Patent Publication Number: US-2012030125-A1

Title: Method and system for tracking,archiving, reporting, and communication of time, activity, and event details

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Provisional application No. 61/349,207 filed on May 28, 2010. 
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     None 
     SEQUENCE LISTING 
     None 
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates to method and system for time and activity tracking having means that allow users to keep details of all their activities and events and reporting based on their inputs. Time and activity can be tracked using hand written notes or spreadsheets. There is no means of archiving and reporting the historical activities, verification of the activities, and communicating reports based on the activities over wired and wireless devices and to external systems or applications or social media portals or other electronic and non-electronic means. 
     There are some time entry systems that keep track of employee activity information for a certain time frame and are then discarded. When the activity is for an unpaid or voluntary service, it is usually never recorded. When a person or organization needs a summary or report of activities done over a period of time in the past, there is no means to get that information easily. The prior activity is not verified or recorded anywhere with authenticity of the information, for use after a few months or years. There is no easy means of providing aggregate information of personal or organizational activities and transmit the information over electronic systems or applications or social media portals for soliciting new members, advertising purposes, reporting, personal communication, for record keeping, and for any purposes. 
     Many individuals need the time and activity reports in verified or unverified formats to communicate their past activities and experiences over a period of time for educational, career, personal interests or opportunities. Individuals will also need to interact with other individuals or organizations based on various categories of activities. Similarly, organizations need a system for tracking member or volunteer or people&#39;s activities, interacting with them in various formats, creating reports of activities, events, and issuing certificates or reports based on the time, activity, event entries. Many of these activities and events may occur in places where there will not be any device or system available to properly track, record, and communicate the information. Organizations also need a means to track the donors that support them and charities or recipients that get services from them, interact with users or members, and report on various activities and events. 
     In conclusion, insofar as I am aware, no method and system for time and activity tracking, developed provides tracking, archiving, reporting, communication, and campaigning for users or organizations over various devices, systems, applications, and media formats over wired and wireless networks. 
     For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a method and a system that can be used by individuals and organizations to track the time spent on activities and events, and archive, report, communicate, and campaign based on the information over various devices, systems, applications, and media formats over wired and wireless networks or other means. 
     SUMMARY 
     An improved method and system for time and activity tracking, archiving, reporting, communication, and campaigning is developed for users or organizations to use over various types of computing devices, systems, applications, and media formats over wired and wireless networks. The method and system will keep track of all activities with details and verification if provided, archive the older information to summary, and schedule, report or communicate the information over various devices, systems, applications, and media formats. The users will receive communication from other users or organizations depending on their user profile. The system has means to manage organizations, users, their interactions in various forms, and the system will send reports with verification of time and activity entered for users for many purposes including education, employment, service recognition, or as means to communicate that information to others in any form. 
     DRAWINGS—FIGURES 
       FIG. 1  is a functional block diagram of a globally-accessible system for logging into the system, tracking the time, activities, duration, event details, reporting and other requests. Refer “MTS_Fig1.pdf” for  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 2  is a functional block diagram showing the processing of data fields entered into the system, and related events. Refer “MTS_Fig2.pdf” for  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 3  is a functional block diagram of the administration of the system for managing various tasks. Refer “MTS_Fig3.pdf” for  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  shows the summary report for an individual using the system. Refer “MTS_Fig4.pdf” for  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5  shows the detailed report for the sample summary report in  FIG. 4 . Refer “MTS_Fig5.pdf” for  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 6  shows a sample customized certificate generated by the system. Refer “MTS_Fig6.pdf” for  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 7  shows a summary report of an organization. Refer “MTS_Fig7.pdf” for  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 8  shows a departmental level summary report of an organization. Refer “MTS_Fig8.pdf” for  FIG. 8 . 
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           110  user access the application or portal or website 
           120  user logs in 
           130  verify if user is registered already 
           140  register a new user, set personal profile 
           160  new activity and time to be entered by manual or electronic or automatic means 
           180  send reports as per user request 
           250  user activity 
           260  automatic collection of data 
           300  new activity, time of activity, and duration of activity with comments and related information 
           310  new activity, time of activity, and duration of activity with comments and related information to be verified 
           320  communication or message sent to supervisor or manager or authority for verification 
           330  Supervisor approve or disapprove information with any comments 
           350  data is marked as approved or verified 
           340  data is marked as unapproved or unverified 
           360  data checked for voluntary/paid service 
           370  new activity, time of activity, and duration of activity with comments and related information sent for payroll processing 
           190  new activity, time of activity, and duration of activity with comments and related information is stored in database organized by different ranges 
           380  data is checked for archiving 
           400  data is summarized and archived 
           200  user information is checked for visibility as per profile 
           220  user information is made visible as per profile 
           210  user information is kept confidential as per profile 
           230  publish reports as per profile 
           240  communication from other users 
           410  send system remainders to user 
           600  sample summary report 
           605  sample user 
           610  organization affiliation 
           620  recipient of report 
           625  summary information 
           630  annual summary per activity 
           640  aggregate information 
           650  verified information 
           700  detailed report 
           750  sample certificate 
           800  organizational summary report 
           810  organizational information 
           840  departmental information 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic workflow of method and processes involved in the system for login process, campaigning, and reporting for end-users.  FIG. 2  is a schematic workflow of method and processes involved in the system for tracking, archiving, communication, and reporting processes for end-users. User accesses the application or portal or website  110  over wireless or wired networked devices or systems or mobile communication devices or systems or applications. User logs in  120  by providing username and password or other identifiable credential, if already registered  130  or register as a user  140  and set the personal profile. The information requested for registration process may include: 
     General Information: 
     
