Systems and methods for enterprise collaboration

• US 20050262094A1
• Filed: 02/10/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: BEA Systems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Frender, Kevin Blair, Beartusk, Brodi, Jolley, Christopher, Smith, Gregory, Devgan, Manish, Pearson, Shane, Olander, Daryl B., Cook, Thomas A., O'Neil, Edward K., Feit, Richard, Breeden, Timothy, Stamm, Thomas Carl, McCauley, Rodney
• Application Number:
  US11/055,038
• Publication Number:
  US 20050262094A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems and methods for a collaboration between a plurality of participants, comprising contacting a collaboration process wherein the contacting is by a first participant; qualifying one or more potential participants based on a role; selecting a second participant from the one or more potential participants; inviting the second participant to join the collaboration; and receiving an indication of whether the second participant can join the collaboration.

Claims

1. A method for a collaboration between a plurality of participants, comprising:

contacting a collaboration process wherein the contacting is by a first participant;

qualifying one or more potential participants based on a role;

selecting a second participant from the one or more potential participants;

inviting the second participant to join the collaboration; and

receiving an indication of whether the second participant can join the collaboration.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the second participant has a state that is accessible from the collaboration process and wherein the state indicates whether or not the participant is potentially available to participate in the collaboration.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the role is dynamically evaluated and wherein the role is based on presence information.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a message to the second participant in response to a message received from the first participant.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of contacting the collaboration process includes:

initiating the collaboration process.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the collaboration process is a business process.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the collaboration process, the first participant and the second participant can access a shared state through which information can be shared amongst them.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the role is based on one or more attributes of the potential participants.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of selecting includes:

choosing a least busy potential participant.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the collaboration allows a plurality of users to interact and/or share information.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein:

a message can be sent to a passivated one of the first and second participants and wherein the one will receive the message once it is no longer passivated.

12. A system for a collaboration, comprising:

a collaboration process including a messaging layer;

a first client including a first messaging layer, wherein the first client and the collaboration process are capable of communicating through their respecting messaging layers;

a second client including a second messaging layer, wherein the second client is capable of communicating with the collaboration process through their respective messaging layers;

a role to dynamically identify at least one of the first client and the second client; and

wherein the role is based on presence information for at least one of the first client and the second client.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein:

the collaboration process allows the first client and/or the second client to interact with one or more business processes.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

means for propagating and obtaining presence information.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein:

at least one of the first client and the second client is integrated with a process capable of web browsing.

16. The system of claim 12 wherein:

at least one of the first client and the second client is passivated.

17. The system of claim 12, further comprising:

a shared state to allow participants and the collaboration process to share information.

18. The system of claim 12 wherein:

the role is based on one or more attributes of the potential participants.

19. The system of claim 12 wherein:

a message can be sent to a passivated one of the plurality of participants and wherein the one will receive the message once it is no longer passivated.

20. The system of claim 12 wherein the first client and the second client further comprise:

a state that is accessible from the collaboration process and wherein the state indicates whether or not the client is potentially available to participate in the collaboration.

21. The system of claim 12 wherein:

the messaging layers are extensible through plug-in communication provider modules.

22. A machine readable medium having instructions stored thereon that when executed by one or more processors cause a system to:

contact a collaboration process wherein the contacting is by a first participant;

qualify one or more potential participants based on a role;

select a second participant from the one or more potential participants;

invite the second participant to join a collaboration; and

receive an indication of whether the second participant can join the collaboration.

23. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

the second participant has a state that is accessible from the collaboration process and wherein the state indicates whether or not the participant is potentially available to participate in the collaboration.

24. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

the role is dynamically evaluated and wherein the role is based on presence information.

25. The machine readable medium of claim 22, further comprising instructions that when executed cause the system to:

sending a message to the second participant in response to a message received from the first participant.

26. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein the step of contacting the collaboration process includes:

initiate the collaboration process.

27. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

the collaboration process is a business process.

28. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

the collaboration process, a first participant and the second participant can access a shared state through which information can be shared amongst them.

29. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

the role is based on one or more attributes of the potential participants.

30. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein the step of selecting includes instructions that when executed cause the system to:

choose a least busy potential participant.

31. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

the collaboration allows a plurality of users to interact and/or share information.

32. The machine readable medium of claim 22 wherein:

a message can be sent to a passivated one of the first and second participants and wherein the one will receive the message once it is no longer passivated.

33. A computer data signal embodied in a transmission medium, comprising:

a code segment including instructions to contact a collaboration process wherein the contacting is by a first participant;

a code segment including instructions to qualify one or more potential participants based on a role;

a code segment including instructions to select a second participant from the one or more potential participants;

a code segment including instructions to invite the second participant to join a collaboration; and

a code segment including instructions to receive an indication of whether the second participant can join the collaboration.