U.S. patent application number 12/953707 was filed with the patent office on 2012-05-24 for device-independent attendance prompting tool for electronically-scheduled events.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Invention is credited to SEAN CALLANAN, RUTHIE D. LYLE, PATRICK O'SULLIVAN, FRED RAGUILLAT, CAROL S. ZIMMET.
Application Number | 20120130766 12/953707 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46065181 |
Filed Date | 2012-05-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120130766 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CALLANAN; SEAN ; et
al. |
May 24, 2012 |
DEVICE-INDEPENDENT ATTENDANCE PROMPTING TOOL FOR
ELECTRONICALLY-SCHEDULED EVENTS
Abstract
In one embodiment, a system for motivating
electronically-scheduled event attendance can include a set of
attendance listening components, an attendance prompt, and an
attendance prompting tool. The attendance listening components can
monitor activities performed in a networked environment. The
attendance prompt can represent an electronic message and feedback
mechanism that is provided on an electronic device. The attendance
prompting tool can interject the attendance prompt into an activity
identified by an attendance listening component as being performed
by a user-selected member of the networked environment. The
attendance prompt can be associated with an
electronically-scheduled event the user-selected member is to
attend.
Inventors: |
CALLANAN; SEAN; (DUBLIN,
IE) ; LYLE; RUTHIE D.; (DURHAM, NC) ;
O'SULLIVAN; PATRICK; (DUBLIN, IE) ; RAGUILLAT;
FRED; (DUNBOYNE, IE) ; ZIMMET; CAROL S.;
(BOXBOROUGH, MA) |
Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORPORATION
ARMONK
NY
|
Family ID: |
46065181 |
Appl. No.: |
12/953707 |
Filed: |
November 24, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/06314 20130101;
G06Q 10/1095 20130101; G06Q 10/063114 20130101; H04M 3/565
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.19 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/00 20060101
G06Q010/00 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: receiving of a command by an attendance
prompting tool to issue an attendance prompt to at least one
attendee of an electronically-scheduled event, wherein said at
least one attendee is denoted as being absent from the
electronically-scheduled event; ascertaining whether an existence
of at least one activity being performed by the at least one
attendee with at least one electronic device; if at least one
activity exists, generating an attendance prompt for the
electronically-scheduled event, wherein said attendance prompt
comprises at least a reminder message for the
electronically-scheduled event and an attendance update mechanism
for the at least one attendee to provide a response to the
attendance prompt, and, wherein the attendance prompt is compatible
with the at least one electronic device; and interjecting the
generated attendance prompt into the at least one activity, wherein
contents of the attendance prompt are presented to the at least one
attendee operating the at least one electronic device.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to
receiving the response from the attendance prompt, updating
attendance information presented within a graphical user interface
(GUI) of the attendance prompting tool.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein, if the at least one activity is
non-existent, said method further comprising: determining an
offline contact method for the at least one attendee; generating
the attendance prompt for the electronically-scheduled event and an
electronic device associated with the offline contact method; and
initiating the offline contact method for the at least one
attendee, wherein a success of the offline contact method presents
the generated attendance prompt to the at least one attendee.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the ascertaining of the at least
one activity further comprises: aggregating contact data and at
least one electronic identifier for the at least one attendee from
a plurality of data sources; and querying a plurality of listener
components for the at least one activity involving at least one of
an item of contact data and the at least one electronic identifier
for the at least one attendee.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: accessing data of an
electronic calendar associated with the at least one attendee; from
said electronic calendar data, identifying whether an event
occurring within a predefined time span exists prior to the
electronically-scheduled event for which the attendance prompt is
being sent; and if a prior event exists, capturing details for said
prior event, wherein the details comprise at least a location and a
coordinator of the prior event.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generation of the attendance
prompt further comprises: identifying at least one prompting rule
applicable to the at least activity existing for the at least one
attendee, wherein prompting rules define business rules,
performance options, and user preferences for delivery of the
attendance prompt; and enacting the at least one identified
prompting rule to influence the generation of the attendance
prompt.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the generation of the attendance
prompt further comprises: for each ascertained activity and
electronic device combination, determining a format for the
attendance prompt; and invoking a specific attendance prompt
generator to properly format the attendance prompt.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a current
location of the at least one attendee using a scheduled information
of a calendaring location or presence information maintained for
the at least one attendee; using the current location, determining
the at least one electronic device proximate to the at least one
attendee; and interjecting the generated attendance prompt after
determining the at least one electronic device proximate to the at
least one attendee.
