Abstract:
A method, computer program product, and a data processing system for a method of managing event schedules is provided. A plurality of acceptance messages associated with a first scheduled event having a scheduled event time are received. Each of the plurality of acceptance messages are associated with a respective user. A schedule conflict of a user associated with an acceptance message of the plurality of acceptance messages is identified. Responsive to identifying the schedule conflict, a probable attendance is calculated from the plurality of acceptance messages.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Technical Field  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system and in particular to a method and computer program product for an electronic calendar system. Still more particularly, the present invention provides a method and computer program product for an electronic calendar system adapted to evaluate conflicts in calendar events.  
         [0003]     2. Description of Related Art  
         [0004]     An electronic calendar system is designed to maintain useful information for a user. Electronic calendar systems allow maintenance of a personal schedule of activities such as meeting appointments, teleconference schedules, and the like.  
         [0005]     Conventional electronic calendar systems allow users to send electronic invitations to other users and for a user receiving an electronic calendar invitation to either accept or decline the invitation. An invitation typically includes a description of the event, a location of the event, and a scheduled start and end time of the event. An invitation decline message may be returned to the user that issued the invitation when the invitation is declined by an invited user. Likewise, an invitation acceptance message may be returned to the user that issued the invitation when the user accepts the invitation. When a user accepts an invitation, the scheduled event is recorded in the electronic calendar of the accepting user. Additionally, a record of the calendar of the user that issued the invitation is updated to reflect the expected attendance by the accepting user. Accordingly, the calendar of the user that issued the invitation includes an indication of the number of users that have accepted the invitation and the inviting user can plan for the event in response to the anticipated attendance.  
         [0006]     A user may sometimes receive invitations for conflicting or concurrently scheduled events. Often, the user will accept an invitation to multiple events that conflict, such as concurrently scheduled events. In such an instance, the user is unable to attend one or more events to which the user has accepted an invitation. Thus, users that have planned for events according to the number of invitation acceptances do not have an accurate indication of the number of attendees that will actually attend the event.  
         [0007]     Thus, it would be advantageous for an electronic calendar system to provide an indication of an anticipated attendee count based on the number of invitation acceptances provided in response to an issued invitation. It would further be advantageous to provide an electronic calendar system that provides an anticipated attendee count based on a number of accepted invitations that conflict with other invitation acceptances.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     The present invention provides a method, computer program product, and a data processing system for a method of managing event schedules. A plurality of acceptance messages associated with a first scheduled event having a scheduled event time are received. Each of the plurality of acceptance messages are associated with a respective user. A schedule conflict of a user associated with an acceptance message of the plurality of acceptance messages is identified. Responsive to identifying the schedule conflict, a probable attendance is calculated from the plurality of acceptance messages.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0009]     The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating a data processing system in which the present invention may be implemented in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0012]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic illustration of electronic invitations communicated to a data processing system by clients in a network in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of processing performed by an electronic calendar system for resolving scheduling conflicts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of processing performed by the electronic calendar system for calculating the count of probable attendees of a scheduled event in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0015]      FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary invitees list for calculating a weighted estimation of a number of attendees of a scheduled event in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0016]     With reference now to the figures,  FIG. 1  depicts a pictorial representation of a network of data processing systems in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system  100  is a network of computers in which the present invention may be implemented. Network data processing system  100  contains a network  102 , which is the medium used to provide communications links between various devices and computers connected together within network data processing system  100 . Network  102  may include connections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables.  
         [0017]     In the depicted example, clients  106 ,  108 ,  110 , and  112  are connected to network  102 . These clients  106 ,  108 ,  110 , and  112  may be, for example, personal computers or network computers. Clients  106 ,  108 ,  110 , and  112  run electronic calendar systems implemented as instruction sets of computer executable code. Network data processing system  100  may include additional servers, clients, and other devices not shown. In the depicted example, network data processing system  100  is the Internet with network  102  representing a worldwide collection of networks and gateways that use the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicate with one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone of high-speed data communication lines between major nodes or host computers, consisting of thousands of commercial, government, educational and other computer systems that route data and messages. Of course, network data processing system  100  also may be implemented as a number of different types of networks, such as for example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN).  FIG. 1  is intended as an example, and not as an architectural limitation for the present invention.  
