U.S. patent application number 12/022266 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-30 for integrated real time collaboration experiences with online workspace.
This patent application is currently assigned to Microsoft Corporation. Invention is credited to Andrew Ash, Natasha Desai, Ananta Gudipaty, Samer Fouad Sawaya, Kapil Sharma, Donna Shaw.
Application Number | 20090192845 12/022266 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40900146 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090192845 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gudipaty; Ananta ; et
al. |
July 30, 2009 |
INTEGRATED REAL TIME COLLABORATION EXPERIENCES WITH ONLINE
WORKSPACE
Abstract
Online meeting experience is integrated with online and/or
offline collaborative workspace(s). Documents and other content
generated through team collaboration and managed by a content
management system are automatically made available during the
meeting, updated, and stored in collaborative workspace linked to a
particular meeting. Newly generated content during the meeting is
also added to the workspace. As a result, online meetings become
part of the collaborative workspace rendering reusable and
searchable data through meeting content and updates to associated
documents.
Inventors: |
Gudipaty; Ananta; (Kirkland,
WA) ; Sharma; Kapil; (Woodinville, WA) ; Shaw;
Donna; (Andover, MA) ; Desai; Natasha;
(Bellevue, WA) ; Sawaya; Samer Fouad; (Snoqualmie,
WA) ; Ash; Andrew; (Netanya, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
MERCHANT & GOULD (MICROSOFT)
P.O. BOX 2903
MINNEAPOLIS
MN
55402-0903
US
|
Assignee: |
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond
WA
|
Family ID: |
40900146 |
Appl. No.: |
12/022266 |
Filed: |
January 30, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.19 ;
715/733 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/04842 20130101;
G06Q 10/10 20130101; G06F 3/0482 20130101; G06Q 10/1095 20130101;
H04L 65/403 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7 ;
715/733 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/00 20060101
G06Q010/00; G06F 3/048 20060101 G06F003/048 |
Claims
1. A method to be executed at least in part in a computing device
for integrating online meetings with shared workspaces, the method
comprising: receiving a request for an online meeting associated
with at least a portion of content included in a shared workspace;
preparing a workspace for the online meeting that includes at least
one from a set of: links to the portion of content associated with
the online meeting, a history of online meetings on a same subject,
and a list of future scheduled meetings on the same subject;
enabling participants to configure at least one from a set of:
content associated with the online meeting, a meeting agenda, and
invitees to the online meeting prior to the online meeting;
enabling participants of the online meeting to modify the portion
of the content associated with the online meeting and to create new
content associated with the online meeting; at conclusion of the
online meeting, automatically processing and storing any modified
content and any newly created content during the online meeting in
the shared workspace such that the stored content is reusable and
searchable, and is associated with the concluded online meeting;
and making the stored content available to users of the shared
workspace.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: updating a record of
past online meetings and a record of future scheduled online
meetings on the same subject based on the stored content associated
with the concluded online meeting.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: organizing and
initiating the online meeting from a selection of at least one
document within the shared workspace.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: automatically
determining a list of participants, the subject of the online
meeting, the history of online meetings and the list of future
scheduled meetings on the same subject, and a list of additional
documents to be linked to the online meeting based on the selection
of the at least one document in the shared workspace.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein processing any modified content
and any newly created content during the online meeting includes:
formatting the modified content and the newly created content such
that the data associated with the modified content and the newly
created content is reusable for any application program associated
with the shared workspace; indexing the modified content and the
newly created content such that the data associated with the
modified content and the newly created content is searchable within
the shared workspace; and linking the modified content and the
newly created content with the concluded meeting.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: enabling a user of
the shared workspace to prepare the online meeting by selecting at
least one document associated with the shared workspace while
offline and then by checking in the selected document into the
shared workspace while online.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: enabling the user of
the shared workspace to access results of the conclude online
meeting by allowing any modified content and any newly created
content during the meeting, and a recording of the meeting to be
checked out for offline operations.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the newly created content during
the online meeting includes at least one from a set of: a newly
opened document, a whiteboard capture document, an image captured
during the online meeting, and a recording of the online meeting in
one of: audio, video, and textual form.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for the online
meeting originates from one of: a user of the shared workspace and
a scheduling application in response to a recurring meeting
schedule and detection of an event associated with the shared
workspace.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the online meeting is associated
with a plurality of shared workspaces.