9. The method of claim 2, further comprising: failing to receive a
response after interjecting the generated attendance prompt into
the at least one activity of the electronic device; responsive to
the failing to receive the response, determining a different
electronic device believed to be proximate to or in use by the
user; and presenting the generated attendance prompt upon the
different electronic device, wherein the response resulting in the
updating of attendance information is provided by the different
electronic device.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: for each of the at
least one attendee, determining a set of two or more electronic
devices associated with the attendee, upon which the attendance
prompt is able to be presented; determining one of the two or more
electronic devices that is in use by the at least one attendee; and
selecting the determined one of the electronic devices for
interjecting the generated attendance prompt based on the
determined use of the one electronic device.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic
device is a telephony device, wherein the activity is a real-time
voice communication, wherein the generated attendance prompt is
interjected into the real-time voice communication as an audio
prompt.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one attendee
comprises a plurality of different attendees, each of which
receives the generated attendance prompt, wherein the different
ones of the different attendees are utilizing different types of
electronic devices that are communicating in different modalities
with the corresponding attendee, wherein the generated attendance
prompt is provided in the modality being used on the specific one
of the different type of electronic device in response to the
interjecting step occurring, wherein different ones of the
attendance prompts are provided to different ones of the attendees
as an audio prompt, as a visual prompt overlaid on a video stream,
and as a notification presented in a computing screen.
13. The method of claim 2, wherein the attendance prompting tool
selects the at least one electronic device upon which the generated
attendance prompt is presented without a user of the graphical user
interface (GUI) of the attendance prompting tool being aware of
what electronic device the generated attendance prompt is sent
to.
14. A system comprising: a plurality of attendance listening
components configured to monitor activities performed in a
networked environment; an attendance prompt representing an
electronic message and feedback mechanism; and an attendance
prompting tool configured to interject the attendance prompt into
an activity identified by an attendance listening component as
being performed by a user-selected member of the networked
environment, wherein said attendance prompt is associated with an
electronically-scheduled event the user-selected member is to
attend.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the attendance prompting tool
further comprises: an attendee locator configured to utilize the
plurality of attendance listening components to determine an
electronic device to which the attendance prompt is to be sent; a
plurality of prompt data containing user-selectable predefined
textual components for the attendance prompt; a plurality of
prompting rules defining business rules, performance options, and
user preferences for delivery of the attendance prompt; a user
interface configured to allow selection of prompt data and
configuration of prompting rules; and a prompt manager configured
to manage delivery of the attendance prompt to the electronic
device determined by the attendee locator in accordance with
applicable prompting rules.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the prompt manager further
comprises: a plurality of prompt generators configured to format at
least one of the prompt data and the attendance prompt for delivery
to the determined electronic device.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein a prompt generator comprises at
least one of a text-to-speech generator, a phone tree generator, a
text message generator, and an instant message generator.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein the attendance locator is
configured to access data associated with the user-selected member
from at least one data system of the networked environment.
19. A computer program product comprising a computer readable
storage medium having computer usable program code embodied
therewith, the computer usable program code comprising: computer
usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being
executed by a processor is operable to receive of a command by an
attendance prompting tool to issue an attendance prompt to at least
one attendee of an electronically-scheduled event, wherein said at
least one attendee is denoted as being absent from the
electronically-scheduled event; computer usable program code stored
in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is
operable to ascertain whether an existence of at least one activity
being performed by the at least one attendee with at least one
electronic device; computer usable program code stored in the
storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable
to, if at least one activity exists, generate an attendance prompt
for the electronically-scheduled event, wherein said attendance
prompt comprises at least a reminder message for the
electronically-scheduled event and an attendance update mechanism
for the at least one attendee to provide a response to the
attendance prompt, and, wherein the attendance prompt is compatible
with the at least one electronic device; computer usable program
code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a
processor is operable to interject the generated attendance prompt
into the at least one activity, wherein contents of the attendance
prompt are presented to the at least one attendee operating the at
least one electronic device; and computer usable program code
stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a
processor is operable to, in response to receiving the response
from the attendance prompt, update attendance information presented
within a graphical user interface (GUI) of the attendance prompting
tool.
20. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein, if the at
least one activity is non-existent, said computer program product
further comprising: computer usable program code stored in the
storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable
to determine an offline contact method for the at least one
attendee; computer usable program code stored in the storage medium
that upon being executed by a processor is operable to generate the
attendance prompt for the electronically-scheduled event and an
electronic device associated with the offline contact method; and
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to initiate the offline
contact method for the at least one attendee, wherein a success of
the offline contact method presents the generated attendance prompt
to the at least one attendee.
21. The computer program product of claim 19, wherein the
ascertaining of the at least one activity further comprises:
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to aggregate contact data
and at least one electronic identifier for the at least one
attendee from a plurality of data sources; and computer usable
program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed
by a processor is operable to query a plurality of listener
components for the at least one activity involving at least one of
an item of contact data and the at least one electronic identifier
for the at least one attendee.
22. The computer program product of claim 21, further comprising:
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to access data of an
electronic calendar associated with the at least one attendee;
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to, from said electronic
calendar data, identify whether an event occurring within a
predefined time span exists prior to the electronically-scheduled
event for which the attendance prompt is being sent; and computer
usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being
executed by a processor is operable to, if a prior event exists,
capture details for said prior event, wherein the details comprise
at least a location and a coordinator of the prior event.
23. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to identify at least one
prompting rule applicable to the at least activity existing for the
at least one attendee, wherein prompting rules define business
rules, performance options, and user preferences for delivery of
the attendance prompt; and computer usable program code stored in
the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is
operable to enact the at least one identified prompting rule to
influence the generation of the attendance prompt.
24. The computer program product of claim 19, further comprising:
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to determine a current
location of the at least one attendee using a scheduled information
of a calendaring location or presence information maintained for
the at least one attendee; computer usable program code stored in
the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is
operable to use the current location, determining the at least one
electronic device proximate to the at least one attendee; and
computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon
being executed by a processor is operable to interject the
generated attendance prompt after determining the at least one
electronic device proximate to the at least one attendee.
25. A system comprising: a data system comprising event data for a
plurality of events and corresponding attendee data for the events;
a plurality of attendance listening components configured to
monitor activities performed in a networked environment; a means
for ascertaining whether at least one of the activities being
monitored by the listening components are being performed by any of
the attendees of one of the events as determined by the data
system; means for generating an attendance prompt for the
corresponding event, wherein said attendance prompt comprises at
least a reminder message for the corresponding event and an
attendance update mechanism for the at least one attendee
performing the activity to provide a response to the attendance
prompt; and an attendance prompting tool configured to interject
the generated attendance prompt into the ascertained activity.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of
electronically-scheduled events and, more particularly, to a
device-independent attendance prompting tool for
electronically-scheduled events.
[0002] Software systems allowing electronic scheduling of various
types of events (e.g., meetings, collaboration sessions,
teleconferences, etc.) have improved the scheduling process by
increasing the visibility of schedules and calendars. Electronic
scheduling systems can include a reminder function that sends the
attendee messages to remind him or her of the upcoming event. Some
electronic scheduling systems broadcast the reminder, not only
within the electronic scheduling system, but also to alternate
forms of communication like text messages and phone calls.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] One aspect of the disclosure can include a method, a
computer program product, a system, and an apparatus for motivating
electronically-scheduled event attendance. In the aspect, a command
by an attendance prompting tool can be received. The command can be
to issue an attendance prompt to at least one attendee of an
electronically-scheduled event, where the at least one attendee is
denoted as being absent from the electronically-scheduled event. An
existence of at least one activity being performed by the at least
one attendee with at least one electronic device can be
ascertained. If at least one activity exists, an attendance prompt
can be generated for the electronically-scheduled event. The
attendance prompt include at least a reminder message for the
electronically-scheduled event and an attendance update mechanism
for the at least one attendee to provide a response to the
attendance prompt. The attendance prompt can be compatible with the
at least one electronic device. The generated attendance prompt can
be interjected into the at least one activity. That is, contents of
the attendance prompt can be presented to the at least one attendee
operating the at least one electronic device. In response to
receiving the response from the attendance prompt, attendance
information presented within a graphical user interface (GUI) of
the attendance prompting tool can be updated.
