Audience selection and system anchoring of collaboration threads

• US 8,788,645 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2009
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Beringer, Joerg, Neben, Tillman
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Dhairya A
• Application Number:
  US12/650,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20110161424A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,665 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A social network server provides collaboration networking capability for a network system such as a business system. A user can request to tie a collaboration thread to an anchor in the system. The anchor is a primary topic, which can be selected from topics provided by the system, or entered by the user. The selectable topics are derived from within the system. Whether selected or entered, the topic is associated with the collaboration thread to allow the thread to be managed as a resource in the system. The audience for the collaboration thread is controlled by the user, where topics can be applied as filters to generate an audience. The primary topic directs audience selection, and additional audience selection can be achieved by applying boundary topics. The collaboration thread is presented only to the audience, and the audience can be dynamically altered.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method comprising:

receiving at a server of a backend system that supports a network of users, an indication of a topic selected as a primary topic to be an anchor for a collaboration thread, wherein the backend system is to model the primary topic as a data structure available as a network resource to the users in the network, wherein the collaboration thread is associated with the data structure in the backend system;

creating the collaboration thread in the backend system in response to receiving the indication, to provide a collaborative environment for multiple users;

associating, in the backend system, the created collaboration thread to the primary topic to anchor the collaboration thread to the primary topic in the backend system, including referencing the collaboration thread in the backend system as a context resource of the network resource of the primary topic;

assigning an audience of users unique to the collaboration thread, the audience defined by the primary topic and one or more additional topics selected as boundary topics that provide boundaries to the primary topic,

wherein the backend system includes definitions of associations of users to the topics, and the audience is assigned by intersecting users associated to the primary topic with users associated with the one or more boundary topics;

presenting the collaboration thread to the assigned audience to enable only the assigned audience to participate in the collaboration thread; and

dynamically altering the assigned audience after presenting the collaboration thread to the assigned audience by dynamically changing either the primary topic or a boundary topic of the collaboration thread.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the primary topic further comprises:

receiving the indication in response to providing selectable topics derived from a catalog of topics stored in the backend system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the indication of the primary topic further comprises:

receiving a topic entered by a user of the backend system, the backend system to model the entered topic as a network resource within the backend system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the audience of users comprises:

assigning users to the audience based on explicit and inferred associations of the users to the network resources.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the audience of users comprises:

assigning users to the audience based on subscriptions of the users to the primary and boundary topics.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the audience of users comprises:

assigning users to the audience with an authorization level with respect to posting to the collaboration, wherein the authorization level is based on a role of the user.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein first and second boundary topics are selected, and wherein assigning the audience comprises:

performing a logical AND operation to filter the audience based on associations of the users to both the first boundary topic and the second boundary topic.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein first and second boundary topics are selected, and wherein assigning the audience comprises:

performing a logical OR operation to filter the audience based on associations of the users to either the first boundary topic or the second boundary topic, where the first boundary topic and the second boundary topic have the same type.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein dynamically altering the audience by changing the topic further comprises:

dynamically altering the audience by changing multiple boundary topics of an assigned audience.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the assigned audience is assigned based on the primary topic and a first boundary topic, and wherein dynamically altering the audience comprises:

narrowing the audience by applying an additional, second boundary topic as a narrowing filter.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the collaboration thread to the audience further comprises:

assigning the collaboration thread to a user-owner that initiated the collaboration thread; and

further comprising;

generating a network of trusted users associated with the user-owner, wherein presenting the collaboration thread to the assigned audience comprises presenting the collaboration thread to users only within the network of trusted users whose defined associations match the primary topic and the boundary topic.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the backend system comprises a business system.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the indication of the primary topic further comprises:

receiving the indication in response to providing selectable topics derived from business objects of the business system.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving the indication of the primary topic further comprises:

receiving the indication in response to providing selectable topics identified as forming communities of interest, the topics including one or more of an area of practice, location, use of a business tool, or a business goal.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the business system comprises an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system.

16. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having content stored thereon, which when executed, cause a machine to perform operations including:

receiving at a server of a backend system that supports a network of users, an indication of a topic selected as a primary topic to be an anchor for a collaboration thread, wherein the backend system is to model the primary topic as a data structure available as a network resource to the users in the network, wherein the collaboration thread is associated with the data structure in the backend system;

creating the collaboration thread in the backend system in response to receiving the indication, to provide a collaborative environment for multiple users;

associating, in the backend system, the created collaboration thread to the primary topic to anchor the collaboration thread to the primary topic in the backend system, including referencing the collaboration thread in the backend system as a context resource of the network resource of the primary topic;

assigning an audience of users unique to the collaboration thread, the audience defined by the primary topic and one or more additional topics selected as boundary topics that provide boundaries to the primary topic,

wherein the backend system includes definitions of associations of users to the topics, and the audience is assigned by intersecting users associated to the primary topic with users associated with the one or more boundary topics;

presenting the collaboration thread to the assigned audience to enable only the assigned audience to participate in the collaboration thread; and

dynamically altering the assigned audience after presenting the collaboration thread to the assigned audience by dynamically changing either the primary topic or a boundary topic of the collaboration thread.

17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the content for assigning the audience of users comprises content for

assigning users to the audience based on explicit and inferred associations of the users to the network resources.

18. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the content for assigning the audience comprises content for one or more of

performing a logical AND operation to filter the audience based on associations of the users to both the first boundary topic and the second boundary topic, or

performing a logical OR operation to filter the audience based on associations of the users to either the first boundary topic or the second boundary topic, where the first boundary topic and the second boundary topic have the same type.

19. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the content for receiving the indication of the primary topic further comprises content for

receiving the indication based on one or more of selectable topics derived from a catalog of topics stored in the backend system, a topic entered by a user of the backend system, selectable topics derived from business objects of the business system, or selectable topics identified as forming communities of interest, the topics including one or more of an area of practice, location, use of a business tool, or a business goal.