11. A collaborative team site service to be executed on at least
one server for integrating online meetings with shared workspaces,
the service comprising: a storage module for storing data
associated with the shared workspaces in at least one data store
associated with the at least one server; a collaboration module for
managing processing of data associated with the shared workspaces
by a plurality of data processing applications accessed by users of
the shared workspaces; a search module for enabling users to
perform searches on the data associated with the shared workspaces;
and an online meeting module for organizing and facilitating an
online meeting associated with at least one document within a
shared workspace, the online module capable of: preparing a
workspace for the online meeting that includes at least one from a
set of: links to the at least one document associated with the
online meeting, a history of online meetings on a same subject, and
a list of future scheduled meetings on the same subject; enabling
participants of the online meeting to modify the at least one
document associated with the online meeting and to create at least
one other document associated with the online meeting; and at
conclusion of the online meeting, providing any modified and newly
created documents and a recording of the online meeting to the
collaboration module for automatic processing and storing in the
shared workspace such that the stored documents are reusable,
searchable, and associated with the concluded online meeting.
12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the collaboration
module includes: an online collaboration module for: formatting any
modified and newly created documents and the recording of the
online meeting such that applications associated with the shared
workspace can reuse data associated with any modified and newly
created documents and the recording of the online meeting; indexing
any modified and newly created documents and the recording of the
online meeting for searchability; and linking any modified and
newly created documents with the recording of the online meeting;
and an offline collaboration module for: enabling users of the
shared workspace to select documents for the online meeting while
offline; and retrieving results of the online meeting including any
modified and newly created documents and the recording of the
online meeting for offline operations.
13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the applications
associated with the shared workspace include at least one from a
set of: a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, a
presentation application, an analysis application, a programming
code editor, a search engine application, and an media player
application.
14. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the online meeting
module is configured to coordinate the online meeting with at least
one from a set of: an audio conference application, a video
conference application, an electronic mail application, and an
instant messaging application.
15. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the online meeting
module is integrated with the collaboration module such that the
online meeting can be prepared and initiated from a user interface
of the collaboration module by selecting the at least one
document.
16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the preparation of
the online meeting includes automatic determination of a subject,
invitees for the online meeting, and links to associated documents
within the shared workspace based on the selection of the at least
one document in the user interface.
17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the user interface of
the collaboration module is configured to enable participants of
the online meeting to include additional documents from the shared
workspace in a meeting workspace during the online meeting for at
least one of viewing and modification.
18. A computer-readable storage medium with instructions stored
thereon for integrating online meetings with shared workspaces, the
instructions comprising: enabling online and offline collaborative
operations on documents within a shared workspace; providing a user
interface for selection of the documents within the shared
workspace; in response to selection of at least one document in the
user interface, providing an option to initiate an online meeting
associate with the selected document; in response to receiving an
indication of a request for initiating the online meeting,
preparing a workspace for the online meeting that includes at least
one from a set of: links to the at least one document associated
with the online meeting, a history of online meetings on a same
subject, and a list of future scheduled meetings on the same
subject; facilitating the online meeting by enabling participants
of the online meeting to modify the at least one document
associated with the online meeting and to create at least one other
document associated with the online meeting; at conclusion of the
online meeting, automatically formatting, indexing, and linking any
modified and newly created documents and a recording of the online
meeting such that the documents and the recording of the meeting
are stored in the shared workspace in a reusable and searchable
manner available to online and offline users of the shared
workspace.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the
instructions further comprise: preparing the workspace for the
meeting, initiating the meeting, and facilitating the meeting in
response to detection of a predefined event associated with the
shared workspace by a scheduling application.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the
instructions further comprise: enabling a survey of participants to
be taken during the online meeting; and storing results of the
survey in the shared workspace with a link to the recording of the
online meeting.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] With the development and proliferation of online tools and
networking capabilities of desktop applications such as word
processing applications, spreadsheet applications, presentation
applications, and the like, online collaboration has become a real
and necessary part of daily life. Many organizations employ people
who may be in different physical and geographical locations, but
using online collaboration teams do not have physical boundaries
anymore.
[0002] Typical online collaboration involves sharing of documents
and other content with a backbone system providing necessary
tracking and conflict resolution services when two or more people
work on the same document or other content. Software code may be
written and tested by a number people who collaborate online
meaning, they can make changes to the code being developed
collectively without losing track of who made which change.