[0004] Another aspect of the disclosure can include a system for
motivating electronically-scheduled event attendance. The system
can include a set of attendance listening components, an attendance
prompt, and an attendance prompting tool. The attendance listening
components can monitor activities performed in a networked
environment. The attendance prompt can represent an electronic
message and feedback mechanism that is provided on an electronic
device. The attendance prompting tool can interject the attendance
prompt into an activity identified by an attendance listening
component as being performed by a user-selected member of the
networked environment. The attendance prompt can be associated with
an electronically-scheduled event the user-selected member is to
attend.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 is a conceptual illustration of the basic function of
a device-independent attendance prompting tool in accordance with
embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.
[0006] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system for
implementing the attendance prompting tool in accordance with an
embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.
[0007] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method detailing an overview of
the function of an attendance prompting tool in accordance with an
embodiment of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.
[0008] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method illustrating the delivery
of the attendance prompt to an absent attendee by the attendance
prompting tool in accordance with embodiments of the inventive
arrangements disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] The present invention discloses a solution for motivating
absent attendees to attend an electronically-scheduled event using
an attendance prompting tool. The attendance prompting tool can
determine one or more activities being performed by the absent
attendee. An activity can then be interrupted and an attendance
prompt can be presented upon the electronic device being used for
the activity. In addition to a reminder message, the attendance
prompt can also include a feedback mechanism by which the absent
attendee can provide a response regarding their attendance of the
event.
[0010] As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of
the present invention may be embodied as a system, method or
computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the present
invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an
entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident
software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and
hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a
"circuit," "module" or "system." Furthermore, aspects of the
present invention may take the form of a computer program product
embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer
readable program code embodied thereon.
[0011] Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s)
may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer
readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A
computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not
limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,
infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any
suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a
non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would
include the following: an electrical connection having one or more
wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access
memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable
read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a
portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage
device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of
the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable
storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or
store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction
execution system, apparatus, or device.
[0012] A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated
data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein,
for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a
propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including,
but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable
combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any
computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage
medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program
for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,
apparatus, or device.
[0013] Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be
transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited
to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any
suitable combination of the foregoing. Computer program code for
carrying out operations for aspects of the present invention may be
written in any combination of one or more programming languages,
including an object oriented programming language such as Java,
Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming
languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar
programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the
user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone
software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a
remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In
the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the
user's computer through any type of network, including a local area
network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may
be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet
using an Internet Service Provider).
[0014] Aspects of the present invention are described below with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program
instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided
to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose
computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via
the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing
apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts
specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or
blocks.
[0015] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other
programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to
function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored
in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture
including instructions which implement the function/act specified
in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0016] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a
computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other
devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on
the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to
produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions
which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus
provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in
the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0017] FIG. 1 is a conceptual illustration 100 of the basic
function of a device-independent attendance prompting tool 110 in
accordance with embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed
herein. The overall concept shown in illustration 100 can be the
capability for directly contacting and receiving attendance
feedback from event attendees 120, 125, and 130 absent from the
scheduled event.
[0018] In illustration 100, the moderator 105 of an
electronically-scheduled event can be waiting to conduct a meeting
in a conference room. The moderator 105 could have scheduled this
event electronically via an enterprise calendar system and invited
various employees to attend. Preparing to start the meeting, the
moderator 105 can notice that attendees 120, 125, and 130, who
confirmed their invitation to the meeting, are not yet in
attendance.
[0019] While the absence of some confirmed attendees 120, 125,
and/or 130 from a meeting is not unusual in large organizations,
there can be occasions where the missing attendees 120, 125, and
130 are vital to or are the reason for the event. Let us assume
that moderator 105 requires attendees 120, 125, and 130 to conduct
the meeting.
[0020] Attendee 120 can be on his way back into the office, talking
on his cell phone. Attendee 125 can be at his desk engrossed in his
work, simply having lost track of the time. Attendee 130 can be in
a video conference that has overrun its scheduled ending time.