         [0018]     With reference now to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram illustrating a data processing system is depicted in which the present invention may be implemented. Data processing system  200  is an example of a client computer, such as client  106  of  FIG. 1 . Data processing system  200  employs a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) local bus architecture. Although the depicted example employs a PCI bus, other bus architectures such as Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) may be used. Processor  202  and main memory  204  are connected to PCI local bus  206  through PCI bridge  208 . PCI bridge  208  also may include an integrated memory controller and cache memory for processor  202 . Additional connections to PCI local bus  206  may be made through direct component interconnection or through add-in boards. In the depicted example, local area network (LAN) adapter  210 , SCSI host bus adapter  212 , and expansion bus interface  214  are connected to PCI local bus  206  by direct component connection. In contrast, audio adapter  216 , graphics adapter  218 , and audio/video adapter  219  are connected to PCI local bus  206  by add-in boards inserted into expansion slots. Expansion bus interface  214  provides a connection for a keyboard and mouse adapter  220 , modem  222 , and additional memory  224 . Small computer system interface (SCSI) host bus adapter  212  provides a connection for hard disk drive  226 , tape drive  228 , and CD-ROM drive  230 . Typical PCI local bus implementations will support three or four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors.  
         [0019]     An operating system runs on processor  202  and is used to coordinate and provide control of various components within data processing system  200  in  FIG. 2 . The operating system may be a commercially available operating system, such as Windows XP, which is available from Microsoft Corporation. An object oriented programming system such as Java may run in conjunction with the operating system and provide calls to the operating system from Java programs or applications executing on data processing system  200 . “Java” is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. Instructions for the operating system, the object-oriented programming system, and applications or programs are located on storage devices, such as hard disk drive  226 , and may be loaded into main memory  204  for execution by processor  202 .  
         [0020]     Data processing system  200  runs an electronic calendar system by which a user may issue event invitations to a plurality of users. A user, referred to herein as an invitee, receiving the invitation may accept or reject the invitation, and a message indicating the invitees response is communicated to data processing system  200 . An expected number of attendees is calculated based on the number of acceptance messages and detected schedule conflicts of the invitees. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an invitee acceptance message is accounted for as a single unit in a sum of expected attendees if the invitee has no conflicting scheduled events. An invitee acceptance message is accounted for as a value less than one and is weighted in proportion to the number of detected schedule conflicts as described more fully below.  
         [0021]     Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware in  FIG. 2  may vary depending on the implementation. Other internal hardware or peripheral devices, such as flash read-only memory (ROM), equivalent nonvolatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used in addition to or in place of the hardware depicted in  FIG. 2 . Also, the processes of the present invention may be applied to a multiprocessor data processing system.  
         [0022]     As another example, data processing system  200  may be a stand-alone system configured to be bootable without relying on some type of network communication interfaces As a further example, data processing system  200  may be a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, which is configured with ROM and/or flash ROM in order to provide non-volatile memory for storing operating system files and/or user-generated data.  
         [0023]     The depicted example in  FIG. 2  and above-described examples are not meant to imply architectural limitations. For example, data processing system  300  also may be a notebook computer or hand held computer in addition to taking the form of a PDA. Data processing system  200  also may be a kiosk or a Web appliance.  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic illustration of electronic invitations communicated to a data processing system, such as data processing system  200  of  FIG. 2 , by host clients in network  102  of  FIG. 1 . Electronic invitations  302 - 304  are communicated to data processing system  200  on issue by respective clients. In the illustrative example, invitations  302 - 304  are issued by User_ 1 , User_ 2 , and User_ 3  operating clients  108 ,  110  and  112  and are received by User_ 4  at client  106 . Invitations  302 - 304  are displayed to the user on a display terminal in a graphical user interface that includes user selectable options (designated Accept and Decline). A decline response is communicated to the issuer of the invitation when the user selects the Decline option of a particular invitation and the invitation is discarded from data processing system  200 . When the user selects the Accept option of an invitation, an acceptance message is returned to the issuer of the invitation. The electronic calendar of the invitee is updated to record the scheduled event. For example, the electronic calendar may include or access a table or other schedule store that maintains records of accepted scheduled events and associated properties. The schedule store may be maintained on a storage device, such as hard disk  226 .  