[0003] Another aspect of online collaboration is online
communication. While conventional phone and/or video conferencing
systems exist, online meeting systems are increasingly
complementing or replacing those conventional methods. In an online
meeting, participants can not only exchange messages (voice, text,
video, etc.), but they can also work on one or more documents while
communicating with each other. Thus, online meetings are becoming a
significant part of online collaboration. However, existing
technology typically treats online or otherwise communications
(e.g. online meetings) separately from other forms of
collaboration. For example, a team may have a shared workspace
where documents are collectively worked on. When the same team
holds an online meeting, the meeting records, changes to any
documents or newly created documents have to be manually moved to
the shared workspace resulting in a broken up collaborative
experience.
SUMMARY
[0004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended as an aid in determining the scope of the
claimed subject matter.
[0005] Embodiments are directed to integrating real time
collaboration experiences such as online meetings with shared
workspace(s). In a system according to embodiments, meetings may be
organized, initiated, and recorded through a workspace. Relevant
documents and content may be made available automatically for the
online meeting. Changes to relevant documents, newly created
content, as well as a record of the meeting may be stored in the
workspace with appropriate indexing and linking such that data
generated through the meeting is re-usable and searchable.
[0006] These and other features and advantages will be apparent
from a reading of the following detailed description and a review
of the associated drawings. It is to be understood that both the
foregoing general description and the following detailed
description are explanatory only and are not restrictive of aspects
as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating collaborative
experiences between users that involve a shared workspace and an
online meeting;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a diagram of main components in a collaborative
team site or shared workspace that integrates online meetings with
content collaboration;
[0009] FIG. 3 is an example screenshot of a scheduling application
user interface (UI) that enables organization and initiation of an
online meeting integrated into a collaborative team site;
[0010] FIG. 4 is an example screenshot of an online meeting
application UI integrated into a collaborative team site;
[0011] FIG. 5 is an example screenshot of a shared workspace UI
illustrating how content can be brought from the collaborative team
site into the online meeting;
[0012] FIG. 6 is an example screenshot of a collaborative team site
UI illustrating how a history and future scheduled online meetings
associated with the team site can be provided as part of the team
site;
[0013] FIG. 7 is another example screenshot of the collaborative
team site UI of FIG. 6 illustrating how content modified or
generated during online meetings can be stored on the collaborative
team site and versioned, archived, searched, and the like;
[0014] FIG. 8 illustrates a networked environment where embodiments
may be implemented.
[0015] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example computing operating
environment, where embodiments may be implemented; and
[0016] FIG. 10 illustrates a logic flow diagram for a process of
integrating an online meeting with a collaborative team site
according to embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] As briefly described above, online meetings and
collaborative workspaces can be integrated such that meetings can
be more efficient through the availability of relevant shared
content and records of the meetings and changes to content can be
made part of the workspace. In the following detailed description,
references are made to the accompanying drawings that form a part
hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustrations specific
embodiments or examples. These aspects may be combined, other
aspects may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without
departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The
following detailed description is therefore not to be taken in a
limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined
by the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0018] While the embodiments will be described in the general
context of program modules that execute in conjunction with an
application program that runs on an operating system on a personal
computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that aspects may
also be implemented in combination with other program modules.
[0019] Generally, program modules include routines, programs,
components, data structures, and other types of structures that
perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data
types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that
embodiments may be practiced with other computer system
configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor
systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,
minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments may
also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks
are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through
a communications network. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules may be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
[0020] Embodiments may be implemented as a computer process
(method), a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such
as a computer program product or computer readable media. The
computer program product may be a computer storage media readable
by a computer system and encoding a computer program of
instructions for executing a computer process. The computer program
product may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by a
computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions
for executing a computer process.
[0021] While the terms content and document are used
interchangeably in portions of this document, content is meant to
represent any form of data that can be part of a collaborative team
site such as audio data, video data, images, graphics, and so on.
Document is generally understood to be files associated with
textual and/or graphics data such as word processing documents,
spreadsheet documents, and so on. Embodiments may be implemented
for sharing any type of content and/document with an integrated
online meeting experience.
[0022] Moreover, the terms collaborative team site and shared
workspace are used throughout the document. Collaborative team site
refers to an online entity that enables participants to share and
collaboratively develop content (and/or documents) within a defined
realm such as a project. Shared workspace is typically understood
as the virtual location of collaborated documents/content. Thus, a
collaborative team site may include one or more shared workspaces.