[0021] Conventionally, the moderator 105 would attempt to manually
contact each absent attendee 120, 125, and 130, asking each for an
update as to whether they will be able to attend the meeting. This
process can be time-consuming as the moderator 105 must be able to
look-up contact and/or calendar information for each attendee 120,
125, and 130 and possibly make multiple attempts at contact. Such a
task can be particularly frustrating if the moderator 105 does not
have the proper privileges to view the calendars of the absent
attendees 120, 125, and 130.
[0022] The attendance prompting tool 110 can reduce the amount of
time and frustration the moderator 105 experiences in response to
performing such a task. The attendance prompting tool 110 can be a
software application that automatically contacts attendees 120,
125, and 130 determined to be or marked as absent from an
event.
[0023] The attendance prompting tool 110 can send an attendance
prompt 115 to the absent event attendees 120, 125, and 130. The
attendance prompting tool 110 can present the attendance prompt 115
to event attendees 120, 125, and 130 as they perform other tasks,
even if using other types of devices.
[0024] Using the examples of illustration 100, the phone conversion
being conducted by attendee 125 can be interrupted to audibly play
the attendance prompt 115. Attendee 130 can receive a message
window presented directly in his display, regardless of what
software applications are being used. The attendance prompt 115 can
be interjected into or overlaid upon the teleconference visual
being presented to attendee 130.
[0025] Unlike the reminder functionality of most conventional
electronic scheduling systems, the attendance prompt 115 can
include an attendance update 117 mechanism. The attendance update
117 can represent an immediate means for the attendee 120, 125,
and/or 130 to provide the moderator 105 with a response to the
attendance prompt 115.
[0026] For example, since the attendance prompt 115 sent to
attendee 125 is an audible message, the attendance update 117 can
be in the form of a phone tree in which attendee 125 can select a
key on the number pad that corresponds to the response they wish to
send back to the moderator 105.
[0027] In one embodiment, the attendance prompt 115 can actively
seek to detect an ongoing communication or interaction involving an
attendee 120, 125, 130 and an accessible communication device. This
device can be selected for the prompting, even if other devices of
the attendee 120-130 are registered for that attendee. Thus,
instead of looking for a "non-busy" mechanism for contacting an
attendee 120-130, the disclosure can provide a barge-in capability
for an active device, using the assumption that an attendee 120-130
is paying attention to the active device and will therefore see the
attendance prompt 115. Additionally, in one embodiment, additional
information, such as current or scheduled location of an attendee
(e.g., attendee 130) can be used to select a device for presenting
the attendance prompt 115 (e.g., the teleconference barge-in, for
example). In one embodiment, the attendance prompting tool 110 can
include numerous rules and/or priorities, which are used to
determine whether it is appropriate to barge-in an existing
communication or not. For example, the rules and/or priorities,
which can be user configurable, can be based on relative importance
of the meeting for which the prompt 115 is being provided versus a
relative importance of a meeting or communication being
"interrupted" via a barge-in prompting.
[0028] Since the attendance prompting tool 110 is the focal point
for the attendance updates 117 responses, the moderator 105 need
not worry about checking multiple systems for attendance
information about the attendees 120, 125, and 130. Further, the
attendance prompting tool 110 can include numerous
[0029] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a system 200 for
implementing the attendance prompting tool 250 in accordance with
embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. In
system 200, the moderator 205 of an electronically-scheduled event
can utilize the attendance prompting tool 250 of a unified
telephony system 230 to request the attendance of absent attendees
215 via network 285.
[0030] As used herein, the term "electronically-scheduled event"
can be used to refer to a gathering of persons, physically and/or
electronically, documented and/or managed using a software system.
Information regarding the electronically-scheduled event can be
stored as event data 282 by the corresponding data system 280.
[0031] The moderator 205 can represent the person who scheduled
and/or initiated the electronically-scheduled event. An absent
attendee 215 can represent a person invited to the
electronically-scheduled event who is currently not present at the
event. An absent attendee 215 may have accepted the invitation to
the electronically-scheduled event or provided no response to the
invitation.
[0032] The moderator 205 can interact with the attendance prompting
tool 250 via a user interface 212 running on a client device 210.
Client device 210 can represent a variety of computing devices
capable of running the user interface 212 and communicating with
the unified telephony system 230 and the client device 220 of the
absent attendees 215 over the network 285.
