Patent Publication Number: US-8990189-B2

Title: Determining relevant contacts based on expertise and availability

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to digital instant messaging systems, and more particularly to determining relevant contacts based on expertise and availability. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Instant messaging (IM) is a popular digital communication system that provides for real-time communication between users who are connected to such systems through an online or electronic networking environment, such as the Internet or a corporate intranet. One of the functions typically provided by an IM system is to inform the user whether selected other users are currently available to receive instant messages. In general, IM systems check whether a user is connected to the network, and if so, the user is deemed to be at his workstation and available to receive instant messages. 
     Some IM systems allow a user to manually set an IM status as “unavailable” or to enable the “I am away” feature of an IM client. This feature allows other IM users monitoring another&#39;s online presence to be informed that this person is currently not available, but gives no indication when the user may return. Some IM systems can detect if a user is no longer active by, for example, detecting when the screensaver is invoked on the user&#39;s workstation. When the screensaver is invoked, the IM client considers the user to be unavailable, but again, gives no indication when the user may return. E-mail systems typically provide an “away” feature as well. When an e-mail user configures his e-mail client to notify message senders that he is away, this provides a type of limited feedback to the sender, notifying him that an urgent message will not likely be acted upon with urgency. The e-mail user can set his “away” feature to include information regarding his location and return. Frequently, however, users forget to set the status, or find it too bothersome to use. 
     Instant messaging, voice/video communications and other forms of digital communication systems may provide users with the ability to provide instructions to various message senders regarding action to take in their absence. For example, one or more alternate contacts may be provided in an “I am away” message. However, conventional alternate contacts notifications are not user-friendly. For example, when a user is trying to reach a currently unavailable primary contact, they have to get the notification about the unavailability of the primary contact first, and then try to find the alternate contact to address their question. Additionally, the alternate contact provided may not have the proper expertise to deal with the user&#39;s question. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a system, method, and program product to determine knowledgeable and available contacts in an instant messaging system. A computer receives a keyword and searches for the keyword in correspondence of users of the instant messaging system. The computer identifies, based on results of the search, a plurality of users having used the keyword in the correspondence. The computer determines an availability of each of the identified plurality of users and then ranks the plurality of users based on predefined criteria, the predefined criteria including at least the determined availability of each of the identified plurality of users. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a distributed instant messaging environment, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  provides an exemplary depiction of an instant messaging client interface and displayed results from the contact ranking program of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the steps of the contact ranking program of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of internal components and external components of a data processing system, such as the user computing device or server computer of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a method, system, 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. 
     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. 
     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. 
     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&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;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&#39;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). 
     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. 
     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. 
     The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto 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. 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of the invention are directed to an instant messaging (IM) communication system in which a user can enter subject matter keywords into an IM client interface, and a server-based IM application will respond with a results list of contacts ranked by expertise in the subject matter areas indicated by the entered keywords and the current availability of the contact. The user may then choose to communicate with one or more of the contacts in the ranked list regarding the subject matter area via traditional communication channels, such as IM, telephone, or email. 
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a distributed IM environment  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Distributed IM environment  100  includes user computing device  110  and server computer  130 , which are interconnected over network  120 , and which at least provide for IM communication between an IM client residing on user computing device  110  and a server-based IM program residing on server computer  130 . 
     Network  120  can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network  120  can be any combination of connections and protocols that will support IM communications between user computing device  110  and server computer  130 . 
     In a preferred embodiment, user computing device  110  includes user interface  112  and instant messaging client  114 . User interface  112  provides an interface to instant messaging client  114  that displays, for example, the IM user&#39;s contact list and allows the IM user to select a contact and establish an IM session. User interface  112  can also display text, user options, instructions for operation of instant messaging client  114 , and accepts text input from a user of user computing device  110  for transmission to server computer  130 . User interface  112  may be, for example, a graphical user interface (GUI) or a web user interface (WUI). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, user interface  112  may include, for example, keyword search field  204  into which a user may enter keywords related to an area of expertise for which the user would like to identify knowledgeable contacts. Keyword search field  204  is depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 2 . Instant messaging client  114  offers a user of user computing device  110  online IM capabilities by communicating over a network, for example, network  120 , with an IM service on a separate computer, e.g., instant messaging program  132  residing on server computer  130 . Instant messaging client  114  may be either a browser-based client, which can be accessed by user computing device  110  when visiting a relevant web page, or instant messaging client  114  may be a separate program or integrated into other software products that can be installed on user computing device  110 . Although user interface  112  is shown as being separate from instant messaging client  114 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that in other embodiments, instant messaging client  114  can include user interface  112 . 