Still, any interchanged use of these terms or the use of one term
instead of the other should not be interpreted as having a
significant impact on embodiments. A shared workspace may be an
online or offline entity.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, conceptual diagram 100 of collaborative
experiences between users that involve a shared workspace and an
online meeting, is illustrated. Shared workspaces (e.g. 110)
provide users (102, 104, 106, 108) a platform to collaborate on a
wide variety of topics. For example, project teams may work on a
number of documents such as specification documents, project
spreadsheets, customer presentations, or even programming codes
without having to physically send a document (or content) to each
other--as exemplified by the icons in shared workspace 110--,
manually keep track of changes, and so on.
[0024] Shared workspaces may be created on a collaborative team
site within a secure enterprise network, on the Internet, or
through any other networked means. Many available shared workspace
applications provide automated versioning, archiving, and search
capabilities for the shared content. This enables people, even far
apart, to work together as a team.
[0025] Another aspect of teamwork is communication between team
members. In many instances, voice, video, or at least textual
exchange of ideas is a necessity for successful collaboration.
People collaborating on a project typically utilize various
communication modes such as instant messaging, electronic mail,
conference calls, video conferences, and the like, all of which
involve some form of a communication network (112).
[0026] An increasingly popular method of communicating while
working on a collaborative project is online meeting. Online
meetings allow participants to exchange textual messages (sometimes
complemented by voice or video communication, separate or as an
integral part of the online meeting). Moreover, participants are
sometimes also enabled to work on a shared document. Some
applications allow one participant to modify (or create) a document
while others view it. Other applications allow collaborative
modification of the same document.
[0027] However, one major disadvantage of conventional systems is
that online meetings are typically disconnected from or not well
integrated with shared workspaces. When content from a meeting is
modified or new content is created, it has to be manually brought
into the shared workspace (e.g. indexed, formatted, or linked to
other relevant content within the workspace such that an integrity
and searchability of the shared workspace is preserved). In
addition, meeting records are typically integrated into the shared
workspace manually too. The content that is needed for the meeting
has to be uploaded or made part of the meeting manually by an
organizer. Thus, the disconnect between the online meeting
capabilities and shared workspaces prevents a seamless user
experience for an online collaborative team effort.
[0028] FIG. 2 is a diagram of main components in a collaborative
team site or shared workspace that integrates online meetings with
content collaboration. Shared workspaces may operate real time or
asynchronously. A managing application commonly keeps track of
shared content performing versioning, archiving, indexing (for
searchability), and similar tasks. In the case of asynchronous or
offline collaboration, a participant typically checks out a
document (or content) makes changes while offline, and any
conflicts are resolved when the document is checked back in based
on predefined rules or dynamically.
[0029] A collaborative team site or shared workspace (220)
according to embodiments, thus, cooperates with an online content
management application 232 and an offline content management
application 234. Of course, these functionalities may be provided
within the same shared workspace application or service too. In
addition to the content management aspect, shared workspace
applications or services work together with a variety of
applications. Scheduling application 236 is one example. Scheduling
application 236 may provide calendaring, electronic mail, contact
management, or other services in conjunction with the shared
workspace.
[0030] A shared workspace service according to a preferred
embodiment coordinates with an online meeting application 222 or
includes within itself integrated online meeting functionality.
Through the integrated online meeting functionality, meetings can
be organized based on selected content from the shared workspace
(e.g. selection of participants or invitees, inclusion of documents
to be viewed or modified during the meeting, etc.). Any changes
made to content within the shared workspace, any newly created
content (e.g. whiteboard capture images, new documents), and even a
recording (audio, video, or textual) of the meeting itself can be
integrated into the shared workspace automatically. The integration
may include versioning and/or archiving of content affected by the
meeting, linking of content through the meeting, maintenance of a
history of meetings linked with associated documents, and
processing of content affected by the online meeting (e.g. newly
created content, modified content, and meeting records) for
reusability and searchability within the shared workspace.
[0031] For example, a survey of participants during a sales meeting
may take place for a particular product. The survey results may be
saved as a new document along with appropriate keywords for
subsequent searches and links to other product documentation (as
well as to the meeting record) at the conclusion of the meeting. If
a product specification was modified during the same meeting, the
modified specification may also be saved as a new version of the
existing document with a link to the meeting such that a user of
the shared workspace can later determine when and why the
specification was modified.
[0032] Online meetings may be complemented with other forms of
communication such as email, phone conference, video conference,
and the like. Thus, the online meeting application 222 may work
together with communication applications 224, 226, and 228.