         [0025]     Assume for illustrative purposes that the each of invitations  302 - 304  are accepted by the invited user. As show in  FIG. 3 , invitations  302 - 304  represent a scheduling conflict. For example, invitations  302  and  303  are concurrently scheduled, that is invitations  302  and  303  correspond to events having identical date, start, and end times. Additionally, invitation  304  corresponds to an event that has a scheduled date and time that partially overlaps with the scheduled date and event times of invitations  302  and  303 .  
         [0026]     When the user accepts an invitation, an acceptance message indicating the invitee acceptance is communicated to the inviting user, e.g., client  106 . The electronic calendar system of the inviting user is then updated to reflect the acceptance of the invitees scheduled attendance. The inviting user may then plan the scheduled event accordingly. In the present example, the invited user can only attend one of the scheduled events, and thus the acceptance messages communicated to the other inviting users does not provide an accurate indication of the respective event attendances. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an electronic calendar system periodically evaluates the scheduled events of users to determine schedule conflicts and to calculate an estimated count of attendees that may attend a scheduled event.  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart of processing performed by the electronic calendar system for resolving scheduling conflicts according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The electronic calendar system is initialized (step  402 ), and an invitation list of invitees is generated (step  404 ). Generation of an invitation list may be performed by input of a set of email address, network device addresses, user names, or the like by the inviting user.  
         [0028]     An invitation message is sent to each of the invitees of the invitation list (step  406 ) and the electronic calendar system awaits reply messages (step  407 ). A list or record of potential attendees is generated in response to receipt of acceptance messages by data processing system  200  (step  408 ). A probable number of attendees that may be expected to attend the event is then calculated based on the acceptance messages and detected schedule conflicts. The number of calculated probable attendees may then be retrieved, displayed, or otherwise provided to the user of data processing system  200 . The calendar application may then exit (step  412 ).  
         [0029]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of processing performed by the electronic calendar system for calculating the count of probable attendees of a scheduled event in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The electronic calendar system begins by retrieving a list or record of invitees that have accepted the invitation to a particular scheduled event (step  502 ). In the illustrative example, a number N of invitees have accepted respective invitations to a scheduled event. An Attendees variable that stores a value of the expected number of attendees to a scheduled event to which an electronic invitation has been issued is initialized to zero (step  503 ). A counter variable i is then initialized to 1 (step  504 ).  
         [0030]     The electronic calendar system then polls user i for evaluation of any scheduling conflicts with the scheduled event (step  506 ). For example, the client from which the invitation was issued may send an interrogation to user i for an indication of any events that overlap or are commonly scheduled with the particular scheduled event. An evaluation is made to determine if a scheduling conflict exists for the interrogated user (step  508 ). If no scheduling conflict exists, the Attendees variable is incremented by one (step  510 ) and the counter variable i is incremented (step  512 ). A comparison of the counter variable with the number N of invitees that have accepted the invitation is then made (step  514 ). If all users of the invitees list have been evaluated, that is if the index variable i exceeds variable N, the calendar application proceeds to truncate the number of attendees (step  522 ).  
         [0031]     If a scheduling conflict is detected at step  508 , a total number of scheduled events are read into a Conflicts variable (step  516 ), and an attendance probability value (P) for that particular user is calculated based on the number of scheduled events (step  518 ). The probability value is a weighted factor for weighting the estimated attendance for the particular invitee being evaluated. For example, a real number may be calculated as a quotient of 1 divided by the number stored in the variable Conflicts of scheduled events. Thus, the probability value is reduced in proportion to the number of conflicting schedule events. That is, the probability value P provides a numerical indication of the probability that the user will attend the scheduled event based on the total number of conflicting events the user has elected to accept. The Attendees variable is then incremented by the probability value P and the electronic calendar system proceeds to increment the index variable i according to step  512 .  
         [0032]     When all of the electronic calendar systems of the invitees that have accepted the event invitation have been evaluated, the Attendees variable is truncated (step  522 ) and the value of the Attendees variable is stored or displayed (step  524 ). The electronic calendar system then exits (step  526 ).  
         [0033]      FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary invitees list for calculating a weighted estimation of a number of attendees of a scheduled event in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The exemplary invitees list  600  comprises a table of records  601  and fields  602 .  