[0033] User interface 212 can represent a graphical user interface
(GUI) in which the moderator 205 can view attendance information
regarding the electronically-scheduled event as well as issue
attendance prompts 225 to absent attendees 215. The user interface
212 can be an interface separate from the user interface of the
system used to electronically-schedule the event or can be
incorporated into the interface of the scheduling system like a
plug-in.
[0034] An attendance prompt 225 can represent an electronic message
sent to the absent attendees 215. The attendance prompt 225 can be
formatted so as to be presented upon the specific type of client
device 220 of the absent attendee 215.
[0035] For example, an attendance prompt 225 being interjected into
the phone call of an absent attendee 215 can be a recorded audio
message, whereas the attendance prompt 225 for an instant messaging
session can require only text.
[0036] The attendance prompt 225 can further include an attendance
update 227 representing a feedback mechanism for the absent
attendees 215 to provide a direct response to the attendance prompt
225. For example, in an online meeting user interface, the
attendance update 227 can be presented as a pop-up window
containing selectable responses (e.g., on my way, be there in five
minutes, can't make it).
[0037] The unified telephony system 230 can represent the hardware
and/or software components required to support various types of
real-time communication sessions 245 (e.g., Internet-based phone
calls, instant messaging sessions, online meetings, online
collaboration sessions, etc.) like LOTUS SAMETIME UNIFIED
TELEPHONY. The unified telephony system 230 can include
communication servers 235, the attendance prompting tool 250, and a
data store 265 containing prompt data 270 and prompting rules
275.
[0038] In another contemplated embodiment, the functionality
provided by the unified telephony system 230 can be implemented as
separate communication systems communicatively linked over the
network 285. That is, system 200 would include a separate telephony
system, instant messaging system, online collaboration server, and
so on. In such an embodiment, the attendance prompting tool 250
would communicate and/or utilize the functionality of those systems
via network 285.
[0039] The communication servers 235 can represent the hardware
and/or software components that support the data exchanges for the
specific type of real-time communication session 245 being
performed. For example, a telephony server 235 can handle telephone
communications, whereas an instant messaging server 235 would
handle instant messaging communications.
[0040] Additionally, each communication server 235 can include an
attendance listening component 240. The attendance listening
component 240 can represent a software application installed upon
the communication server 235 that allows the attendance prompting
tool 250 to keep track of users participating in the real-time
communication sessions 245.
[0041] Attendance listening components 240 can also be installed
upon third-party computing components that provide additional
communication services. Alternately, the attendance listening
component 240 can be used autonomously within the unified telephony
system 230 or system 200 to represent a query service specifically
configured to interact with an external service-providing entity
for the purpose of collecting information about the absent attendee
215.
[0042] For example, an attendance listening component 240 can exist
specifically to communicate with a cell phone provider to determine
if the absent attendee's 215 cell phone is in use and/or location
information.
[0043] The attendance prompting tool 250 can represent a software
application that automatically attempts to establish contact absent
attendees 215 via the attendance prompt 225 based upon moderator
205 input and a set of prompting rules 275. The attendance
prompting tool 250 can include an attendee locator 255 and a prompt
manager 260.
[0044] The attendee locator 255 can represent the component of the
attendance prompting tool 250 configured to locate the absent
attendees 215. The attendee locator 255 can use information
collected by the attendance listening components 240 and/or
attendee data 283 to determine how best to contact the absent
attendees 215.
[0045] By examining attendee data 285, network 285 activity and/or
real-time communication sessions 245 associated with the absent
attendee 215, the attendee locator 255 can approximate what the
absent attendee 215 is currently doing and possibly where. The
attendee data 280 can represent a variety of data (e.g.,
identifiers, phone numbers, calendar data, etc.) stored about the
absent attendee 215 by other data systems 280, such as
calendar/scheduling systems and network activity loggers.
[0046] For example, given that the absent attendee 215 is currently
not logged into the network 285 and had a meeting scheduled in
Bob's office prior to the scheduled event, the attendee locator 255
can determine that the absent attendee 215 is mostly in Bob's
office or enroute to the event.