     In various embodiments of the present invention, user computing device  110  can be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbook computer, personal computer (PC), desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with server computer  130  via network  120 . User computing device  110  may include internal and external components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 4 . 
     Server computer  130  includes instant messaging program  132 , which includes contact ranking program  134 , and database  136 . Server computer  130  may contain internal and external components, as depicted and described in further detail with respect to  FIG. 4 . In various embodiments of the present invention, server computer  130  may be any type of server computer, including a web server computer or a network server computer, a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbook computer, personal computer (PC), desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), smart phone, or any programmable electronic device capable of communicating with user computing device  110  via network  120 . 
     Instant messaging program  132  operates to communicate instant messages over a network, such as network  120 , for exchange with an IM client, such as instant messaging client  114 . Contact ranking program  134 , the operation of which will be explained in more detail with regard to  FIG. 3 , can perform a keyword search of information stored in database  136 , based on one or more keywords entered by a user into keyword search field  204 , included within instant messaging client  114  and displayed on user interface  112  as shown on  FIG. 2 , to identify and rank qualified contacts within a given organization for communication on certain topics. Contact ranking program  134  also determines the availability status of the identified contacts, based on information in database  136 , and displays a best and most relevant contacts list, ranked in terms of expertise and availability, to the user. While  FIG. 1  depicts instant messaging program  132  as including contact ranking program  134 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that, in other embodiments, contact ranking program  134  is external to, and can communicate with, instant messaging program  132 . Further, although contact ranking program  134  is depicted as one program in  FIG. 1 , one of skill in the art will appreciate that, in other embodiments, contact ranking program  134  may be segmented into modules to perform the predefined functions of a keyword search, an availability determination and a ranking determination. 
     In a preferred embodiment, database  136  contains real-time and historical information associated with each contact within a given organization connected to server computer  130  via network  120 . Database  136  may contain correspondence such as contact mail files, previously stored chat exchanges from online chat sessions, messages sent within the instant messaging system and discussion forum postings. Additionally, database  136  may contain a contact&#39;s electronic calendars and contact preferences. A contact&#39;s preferences may include the contact&#39;s manually set explicit IM status messages for unavailable time, for example, “I am in a meeting until 2 pm EST on June 26”, or differing settings for an IM status or alternate contact information based on which contact may be attempting communication. For example, a contact may desire to include the location of a lunch meeting when a co-worker is seeking the information, but not so for a friend. 
     Also stored in database  136  may be a status repository, which might include details of a contact&#39;s previous IM status messages, alternate contact information such as an alternate phone number, information regarding the contact&#39;s previous availability history, which may include weekly engagements, activities and trends, and information regarding how long the weekly engagement, activity or trend may take. For example, a contact&#39;s trend may be that between noon and 1 pm every day for a month the contact&#39;s instant messaging client is inactive. The one hour period may be stored in the status repository as a one hour lunch. A user can set, in user options, for example, whether contact ranking program  134  retrieves contact status information from the status repository for the previous seven days, previous month or any number of previous weeks. In a preferred embodiment, database  136  may be located on server computer  130 . In other embodiments, database  136  may be located on a storage device accessible to server computer  130  via network  120 . 
       FIG. 2  provides an exemplary depiction of aspects of a user interface, for example user interface  112 , featuring an instant messaging client interface  200  of instant messaging client  114  and results  210  transmitted by contact ranking program  134  to instant messaging client  114 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Instant messaging client interface  200  is representative of a typical user interface for interaction with instant messaging client  114 . Instant messaging client interface  200  may include options  201 , which allows a user to access general menu options, such as setting user-preferences, selecting display options, changing text size or font within an IM client or accessing help features for the IM client. Instant messaging client interface  200  also may include a search contacts field  202 , allowing a user to search, by name, for contacts already known to the user within a given organization, and a contacts list  206  showing contacts a user communicates with on a regular basis who are currently online. Both search contacts field  202  and contacts list  206  provide opportunities for a user to initiate communication with a known contact, for example, a co-worker named Mary Doe. Additionally, connection  208  shows a user his or her current connectivity status, either connected or disconnected. When connection  208  is shown as “connected”, for example, instant messaging client  114  on user computing device  110  is connected to network  120 , and therefore is able to access contact ranking program  134  and database  136  on server computer  130 . 
