Method and System for Supervising Electronic Text Communications of an Enterprise

• US 20090292779A1
• Filed: 05/22/2008
• Published: 11/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Edlund, Stefan B., Hui, Joshua W., Johnson, Christopher M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,028,030 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A method and system for supervising electronic text messages in an enterprise allows for storing organizational information related to the enterprise, identifying a source and a target of the electronic text message, invoking communication screens between the identified source and target, each of the invoked communication screens being determined by the organizational information for the identified source and target, analyzing the electronic text message by a set of rules corresponding to said invoked communication screens to provide a supervisory score, and applying supervisory action to the electronic text message based on the supervisory score, including any of blocking transmission, redirecting the electronic text message to a supervisor or a supervisory file, and copying the electronic text message to the supervisory file.

Claims

1. A method of supervising an electronic text message in an enterprise, said method comprising:

storing organizational information, related to said enterprise;

storing one or more communication screens that screen electronic text messages, each of said communication screens applying a set of rules to analyze said electronic text message, said set of rules being determined by said organizational information;

identifying a source and a target of said electronic text message;

invoking said one or more communication screens between said identified source and said identified target, each of said one or more invoked communication screens being determined by said organizational information for said identified source and said identified target;

analyzing said electronic text message by said set of rules corresponding to said invoked one or more communication screens to provide a supervisory score; and

outputting said electronic text message, based on said supervisory score, to a supervisory file for review by a supervisor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronic text message comprises one of an email, an instant message, and a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) transcript.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said source is an employee of said enterprise and said target is another employee of said enterprise or a non-employee.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said organizational information includes an identity of an employee and any of a workstation that said employee has access to, a department in which said employee works, and special projects to which said employee is assigned that may have temporary communication restrictions that apply to said employee.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing said organizational information and said supervisory score as metadata with said electronic text message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing further comprises:

combining rules of said set of rules to provide one or more evidence categories; and

combining said one or more evidence categories to provide one or more compliance classes, each of said one or more compliance classes having a supervisory score.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein each of said rules of said set of rules comprises any of a keyword, an entity, and a pattern of text that are looked for in said electronic text message.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein a matched rule has a numerical value, within a fixed range, corresponding to a relative value of truth for said matched rule.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein each of said one or more evidence categories has an evidence category score, said evidence category score corresponding to a highest numerical value of one or more matched rules.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said supervisory score, corresponding to said one or more compliance classes, comprises a combination of one of more evidence category scores.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said supervisory score is limited to a fixed numerical range, according to one of logical and arithmetic operations performed on said combination of one or more evidence category scores.

12. A system for supervising electronic text messages in an enterprise comprising:

a source workstation and a target workstation connected to a supervisory system by a network;

said supervisory system comprising;

a memory for storing organizational information related to said enterprise and for storing one or more communication screens that screen said electronic text messages;

an analysis engine adapted to;

identify a source and a target by accessing an electronic text messaging system;

determine, by said organizational information, a set of rules to be applied to said one or more communication screens to analyze said electronic text message;

invoke said one or more communication screens between said identified source and said identified target, each of said one or more invoked communication screens being determined by said organizational information for said identified source and said identified target;

analyze said electronic text message by said set of rules corresponding to said invoked one or more communication screens to provide a supervisory score; and

output said electronic text message, based on said supervisory score, to a supervisory file for review by a supervisor.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said memory stores said organizational information and said supervisory score as metadata with a stored electronic text message.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said analysis engine is further adapted to:

combine rules of said set of rules to provide one or more evidence categories; and

combine said one or more evidence categories to provide one or more compliance classes, each of said one or more compliance classes having a supervisory score.

15. A method of supervising electronic text messages in an enterprise, said method comprising:

storing organizational information related to said enterprise;

identifying a source and a target of said electronic text message;

invoking one or more communication screens between said identified source and said identified target, each of said one or more invoked communication screens being determined by said organizational information for said identified source and said identified target;

analyzing said electronic text message by a set of rules corresponding to said invoked one or more communication screens to provide a supervisory score; and

outputting said electronic text message, based on said supervisory score, to a supervisory file for review by a supervisor.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said organizational information includes an identity of an employee and any of a workstation that said employee has access to, a department in which said employee works, and special projects to which said employee is assigned that may have temporary communication restrictions that apply to said employee.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein said analyzing further comprises:

combining rules of said set of rules to provide one or more evidence categories; and

combining said one or more evidence categories to provide one or more compliance classes, each of said one or more compliance classes having a supervisory score.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

each of said rules of said set of rules comprises any of a keyword, an entity, and a pattern of text that are looked for in said electronic text message; and

a matched rule has a numerical value, within a fixed range, corresponding to a relative value of truth for said matched rule.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein:

each of said one or more evidence categories has an evidence category score, said evidence category score corresponding to a highest numerical value of one or more matched rules;

said supervisory score, corresponding to said one or more compliance classes, comprises a combination of one of more evidence category scores; and

said supervisory score is limited to a fixed numerical range, according to one of logical and arithmetic operations performed on said combination of one or more evidence category scores.

16. The method of claim 16, further comprising storing said one or more communication screens, each of said one or more communication screens applying a set of rules to analyze said electronic text message, said set of rules being determined by said organizational information.

21. A program storage device readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method of supervising electronic text messages in an enterprise, said method comprising:

storing organizational information related to said enterprise;

identifying a source and a target of said electronic text message;

invoking one or more communication screens between said identified source and said identified target, each of said one or more invoked communication screens being determined by said organizational information for said identified source and said identified target;

analyzing said electronic text message by a set of rules corresponding to said invoked one or more communication screens to provide a supervisory score; and

outputting said electronic text message, based on said supervisory score, to a supervisory file for review by a supervisor.

22. A program storage device readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method of claim 21, further comprising storing said one or more communication screens, each of said one or more communication screens applying a set of rules to analyze said electronic text message, said set of rules being determined by said organizational information.

23. A program storage device readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method of claim 21, wherein said organizational information includes an identity of an employee and any of a workstation that said employee has access to, a department in which said employee works, and special projects to which said employee is assigned that may have temporary communication restrictions that apply to said employee.

24. A program storage device readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method of claim 21, wherein said analyzing further comprises:

combining rules of said set of rules to provide one or more evidence categories; and

combining said one or more evidence categories to provide one or more compliance classes, each of said one or more compliance classes having a supervisory score.

25. A program storage device readable by computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by said computer to perform a method of claim 21, wherein:

each of said rules of said set of rules comprises any of a keyword, an entity, and a pattern of text that are looked for in said electronic text message; and

a matched rule has a numerical value, within a fixed range, corresponding to a relative value of truth for said matched rule.