Alternatively, the online meeting application 22 may provide those
communication modes itself. The online meeting and/or collaboration
functionality for shared content may also be provided through other
applications (238) such as a mobile online meeting application, a
mobile content processing application, and the like.
[0033] One significant aspect of integrating online meeting
experience into shared workspaces is managing offline content.
Thus, a system according to embodiments may enable a shared
workspace user to prepare an online meeting by selecting relevant
documents and configuration parameters offline, providing those to
the shared workspace, and then retrieving meeting results in a
seamlessly integrated manner after the meeting (versioned and
updated content, meeting records, and so on).
[0034] The integrated online meeting may be initiated from a
variety of points within the shared workspace. Any component
application such as scheduling application 236 may be configured to
select documents within the shared workspace, prepare a meeting
invitation automatically configuring meeting parameters (invitees,
subject, links, etc.), and initiating the meeting. Alternatively,
the meeting may be initiated directly from a shared workspace user
interface where the shared content is listed (as discussed below in
conjunction with FIG. 5).
[0035] Hence, by integrating real time online meeting experiences
of users with collaboration features of a shared workspace, a
seamless collaboration experience to users of the shared workspace
participating online or offline can be provided.
[0036] FIG. 3 is an example screenshot of a scheduling application
user interface (UI) that enables organization and initiation of an
online meeting integrated into a collaborative team site.
Scheduling applications may perform calendaring, contact
management, as well as communication management tasks. OUTLOOK.RTM.
family of products from MICROSOFT Corp. of Redmond, Wash. is an
example of a multi-faceted scheduling application that also
provides electronic mail services.
[0037] As mentioned previously, an online meeting integrated with a
shared workspace may be initiated from any application associated
with the shared workspace. For example, a word processing
application may be configured to initiate an online meeting and
automatically associate the meeting with a currently open document
(or family of documents). A scheduling application is another
example application for initiating an online meeting and an
intuitive one. UI 300 of the scheduling application includes a
standard user controls bar 342 with icons and drop-down menu
selections for various tasks such as controls for creating an
appointment, initiating a meeting invitation, setting various
attributes of an appointment, opening a calendar, and so on. In the
example screenshot of FIG. 3, a meeting invitation has been
initiated.
[0038] A top portion of the invitation indicated by reference
numeral 344 is a typical meeting invitation with the listing of
addressee(s), subject, location, time, etc. Differently from a
conventional meeting invitation, the body portion of the invitation
includes first a link (346) describing the organized meeting, its
session name, a number to call (if the meeting includes a phone
conference component), a pass code, etc. Of course, the meeting may
be purely online and not include a separate phone or video
conference component, or any combination of the different
communication modes.
[0039] A second link (348) in the body portion of the invitation
provides connection (and a brief description) to the associated
shared workspace. According to some embodiments, a meeting may
involve more than one shared workspace. In that case, the meeting
may have its own workspace that is linked with the plurality of
shared workspaces such that participants can view, edit, and
collaborate on content in any of the workspaces associated with the
meeting.
[0040] A task pane (352) on the right side of the invitation
provides task-based links associated with the shared workspace such
as creating an agenda, sharing documents, tracking tasks,
coordinating meeting details, etc. A meeting organizer may select
documents to be included in the meeting through this pane, create
an agenda for the meeting, and so on. According to other
embodiments, the documents for the meeting may be automatically
linked to the invitation by the application based on how the
invitation was initiated, a configuration of the shared workspace,
user preferences, and the like.
[0041] FIG. 4 is an example screenshot of an online meeting
application UI integrated into a collaborative team site. Meeting
application UI 400 is an example of a web-based meeting application
with a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the meeting space listed
on top.
[0042] Following initiation of the meeting in conjunction with a
workspace as described above, the meeting is created with various
links to the associated shared workspace. For example, a history
(as well as future scheduled dates) of recurring meetings may be
maintained in the shared workspace to provide a seamless
integration experience. Based on the maintained history and
associated information, a list of links to past and future meetings
is provided in pane 458 of the user interface.
[0043] As indicated by reference numeral 454, the meeting is
identified by its subject, location, date, and time. In a "Home"
tab, the meeting objectives, agenda, attendees (462), and meeting
resources (466) are presented. Meeting resources 466 includes a
list of associated workspace content such as an agenda document.