[0047] Such information can be important for determining where
and/or how to send the attendance prompt 225 for the absent
attendee 215. Using the above example, sending the attendance
prompt 225 to the office phone or computer of the absent attendee
215 would be of little value since the absent attendee 215 is
mostly likely not there. Thus, sending the attendance prompt 225 to
the phone in Bob's office or to a mobile device belonging to the
absent attendee 215 would have a higher chance of contacting the
absent attendee 215.
[0048] Once the attendee locator 255 determines where/how the
attendance prompt 225 should be sent, the prompt manager 260 can
assume responsibility for the generation and delivery of the
attendance prompt 225. The prompt manager 260 can utilize the
appropriate prompt generator 262 and prompt data 270 to create the
attendance prompt 225 for the target client device 220 and/or
communications software application (not shown), if any, being used
by the absent attendee 215 on the client device 220.
[0049] The prompt data 270 can represent text for predefined
message templates and/or response options that the moderator 205
can select via the user interface 212 to comprise the attendance
prompt 225. The prompt generator 262 can represent a software
program configured to create the attendance prompt 225 and/or
attendance update 227.
[0050] For example, in response to sending the attendance prompt
225 to a phone call, a text-to-speech generator 262 can be used to
convert the message and option text to audio files. A phone tree
generator 262 can then use the audio files to create a phone tree
to represent the attendance prompt 225 and attendance update 227
mechanism.
[0051] Delivery of the attendance prompt 225 by the prompt manager
260 can be performed in accordance with prompting rules 275 and the
communication protocols required for the determined delivery
method. The prompting rules 275 can define preferences and/or
business rules for delivering attendance prompts 225 to absent
attendees 215.
[0052] For example, a prompting rule 275 can specify that the
attendance prompt 225 should be simultaneously sent to all possible
client devices 220 if the absent attendee 215 is categorized as
"VP". As another example, a prompting rule 275 can indicate that,
if more than one avenue of contacting the absent attendee 215 is
available, contact options should be performed in order of least
cost (i.e., network communications, inter-office phone calls, home
phone calls, cell phone calls, text messages).
[0053] The prompting rules 275 can be defined by administrators of
the unified telephony system 230 and/or moderators 205. That is,
administrators can define prompting rules 275 that embody business
and/or general handling rules, whereas moderators 205 can set
options for prompting rules 275 as they pertain to a specific
electronically-scheduled event and/or absent attendee 215.
[0054] Network 285 can include any hardware/software/and firmware
necessary to convey data encoded within carrier waves. Data can be
contained within analog or digital signals and conveyed though data
or voice channels. Network 285 can include local components and
data pathways necessary for communications to be exchanged among
computing device components and between integrated device
components and peripheral devices. Network 285 can also include
network equipment, such as routers, data lines, hubs, and
intermediary servers which together form a data network, such as
the Internet. Network 285 can also include circuit-based
communication components and mobile communication components, such
as telephony switches, modems, cellular communication towers, and
the like. Network 285 can include line based and/or wireless
communication pathways.
[0055] As used herein, presented data store 265 can be a physical
or virtual storage space configured to store digital information.
Data store 265 can be physically implemented within any type of
hardware including, but not limited to, a magnetic disk, an optical
disk, a semiconductor memory, a digitally encoded plastic memory, a
holographic memory, or any other recording medium. Data store 265
can be stand-alone storage units as well as a storage unit formed
from a plurality of physical devices. Additionally, information can
be stored within data store 265 in a variety of manners. For
example, information can be stored within a database structure or
can be stored within one or more files of a file storage system,
where each file may or may not be indexed for information searching
purposes. Further, data store 265 can utilize one or more
encryption mechanisms to protect stored information from
unauthorized access.
[0056] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method 300 detailing an overview
of the function of an attendance prompting tool in accordance with
embodiments of the inventive arrangements disclosed herein. Method
300 can be performed within the context of system 200 and/or any
other communications system configured to motivate event attendance
by absent attendees via an attendance prompt.
[0057] Method 300 can begin in step 305 where the attendance
prompting tool can present the moderator with attendance
information for the selected event in a user interface. Depending
upon the specific implementation, the attendance information
presented in step 305 can be limited to the presence/absence of
attendees, determined automatically in the case of an electronic
event session or manually via moderator input.