     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, instant messaging client interface  200  also includes keyword search field  204 , which allows a user to input one or more keywords related to an area of expertise, for example, “Windows.” Using the keyword entered into keyword search field  204 , contact ranking program  134  performs a search of the information stored in database  136  for each contact and identifies contacts with the highest incidence of the keywords in the contact&#39;s correspondence. In options  201  of instant messaging client  114 , the user may, for example, set the number of contacts to be identified and returned by contact ranking program  134 . Contact ranking program  134  then determines the availability of each of the identified contacts, either based on explicit messages manually set by the contact or, if a contact is not currently available, based on predictive assumptions formed using the contact&#39;s previous activities and availability trends determined from information contained in database  136 . 
     Results  210  displays the results transmitted to instant messaging client  114  by contact ranking program  134 , which can be ranked and displayed to the user based on parameters the user may set in options  201 . For example, a user may decide that only the top four contacts with the most keyword hits should be displayed, and that the contact with the highest incidence of the keyword should always be listed first in the displayed results. The user may also decide that remaining contacts should be listed by each contact&#39;s availability, and not by most keyword hits. For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , results  210  displays contact A, the contact with the most keyword hits, first. Contact B is displayed next, based on current availability, even though contact B may not be the user with the next highest number of keyword hits. Using the displayed results  210 , a user may then decide immediately whether to wait to communicate with the contact with the most expertise, or decide that communication with the most available contact is more desirable. In alternate embodiments, contact ranking program  134  may transmit results  210  to instant messaging client  114  within an IM chat window viewable by the user. 
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating the steps of contact ranking program  134  for performing a keyword search and availability determination to identify and rank qualified and available contacts for communication on a specific topic related to the keyword, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Contact ranking program  134  receives one or more user-provided keywords and performs a search for appearances of the one or more keywords (step  302 ). In a preferred embodiment, a user enters one or more keywords related to an area of expertise for which the user would like to identify a knowledgeable contact into keyword search field  204  within instant messaging client  114 . Contact ranking program  134  performs a search for appearances of the keywords in contact-related information stored in database  136 , for example, mail files, previous chat exchanges and discussion forum postings. The search is performed on information for various contacts and other users of instant messaging program  132 , typically within a given organization and connected to network  120 . 
     Contact ranking program  134  determines the contacts with the highest incidence of the keywords in their respective stored mail files, discussion forum postings, or chat exchanges (step  304 ). Expertise and work experience in a selected topic may be determined by the extent a keyword related to the topic appears in a contact&#39;s correspondence. In various embodiments, the location of the keyword in an e-mail may signify greater expertise and understanding of a topic. For example, a keyword used in a subject line or first paragraph may be considered a more significant location than a keyword appearing first towards the end of an e-mail, and may indicate the contact possesses greater expertise in the area of interest. 
     Contact ranking program  134  determines whether each of the contacts returned are currently available (decision block  306 ). If a contact is currently available (decision block  306 , “yes” branch), contact ranking program  134  proceeds with the availability information to step  314 . If a contact is not currently available (decision block  306 , “no” branch), contact ranking program  134  proceeds to determine whether the contact has manually set, in contact preferences stored in database  136 , an explicit status message to be displayed (step  308 ). An explicit status message may contain, for example, information regarding the contact&#39;s whereabouts, time of return and/or provide alternate contacts for certain areas of expertise. In certain embodiments, the present invention may include a function that integrates availability settings already set in another digital communication system, such as an out-of-office message set in an e-mail system, and contact ranking program  134  may retrieve the availability setting from the other digital communication system. If a contact has manually set an explicit status message (decision block  308 , “yes” branch), contact ranking program  134  proceeds to step  314 . 
     If a contact has not manually set an explicit status message (decision block  308 , “no” branch), contact ranking program  134  will search the contact&#39;s status repository, stored in database  136 , in order to determine a predictive assumption for the contact&#39;s availability (step  310 ). The contact&#39;s status repository may contain, for example, previously used explicit status messages, records of idle, away or unavailable time, or general information on weekly activities or daily trends of the contact. Contact ranking program  134  may use any of the information found in a contact&#39;s status repository to predict the contact&#39;s availability. Additionally, contact ranking program  134  also searches each contact&#39;s calendar, which is stored in database  136 , for scheduled events, such as meetings or appointments (step  312 ). Availability can be determined as either the contact is currently offline, currently online and available, the contact is online but has manually set an explicit status message regarding his or her availability, or contact ranking program  134  determines the availability based on predictive assumptions and/or scheduled calendar events. 
     Contact ranking program  134  determines whether there are any additional identified contacts for which availability must be determined (decision block  314 ). If additional identified contacts remain (decision block  314 , “yes” branch), contact ranking program  134  returns to step  306  and repeats the availability determination for each identified contact. If there are no more identified contacts (decision block  314 , “no” branch), contact ranking program  134  proceeds to step  316 . 