Any content that may need to be viewed, modified, or created during
this meeting may be listed in this portion of the meeting UI with a
link to the actual content on the shared workspace. Changes are
then recorded in the shared workspace such as saving a new version
of the content (document) and associating the new version with this
particular meeting. As a result, in a future meeting the
participants may open the link to this meeting--which would be past
meeting at that time--and view the versions of content associated
with this meeting. That way a continuity and logical connection
between the changes to the workspace content and the online
meetings is established.
[0044] A link (464) is also provided for enabling participants (or
an organizer of the meeting) to add new items to the meeting
resources by either creating a new document or establishing a link
to an existing document on the shared workspace. Meeting type and
summary information about the meeting type (e.g. audio and call-in
number) are provided in the portion of the UI indicated by
reference numeral 456.
[0045] FIG. 5 is an example screenshot of a shared workspace UI 500
illustrating how content can be brought from the collaborative team
site into the online meeting. A shared workspace can be accessed
and facilitated through a wide variety of user interfaces. The UI
500 is provided only as an example to illustrate integration of
collaboration through a shared workspace and real time
collaboration through an online meeting.
[0046] UI 500 includes a summary of site contents (574) viewable by
category such as documents, lists, discussions, etc. In the main
portion shared documents (572) are listed. The list may include any
content (e.g. documents, audio recordings, images, or even links to
other sites). Information about each document such as date of last
modification and modifier (or document owner) is also listed. When
a particular document (e.g. 576) is selected, a drop-down menu 578
is provided with options to perform tasks on the document including
initiating a meeting. Thus, a shared workspace participant may
select one or more documents and initiate a meeting associated with
those documents directly from the shared workspace UI. As discussed
above, the meeting UI would then list the selected document(s) in
its resources pane and provide access to the document(s) for
participants in the meeting.
[0047] According to some embodiments, attributes of the meeting
such as its subject, participants (or invitees), and the like may
be automatically determined based on the selected document(s). For
example, if the selected document is a specification document, a
meeting initiated through the specification document may
automatically include the document title in its subject line,
invite the people associated with the document and include any
associated presentation and emails along with the specification in
the meeting resources.
[0048] The shared workspace UI 500 and the method of initiating an
integrated online meeting from the workspace illustrated here is
only an example. Embodiments may be implemented using other user
interfaces and methods of initiating meetings in conjunction with
the shared workspace and content therein.
[0049] FIG. 6 is another example screenshot of a collaborative team
site UI illustrating how a history and future scheduled online
meetings associated with the team site can be provided as part of
the team site.
[0050] In the example team site UI 600, the summary pane 684
includes some of the same categories as in FIG. 5 with additional
ones such as surveys and site hierarchy. An increasingly popular
aspect of online meetings is a survey that can be performed during
the meeting about a discussion topic. Survey results may then be
stored in the shared workspace (team site) like any other newly
created content and associated with the particular meeting (as well
as any other relevant documents) allowing site users to view the
survey results with the meeting's background information (e.g. how
many people participated in the meeting, when was the meeting held,
what other topics were discussed, etc.).
[0051] The main portion of UI 600 includes an announcements section
682, a calendar of events 686, and a listing of online meetings
688. The calendar of events 686 may include online and/or other
forms of meetings, milestones, and any other significant data for
the shared workspace. The listing of online meetings 688 may
include past and future meetings with links to the meeting space
such that a participant can look up details about a past or future
meeting, see associated documents, meeting results, created
content, and so on. While the meetings and events are presented as
a simple list in the example UI, any form of presentation
graphical, textual, or combination may be implemented using the
principles described herein.
[0052] FIG. 7 is another example screenshot of the collaborative
team site UI of FIG. 6 illustrating how content modified or
generated during online meetings can be stored on the collaborative
team site and versioned, archived, searched, and the like.
[0053] The example UI 700 is a shared workspace for a sales team. A
search box enables users to enter terms for searching through the
shared workspace contents including shared documents, meeting
records, and the like. As described previously, any content
modified or generated during a meeting as well as meeting records
themselves (audio, video, textual) are stored in the shared
workspace in a reusable and searchable manner. Thus, a participant
may perform a keyword search, a document type search, date-based
search, and the like.
[0054] In the example UI, the search for the keyword "sales"
yielded four results. First is a document (794) titled sales
agenda. Second is a spreadsheet (796) titled sales figures. Third
is a presentation (798) titled sales presentation, and fourth is a
meeting recording (799) titled sales presentation meeting. Along
with each document summary information such as a location of the
document (e.g. URL), a workspace of the document, an owner of the
document, and a last modification date may be provided.
