Associating communications in collaboration sessions

• US 9,055,089 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2011
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wrp IP Management, LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Willner, Barry E., O'Sullivan, Patrick Joseph, Stern, Edith Helen
• Primary Examiner(s): LI, GUANG W
• Application Number:
  US13/155,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20120317296A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• Field of Search: 709/228, 702/28
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1822 Conducting the conference, e.g. admission, detection, selection or grouping of participants, correlating users to one or more conference sessions, prioritising transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066

Abstract

A method, computer program product, and system for associating communications in collaboration sessions is described. A method may comprise displaying, via one or more computing devices, a document accessible to one or more collaborators of a first collaboration session. The method may further comprise associating, via the one or more computing devices, a first communication session of the first collaboration session with a first portion of the document. The method may additionally comprise indicating, via the one or more computing devices, the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

displaying, via one or more computing devices, a document accessible to one or more collaborators of a first collaboration session, wherein the document is one of;

a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a presentation document, a drawing, and a blueprint, wherein the document is separate from the first collaboration session;

associating, via the one or more computing devices, a first communication session of the first collaboration session with a first portion of the document;

indicating, via the one or more computing devices, the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document, wherein indicating the association includes rendering, on the document, a visual indication of the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document; and

associating, via the one or more computing devices, a second communication session of a second collaboration session with a second portion of the document, wherein the document is accessible to one or more collaborators of a second collaboration session;

wherein at least part of the first communication session of the first collaboration session associated with the first portion of the document and at least part of the second communication session of the second collaboration session associated with the second portion of the document occur at the same time;

wherein different users are included within the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the second communication session of the second collaboration session.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating the first communication session of the first collaboration session in response to receiving a selection from one of the one more collaborators of the first collaboration session, the selection indicating that the first portion of the document is to be associated with the first communication session of the first collaboration session.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein indicating the association includes displaying the first communication session of the first collaboration session proximate to the first portion of the document.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual indication on the document includes, at least in part, at least one of:

a line indication, an arrow indication, a circle indication, and a color indication.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication session of the first collaboration session includes at least one of:

a chat session communication, an instant message communication, a telephonic communication, and a video communication.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

indicating the association between the second communication session of the second collaboration session and the second portion of the document.

8. A computer program product residing on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

displaying a document accessible to one or more collaborators of a first collaboration session, wherein the document is one of;

a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a presentation document, a drawing, and a blueprint, wherein the document is separate from the first collaboration session;

associating a first communication session of the first collaboration session with a first portion of the document;

indicating the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document, wherein indicating the association includes rendering, on the document, a visual indication of the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document; and

associating a second communication session of a second collaboration session with a second portion of the document, wherein the document is accessible to one or more collaborators of a second collaboration session;

wherein at least part of the first communication session of the first collaboration session associated with the first portion of the document and at least part of the second communication session of the second collaboration session associated with the second portion of the document occur at the same time;

wherein different users are included within the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the second communication session of the second collaboration session.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

initiating the first communication session of the first collaboration session in response to receiving a selection from one of the one more collaborators of the first collaboration session, the selection indicating that the first portion of the document is to be associated with the first communication session of the first collaboration session.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein indicating the association includes displaying the first communication session of the first collaboration session and proximate to the first portion of the document.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the visual indication on the document includes, at least in part, at least one of:

a line indication, an arrow indication, a circle indication, and a color indication.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the first communication session of the first collaboration session includes at least one of:

a chat session communication, an instant message communication, a telephonic communication, and a video communication.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

storing the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

indicating the association between the second communication session of the second collaboration session and the second portion of the document.

15. A computing system comprising:

at least one processor;

at least one memory architecture coupled with the at least one processor;

a first software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the first software module is configured to display a document accessible to one or more collaborators of a first collaboration session, wherein the document is one of;

a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a presentation document, a drawing, and a blueprint, wherein the document is separate from the first collaboration session;

a second software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the second software module is configured to associate a first communication session of the first collaboration session with a first portion of the document;

a third software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the third software module is configured to indicate the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document, wherein indicating the association includes rendering, on the document, a visual indication of the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document; and

a fourth software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the fourth software module is configured to associate a second communication session of a second collaboration session with a second portion of the document, wherein the document is accessible to one or more collaborators of a second collaboration session;

wherein at least part of the first communication session of the first collaboration session associated with the first portion of the document and at least part of the second communication session of the second collaboration session associated with the second portion of the document occur at the same time;

wherein different users are included within the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the second communication session of the second collaboration session.

16. The computing system of claim 15, further comprising:

a fifth software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the fifth software module is configured to initiate the first communication session of the first collaboration session in response to receiving a selection from one of the one more collaborators of the first collaboration session, the selection indicating that the first portion of the document is to be associated with the first communication session of the first collaboration session.

17. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the third software module configured to indicate the association is further configured to display the first communication session of the first collaboration session proximate to the first portion of the document.

18. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the visual indication on the document includes, at least in part, at least one of:

a line indication, an arrow indication, a circle indication, and a color indication.

19. The computing system of claim 15, wherein the first communication session of the first collaboration session includes at least one of:

a chat session communication, an instant message communication, a telephonic communication, and a video communication.

20. The computing system of claim 15, further comprising:

a sixth software module executable by the at least one processor and the at least one memory architecture, wherein the sixth software module is configured to store the association between the first communication session of the first collaboration session and the first portion of the document.