         [0034]     List  600  comprises a plurality of records  601  and fields  602 . List  600  may be stored on disk drive  226 , fetched therefrom by processor  202 , and processed by data processing system  200  shown in  FIG. 2 . Each record  601   a - 601   c , or row, comprises data elements in respective fields  602   a - 602   b.    
         [0035]     In the illustrative example, each or records  601   a - 601   c  stores in field  602   a  an invitee or user identifier of the associated client that has returned an event acceptance message to the inviting user or client. An attendee increment (AAttendee) amount is stored in field  602   b . For example, the attendee increment amount may be set to the calculated probability value of each user that has issued an acceptance message. Assume three users User_ 1 , User_ 2 , and User_ 3  have accepted an invitation by an inviting user. Further assume that User_ 1  and User_ 2  have not accepted any conflicting scheduled events, and User_ 3  has accepted three concurrent schedule invitations. The electronic calendar system may periodically interrogate the client systems of User_ 1 , User_ 2 , and User_ 3  for identification of a schedule conflict. A return value indicating any identified schedule conflicts is then communicated from the client systems in response to the interrogation. For example, the return value may be an integer value indicating the number of concurrent or overlapping scheduled events associated with the particular user&#39;s client system being interrogated. Preferably, the return value provided by the client system only indicates the number of conflicting events and does not provide detailed information regarding a user&#39;s other scheduled events. In another embodiment, a user may be required to configure a calendar application to disclose schedule conflicts. In the illustrative example, User_ 1  and User_ 2  have no schedule conflict and thus a value of one is respectively assigned to field  602   b  of records  601   a  and  601   b . User_ 3 , having accepted an invitation to three concurrent events, is assigned a value of 0.33. The attendees increment values of field  602   b  may then be summed and truncated indicating a probable attendance of two attendees. In the illustrative example, the truncated sum (Attendance) of the attendee increments is two, thus indicating the likelihood that one less invitee that has accepted the invitation will actually attend the scheduled event. List  600  is preferably output on a display device for viewing by the inviting user. For example, list  600  may be displayed in a user interface so that an inviting user can easily identify users that have accepted an invitation to a scheduled event but that may potentially not attend the scheduled event. Additionally, the estimated attendance calculated as described above may be output for viewing by the user.  
         [0036]     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, detected schedule conflicts may be used to calculate a meeting status value indicative of the likelihood that the scheduled meeting will be held. For example, a meeting status probability value having a range of zero to one may be calculated as a quotient of the number of invitees that have accepted the scheduled event and the total number of conflicting acceptance messages issued by the invitees that have accepted the invitation. For example, a meeting status for the example provided in  FIG. 6  may be calculated as follows: 
 
Meeting status: 3 invitees/5 acceptances=0.6 
 
         [0037]     Additionally, a meeting status value may be translated to a corresponding color-coded graphic to visually indicate the current meeting status. For example, a scheduled event with a meeting status of 0.9 and above may be graphically coded as green for visual output on a display device, a scheduled event with a meeting status of 0.5 to 0.9 may be gray for visual output on a display device, and a meeting status value below 0.1 may be red for visual output on a display device. Thus, a user can easily identify the state or likelihood that a scheduled meeting will take place.  
         [0038]     In yet another embodiment, the meeting status may be viewed by at least one of the invitees. For example, an invitee may interrogate an inviting user&#39;s calendar for a meeting status value. The meeting status value may be conveyed to an interrogating invitee as a numerical value calculated as a quotient as described above.  
         [0039]     Thus, the Attendees variable provides a calculation of the number of invitees that may be expected to attend a scheduled event by accounting for scheduling conflicts of invited users. Users that have no scheduling conflict are accounted for by a unit increment of the Attendees variable. Users that are scheduled to attend one or more events that conflict with the event of the invitation are accounted for as a weighted increment of the Attendees variable. The weighted increment is preferably calculated directly proportional to the number of conflicting scheduled events. It should be understood that the description for calculating an estimated attendance is exemplary only, and other implementations may be suitably substituted for those described.  
         [0040]     It is important to note that while the present invention has been described in the context of a fully functioning data processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the processes of the present invention are capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution. Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and transmission-type media, such as digital and analog communications links, wired or wireless communications links using transmission forms, such as, for example, radio frequency and light wave transmissions. The computer readable media may take the form of coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular data processing system.  
         [0041]     The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.