[0055] According to some embodiments, the search results may also
provide a textual or graphic representation of a link between each
document and an associated meeting to provide further information
about the integration of the online meetings and workspace content
to the users.
[0056] The user interfaces, contents of the user interfaces, and
methods of providing information to the user or performing tasks
described in FIG. 3 through FIG. 7 are for illustration purposes
only and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments.
Integrating online meetings with shared workspaces and providing
tools to user to take advantage of this seamless integration may be
implemented through other forms of user interfaces, links,
representations, and so on, using the principles described
herein.
[0057] FIG. 8 is an example networked environment, where
embodiments may be implemented. Integration of collaborative online
meetings with shared workspaces according to embodiments may be
implemented locally or in a distributed manner over a number of
physical and virtual clients and servers. Such a system may also be
implemented in unclustered systems or clustered systems employing a
number of nodes communicating over one or more networks (e.g.
network(s) 810).
[0058] Such a system may comprise any topology of servers, clients,
Internet service providers, and communication media. Also, the
system may have a static or dynamic topology. The term "client" may
refer to a client application or a client device. While a networked
system implementing embodiments may involve many more components,
relevant ones are discussed in conjunction with this figure.
[0059] Collaboration applications and online meeting applications
may be executed by a server (e.g. server 814) and user interfaces
rendered in individual client devices 811-813. The collaboration
tasks and online meeting may also be executed in individual
applications in each of the client, where the applications
communicate with each other. The collaboration application or
service may be managed by one or more servers (e.g. server 814). A
portion or all of the generated and shared content, as well as any
configuration information may be stored in a data store such as
data stores 818 through database server 816 or directly by the
respective application(s).
[0060] Network(s) 8180 may include a secure network such as an
enterprise network, an unsecure network such as a wireless open
network, or the Internet. Network(s) 810 provide communication
between the nodes described herein. By way of example, and not
limitation, network(s) 810 may include wired media such as a wired
network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as
acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.
[0061] Many other configurations of computing devices,
applications, data sources, data distribution systems may be
employed to implement a collaborative team site where online
meetings are integrated with the shared workspaces. Furthermore,
the networked environments discussed in FIG. 8 are for illustration
purposes only. Embodiments are not limited to the example
applications, modules, or processes.
[0062] FIG. 9 and the associated discussion are intended to provide
a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in
which embodiments may be implemented. With reference to FIG. 9, a
block diagram of an example computing operating environment is
illustrated, such as computing device 900. In a basic
configuration, the computing device 900 may be a server executing
one or more applications associated with a collaborative team site
and typically include at least one processing unit 902 and system
memory 904. Computing device 900 may also include a plurality of
processing units that cooperate in executing programs. Depending on
the exact configuration and type of computing device, the system
memory 904 may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as
ROM, flash memory, etc.) or some combination of the two. System
memory 904 typically includes an operating system 905 suitable for
controlling the operation of the computing device, such as the
WINDOWS.RTM. operating systems from MICROSOFT CORPORATION of
Redmond, Wash. The system memory 904 may further include one or
more software applications such as program modules 906,
collaboration application 922, online meeting application 924, and
a number of other applications associated with online collaboration
such as a video communication application 926, a scheduling
application 927, and a document processing application 928 (e.g. a
word processing application, a spreadsheet application, a
presentation application, etc.).
[0063] Collaboration application 922 may be a separate application
or an integral module of a hosted service application that provides
online collaboration through a shared workspace to users through
computing device 900. Online meeting application 924 facilitates
online meetings enabling users to communicate with each other as
well as work on shared content, generate new content, and the like.
Online meeting application 924 may include all of the above
described functionality within itself or may coordinate with
specific applications such as applications 926-928 to perform the
specific tasks, as described previously. This basic configuration
is illustrated in FIG. 9 by those components within dashed line
908.
[0064] The computing device 900 may have additional features or
functionality. For example, the computing device 900 may also
include additional data storage devices (removable and/or
non-removable) such as, for example, magnetic disks, optical disks,
or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in FIG. 9 by
removable storage 909 and non-removable storage 910. Computer
storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and
non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for
storage of information, such as computer readable instructions,
data structures, program modules, or other data. System memory 904,
removable storage 909 and non-removable storage 910 are all
examples of computer storage media. Computer storage media
includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or
other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or
other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic
disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium
which can be used to store the desired information and which can be
accessed by computing device 900. Any such computer storage media
may be part of device 900. Computing device 900 may also have input
device(s) 912 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device,
touch input device, etc. Output device(s) 914 such as a display,
speakers, printer, etc. may also be included. These devices are
well known in the art and need not be discussed at length here.
