755, 707/756, 707/790, 707/791, 707/796, 707/797, 707/999.1, 707/999.103, 707/999.002, 707/999.003, 707/E17.005, 707/E17.116, 707/999.102, 707/999.104, 707/999.205, 707/999.001, 707/999.06, 707/999.009, 707/999.201, 707/999.202, 717/104, 717/105, 717/106, 717/110, 715/202, 715/255, 715/738, 715/739, 715/742, 715/745, 715/751, 715/762, 715/764, 715/810, 715/848, 726/17, 726/27, 726/28, 703/22, 703/6
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/40 Support for services or applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/9994 Distributed or remote access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99941 Database schema or data structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99952 Coherency, e.g. same view to multiple users
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 : Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99956 : File allocation

Abstract

A system facilitates collaborative communications and information sharing in a network defined by a model. The model and a portion of the system are stored on a storage component coupled to a terminal. The system captures context information and user-defined data, the user-defined data provided during user interaction of the user in a first domain of the network, and dynamically stores the context information as metadata associated with the user-defined data, the user-defined data and the metadata stored on the storage component; a tracking component for tracking a change of the user from the first domain to a second domain of the network and dynamically updating the stored metadata based on the change, where the user accesses the user-defined data from the second domain; and an interface to the system that permits the user to create and view the user-defined data according to the model of the network.

Claims

1. A collaboration system, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising;

a collaboration model, comprising;

model entities that provide access to information related to a collaborative activity, the model entities including a model entity contained in a first hierarchy of a first type and contained in a second hierarchy of a second type;

the first hierarchy neither containing nor contained in the second hierarchy; and

configurable permissioning controls established for each of the persons involved in the collaborative activity, and

machine instructions for collaborative activity operations according to the collaboration model; and

a processor that;

accesses the collaboration model and the permissioning controls, and

executes the machine instructions to;

enable display of a graphical user interface;

determine a type of access by a person to the model entities by;

reading the permissioning controls, and

comparing the permissioning controls to an identification of the person entered by the person in the graphical user interface; and

perform the collaborative activity operations on the model entities to;

grant access by the person to the model entities according to the determined type of access,

view, create, modify, and delete the model entities,

make changes to the model entities immediately available to all persons authorized to access the model entities,

assign the model entities to locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy,

access and modify the information related to the collaborative activity, and

display the model entities in the graphical user interface according to the locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein within a given hierarchy, the model entities are ordered by values in the information related to the collaborative activity.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface, comprises:

an output device that provides outputs to the person; and

an input device that responds to inputs from the person.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the collaborative activity model further comprises:

representations of further information related to certain ones of the model entities; and

the graphical user interface permits the person to access the further information via the related certain ones of the model entities.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the representations of further information comprises links to other knowledge sources.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the graphical user interface permits the person to modify the further information.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the further information is a document that is accessible to the system.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the further information is a message sent to the person by another person.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the further information is a discussion concerning the model entity among persons participating in the collaborative activity.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an electronic network coupling the computer-readable storage medium and the processor.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein first storage elements of the computer-readable storage medium and first processing elements of the processor are contained in a first node of the electronic network and second storage elements of the computer-readable storage medium and second processing elements of the processor are contained in a second node of the electronic network.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the electronic network is a virtual private network.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the electronic network is a public network.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor and computer-readable storage medium are hosted on a server remote from the persons.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the public network is the Internet.

16. A system that provides a collaborative activity management service, the service accessed by persons of a client, the persons involved in a collaborative activity, the persons not being specialists in information technology, the system, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising;

a common framework that enables generation of a collaborative activity model, comprising;

fundamental components that are used to create hierarchies of model entities, the model entities;

providing access to information related to the collaborative activity;

including a model entity contained in a first hierarchy of a first type and also simultaneously contained in a second hierarchy of a second type; and

the first hierarchy neither containing nor contained in the second hierarchy, and

machine instructions for collaborative activity operations according to the collaborative activity model; and

a processor that;

provides access to the collaborative activity model, and

executes the machine instructions, wherein execution of the machine instructions causes the processor to;

enable display of a graphical user interface,

determine a type of access by a person to the model entities, and

perform the collaborative activity operations on the model entities to;

grant access by the person to the model entities according to the determined type of access;

view, create, modify, and delete the model entities;

assign the model entities to locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy;

access and modify the information related to the collaborative activity; and

display the model entities in the graphical user interface according to the locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the computer-readable storage medium and the processor are hosted on a server, the server separate from and not part of the client, the server and client coupled by a communications network.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the communications network is an Internet.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the communications network is a virtual private network.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the computer-readable storage medium and processor are located on a server at the client.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein the persons access and use the processor, the graphical user interface, and the computer-readable storage medium using only a browser.

22. The system of claim 17, wherein the persons access and use the processor, the graphical user interface, and the computer-readable storage medium using a browser.

23. The system of claim 17, wherein the persons access and use the processor, the graphical user interface, and the computer-readable storage medium using only a browser and an email system.

24. The system of claim 17, wherein the persons access and use the processor, the graphical user interface, and the computer-readable storage medium using only an application.

25. The system of claim 17, wherein the persons access and use the processor, the graphical user interface, and the computer-readable storage medium using a mobile application.

26. A server-side system, comprising:

a portal, hosted on a server, the portal accessed by persons at the client, the portal, comprising;

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, comprising;

a framework of fundamental components, the fundamental components including model entities;

configurable permissioning controls established for each of the persons; and

machine instructions that, when executed, enable generation of a collaboration model according to the framework; and

a processor that executes the machine instructions wherein the processor;

generates the model entities and hierarchies of model entities, by;

providing access to information related to the collaboration model;

providing pre-defined programming features in the model entities, the pre-defined programming features including features to view, create, modify and delete the model entities;

providing access controls to limit access of a person to the generated model entities by;

reading the permissioning controls; and

comparing the permissioning controls to an identification of the person entered by the person in the graphical user interface

placing a generated model entity in locations in a first hierarchy of a first type and in a second hierarchy of a second type; and

the first hierarchy neither containing nor contained in the second hierarchy.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the machine instructions comprise instructions for coilaboration model operations, and wherein execution of the machine instructions causes the processor to:

enable display of a graphical user interface,

determine a type of access by a person to the model entities,

perform the collaboration operations on the model entities

according to the determined type of access;

provide electronic links to provide the access to information;

and

provide the model entities for display in the graphical user interface according to the locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the server comprises a communications port that communicates with a browser of the client.

29. The system of claim 26, wherein the server comprises a communications port that communicates with an application of the client.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising:

a common framework comprising fundamental components for generating a collaborative activity model by persons involved in a collaborative activity, the persons not being specialists in information technology, the fundamental components comprising machine instructions for collaborative activity operations according to the common framework, the machine instructions, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to;

enable display of a graphical user interface;

generate model entities that provide access to information related to the collaborative activity, the model entities;

including a model entity contained in a first hierarchy of a first type and also simultaneously contained in a second hierarchy of a second type, and

the first hierarchy neither containing nor contained in the second hierarchy;

determine a type of access by a person to the model entities, and

perform further collaborative activity operations on the model entities to;

grant access by the person to the model entities according to the determined type of access;

modify and delete the model entities;

assign the model entities to locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy;

modify the information related to the collaborative activity; and

display the model entities in the graphical user interface according to the locations in the first hierarchy and the second hierarchy.