[0058] A command from the moderator to send an attendance prompt to
selected absent attendees can be received in step 310. For each
selected attendee, active sessions involving the absent attendee
can be identified in step 315. The active sessions can correspond
to activities being performed by the attendee that the attendance
prompting tool can detect using its various attendance listening
components.
[0059] In step 320, an active session can be selected to contact
the absent attendee. The attendance prompt for the selected active
session can be generated in step 325. In step 330, the selected
active session can be interrupted. Performance of step 330 can be
conducted using acceptable means in accordance with the type of
session being interrupted.
[0060] Once the session is interrupted, the attendance prompt can
be presented to the attendee in step 335. In step 340, it can be
determined if the attendee has answered the attendance prompt via
the attendance update mechanism.
[0061] If it has been determined that the attendee has not
responded to the attendance prompt, such as through the use of a
response timer, it can be determined if there is another active
session for the attendee in step 355. If there is another active
session involving the attendee, flow of method 300 can return to
step 320 to repeat steps for sending the attendance prompt to the
other active session.
[0062] If the attendee is not involved in another active session,
step 360 can execute where the attendee can be marked as
unreachable or out of contact. From step 360, the presented
attendance information can be updated to reflect the "unreachable"
assignation in step 350.
[0063] If the attendee answers the attendance prompt, the
attendance prompting tool can received the attendee's response in
step 345. The attendee's response can then be used in step 350 to
update the presented attendance information.
[0064] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method 400 illustrating the
delivery of the attendance prompt to an absent attendee by the
attendance prompting tool in accordance with embodiments of the
inventive arrangements disclosed herein. Method 400 can be
performed within the context of system 200 and/or method 300.
[0065] Method 400 can begin in step 405 where the attendance
prompting tool can aggregate contact data (e.g., phone numbers) and
identifiers (e.g., email address, username, instant messaging
handle) for the absent attendee. The text for the attendance prompt
can be generated in step 410.
[0066] In step 415, the attendance listening components can be
queried to find active sessions that are associated with the
attendee's identifiers. The existence of an active session
involving the absent attendee can be determined in step 420.
[0067] If no active sessions are found for the absent attendee,
method 400 can flow to step 435 where the attendance prompting tool
can initiate offline contact methods for the absent attendee. For
example, the attendance prompting tool can take steps to initiate,
not interrupt, a communication session with the absent
attendee.
[0068] If an active session involving the absent attendee is found,
it can be determined if the session is a real-time communication
session in step 425. If the session is not a real-time
communication session, step 430 can execute where the attendance
prompt can be sent to the attendee's network session.
[0069] Performance of step 430 can utilize additional software
tools such as WinSent MESSANGER or inherent system functions like
the "net send" command. However, it should be noted that the means
utilized to perform step 430 can vary depending upon the
implementation of the unified telephony system and/or overall
system.
[0070] If the active session is determined to be a real-time
communication session, flow of method 400 can proceed to step 440
where it can be determined if the real-time communication session
is a phone session. If the real-time communication session is
determined to not be a phone session, and, therefore, is some other
type of real-time communication session (e.g., instant messaging,
online collaboration, Web meeting, etc.), the real-time
communication session can be interrupted using appropriate means in
step 475.
[0071] In step 480, the attendance prompt can be interjected into
the real-time communication application. For example, if the absent
attendee is in an instant messaging session, the attendance prompt
can be presented to the attendee within the session's window.
[0072] If the real-time communication session is determined to be a
phone session, it can be determined if a smart phone is being used
in step 445. If a smart phone is being used for the phone session,
step 450 can execute where the attendance prompt can be transmitted
to a target smart phone application for presentation to the
attendee. The smart phone application can then be responsible for
interrupting the phone session and presenting the attendance prompt
to the attendee.
[0073] If a smart phone is not being used (e.g., a phone for a land
line, a generic cell phone, a softphone, etc.), the attendance
prompt can be converted to a phone tree in step 455. In step 460,
the attendee's phone call session can then be interrupted. Then,
the attendance prompt phone tree can be played to the attendee in
step 465.
[0074] The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate
the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent
a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more
executable instructions for implementing the specified logical
function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative
implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of
the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in
succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or
the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order,
depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted
that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart
illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams
and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special
purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions
or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer
instructions.
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