[0065] The computing device 900 may also contain communication
connections 916 that allow the device to communicate with other
computing devices 918, such as over a wireless network in a
distributed computing environment, for example, an intranet or the
Internet. Other computing devices 918 may include client devices or
server(s) that enable users to participate in the online meeting
and work on the shared content managed by the collaboration
application 922 of computing device 900. Communication connection
916 is one example of communication media. Communication media may
typically be embodied by computer readable instructions, data
structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data
signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and
includes any information delivery media. The term "modulated data
signal" means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics
set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the
signal. While the presence of a modulated data signal may be
transitory in nature, the signal is generated to cause changes in a
receiving device, thereby creating physical and tangible changes
(effects) during its reception by the receiving device. By way of
example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired
media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and
wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless
media.
[0066] The claimed subject matter also includes methods. These
methods can be implemented in any number of ways, including the
structures described in this document. One such way is by machine
operations, of devices of the type described in this document.
[0067] Another optional way is for one or more of the individual
operations of the methods to be performed in conjunction with one
or more human operators performing some. These human operators need
not be collocated with each other, but each can be only with a
machine that performs a portion of the program.
[0068] FIG. 10 illustrates a logic flow diagram for process 1000 of
integrating an online meeting with a collaborative team site
according to embodiments. Process 1000 may be implemented, for
example, as part of the collaborative team site 220 of FIG. 2.
[0069] Process 1000 begins with optional operation 1002, where
online and offline collaboration tasks are performed. As discussed
above, these may involve sharing documents, versioning modified
content, archiving older versions, performing searches in shared
content, and the like. The collaboration may also be at least
partially offline, where modifications (or new content) generated
by participants while they are disconnected from the shared
workspace are synchronized with the current versions of documents
(content) on the collaborative team site. A team site according to
embodiments may also be capable of scheduling and initiating online
meetings in conjunction with a shared workspace. Processing moves
from optional operation 1002 to operation 1004.
[0070] At operation 1004, a request for an online meeting
associated with the workspace is received. The request may come
from one of the participants or it may be automatically generated
in response to a predefined event such as reaching of a milestone
in a project. According to other embodiments, the meeting may be a
recurring one that is also automatically initiated by the system.
Processing advances from operation 1004 to operation 1006.
[0071] At operation 1006, the workspace is prepared for the
requested meeting. The preparation may include making relevant
documents available to participants of the meeting through the
online meeting UI, making historic records of similar or relevant
meetings available, and the like. Processing proceeds from
operation 1006 to operation 1008.
[0072] At operation 1008, the online meeting is conducted with
shared content. Participants may modify content associated with the
meeting, generate new content, delete existing content, and the
like. While the meeting is being conducted, it is also recorded in
form of an audio and/or video recording as well as any textual data
such as exchanged messages. Processing continued from operation
1008 to operation 1010.
[0073] At operation 1010, the meeting content is processed and
stored upon completion of the meeting. The meeting content includes
any changed or created documents (or content) during the meeting as
well as any audio/video/textual recording of the meeting. This
content may be versioned, formatted, and stored in the shared
workspace with relevant links and indices such that the resulting
data is reusable and searchable. For example, a spreadsheet
document changed during the meeting may be stored as a new version,
a whiteboard capture image may be stored as a meeting record along
with an audio recording of the meeting. All stored content may be
linked to relevant documents within the workspace as well as any
past (relevant) meetings or meetings scheduled in the future.
Processing advances from operation 1010 to operation 1012, where
the processed and stored meeting content is made available to any
participants of the collaborative team site. After operation 1012,
processing moves to a calling process for further actions.
[0074] The operations included in process 1000 are for illustration
purposes. Integrating real time collaborative experiences with an
online shared workspace may be implemented by similar processes
with fewer or additional steps, as well as in different order of
operations using the principles described herein.
[0075] The above specification, examples and data provide a
complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition
of the embodiments. Although the subject matter has been described
in language specific to structural features and/or methodological
acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the
appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features
or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts
described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the
claims and embodiments.
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