     Based on predefined criteria, including the determined availability of each identified contact and an incidence count of the topic keywords from previous steps, contact ranking program  134  ranks the identified contacts (step  316 ). The extent of a contact&#39;s exposure to an area of expertise can be evidenced by repeated usage and appearance of a keyword related to the area of expertise in a contact&#39;s correspondence. Contacts may be ranked according to preferences set by the user. For example, the user may desire only those that are available, regardless of whether the available contact had the most keyword hits or not. Or, the user may want only the contact with the highest level of expertise, even though that contact may not be available for several days. The ranked contacts are then transmitted to instant messaging client  114  in the form of results  210 , for display on user computing device  110  via user interface  112  (step  318 ). 
       FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of the internal components  800  and external components  900  of a data processing system, such as user computing device  110  or server computer  130 , in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that  FIG. 4  provides only an illustration of one implementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to the environments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depicted environments may be made based on design and implementation requirements. 
     The data processing system  800 ,  900  is representative of any electronic device capable of executing machine-readable program instructions. Data processing system  800 ,  900  may be representative of a smart phone, a computer system, PDA, or other electronic devices. Examples of computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be represented by data processing system  800 ,  900  include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, network PCs, minicomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices. 
     User computing device  110  and server computer  130  include respective sets of internal components  800  and external components  900 , illustrated in  FIG. 4 . Each of the sets of internal components  800  includes one or more processors  820 , one or more computer-readable RAMs  822  and one or more computer-readable ROMs  824  on one or more buses  826 , and one or more operating systems  828  and one or more computer-readable tangible storage media  830 . The one or more operating systems  828  are stored on one or more of the respective computer-readable tangible storage media  830  for execution by one or more of the respective processors  820  via one or more of the respective RAMs  822  (which typically include cache memory). User interface  112  and instant messaging client  114  on user computing device  110  and instant messaging program  132  and contact ranking program  134  on server computer  130  are stored on one or more of the respective computer-readable tangible storage media  830  of internal components  800  for execution by one or more of processors  820  of internal components  800  via one or more of the RAMs  822  of internal components  800 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 4 , each of the computer-readable tangible storage media  830  is a magnetic disk storage device of an internal hard drive. Alternatively, each of the computer-readable tangible storage media  830  is a semiconductor storage device such as ROM  824 , EPROM, flash memory or any other computer-readable tangible storage device that can store a computer program and digital information. 
     Each set of internal components  800  also includes a R/W drive or interface  832  to read from and write to one or more portable computer-readable tangible storage media  936  such as a CD-ROM, DVD, memory stick, magnetic tape, magnetic disk, optical disk or semiconductor storage device. User interface  112  and instant messaging client  114  on user computing device  110  and instant messaging program  132  and contact ranking program  134  on server computer  130  can be stored on one or more of portable computer-readable tangible storage media  936  of external components  900 , read via the R/W drive or interface  832  of internal components  800  and loaded into hard drive  830  of internal components  800 . 
     Each set of internal components  800  can also include network adapters or interfaces  836  such as TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless wi-fi interface cards, 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired or wireless communication links. User interface  112  and instant messaging client  114  in user computing device  110  and instant messaging program  132  and contact ranking program  134  in server computer  130  can be downloaded to user computing device  110  and server computer  130 , respectively, from an external computer via a network (for example, the Internet, a local area network or other, wide area network) and respective network adapters or interfaces  836 . From the network adapters or interfaces  836 , user interface  112  and instant messaging client  114  in user computing device  110  and instant messaging program  132  and contact ranking program  134  in server computer  130  are loaded into the respective hard drive  830 . The network may comprise copper wires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. 
     Each of the sets of external components  900  can include a computer display monitor  920 , a keyboard  930 , and a computer mouse  934 . External components  900  can also include touch screens, virtual keyboards, touch pads, pointing devices, and other human interface devices. Alternatively, computer display monitor  920  may be an incorporated display screen, such as is used in tablet computers and smart phones. Each of the sets of internal components  800  also includes device drivers  840  to interface to computer display monitor  920 , keyboard  930  and computer mouse  934 . The device drivers  840 , R/W drive or interface  832  and network adapter or interface  836  comprise hardware and software (stored in storage medium  830  and/or ROM  824 ). 
     The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of methods, systems and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts 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 illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, 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. 
     Based on the foregoing, method, computer system, and program product have been disclosed in accordance with the present invention. However, numerous modifications and substitutions can be made without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Such modifications and substitutions that may be apparent to a person skilled in the art of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the accompanying claims. The foregoing description is not intended to be exhaustive nor to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Therefore, the present invention has been disclosed by way of example and not limitation.