         
         
           
             First Name 
             Last Name 
             Gender 
             Birthday 
             Country 
             State 
             Primary Email Address 
             Recovery Email 
             Create Password 
             Enter Your Password Hint 
             Referred by 
             Security check 
             Security Question and answer 
             Occupation 
             Institution 
             Institution URL 
             Address 
             City 
             Zipcode 
             Are you Employed 
             Current Employer 
             Member photo 
             Activity Reminder Alerts:
           Every 5 days, Every 7 days, Every 10 days, Every 14 days, Every 21 days   
         
             Member Profile Visibility: Please select how your profile should be visible to other members
           All members of MyTimeScore   All member of MyTimeScore has chosen any of your favorite activities   All members of you organization (School/College/University/Company)   All members from your state, who has chosen any of your favorite activities   All members of your country, who has chosen any of your favorite activities   I would like to keep my profile private for the time being   
         
           
         
       
    
     If a new activity or event is to be reported by manual  160  or electronic or automatic means  260 , that information (new activity, data and time of activity, duration of activity, event details with comments and related details) is entered  300 . The information requested for activity submission process may include: 
     Activity/Event Details: 
     
         
         
           
             Activity Type—Volunteer or Paid 
             Department 
             Supervisor&#39;s Email ID 
             HR Email ID 
             Grade Level Select One—1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 College No Grade 
             Select Category 
             Select Activity 
             Description 
             Position/Honors 
             User Comments 
             Venue Details 
             Rental Details 
             Equipment Details 
             Stationary Details 
             Skills Used 
             Food Expenses 
             Tools Expenses 
             Transportation Expenses: 
             Labor Expenses 
             Need verification 
             Number of people affected 
             Measure of change 
             Trees saved 
             Sustainability report 
             Carbon Footprint 
             Social Impact 
           
         
       
    
     If the data has to be verified  310 , a communication or message  320  will be sent to supervisor or manager or authority to verify it. Supervisor or Manager or authority can approve or disapprove information  330  and add comments to the information that is getting verified. If the information is not verified or unapproved by the supervisor  340 , it is stored in the system as unverified with or without any comments to database  190 . If the information is verified or approved by the supervisor  350 , it is verified as payment or voluntary service  360 . If the approved information relates to a payable activity for the user, that will be communicated to the Human Resources or Payroll or related department/personnel electronically or other means  370 . If it is an unpaid activity, it is stored in the system as unverified with any comments to database  190 . Data is organized by different ranges in the database  190 . 
     If the user does an activity  250 , which is in the list of activities as per user profile, activity and related details will be automatically captured  260  and sent as new activity  300  to the system. 
     If the user sets his profile  140  for certain or all information to be visible to other users or a set of predefined group of users or systems or devices or media  230 , that information will be communicated to the predefined group  220 , as per user preferences  140 . If the user as elected to keep all details confidential, details will be kept as confidential information  210 . If the user elects to receive communication  240  from other users or selected group of users, user will receive messages  180 . User may publish reports in other media  230  as per profile. 
     The system or other applications will send periodic messages or remainders  410  to user based on user preferences and profile  140 . If the user wants to send a report or communication to other systems or users or devices, user will enter details of receiving entity and submit a request  180 . The system can also exchange information to other systems in electronic formats or social media or other media formats depending on user profile. The system can send data to a plurality of external devices, applications, systems, media formats, websites, social media sites, and communication interfaces. 
     When the data in the system gets older, it is verified as candidate for archiving and sent to archiving  380 . Archived data, outside of normal retention period of system, will be stored as summary information  400 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic workflow of method and processes involved in the administrative system for managing administrators, users, login processes, organizations, sub-organizations, categories, activities, events, campaigning, reporting, various communication methods and other means. 
     Various levels of users which may be Super-administrator or administrator or sub-administrators will use this system for managing the various functions of the system. The user accesses the administrative module of the application or portal or website  500  over wireless or wired networked devices or systems or mobile communication devices or applications. User logs in  510  by providing username and password or other identifiable credentials. The user gets a personalized screen and menus based on profile in database  190  which may be defined by user profile and access privileges. The menu may include information on organizational levels, different categories and activities, billing information, charity, donor, and member information, users, reporting methods, methods to communicate or campaign, issue certificates, scheduling tools, discussion forums, polls, emails. The information requested for activity submission process in different menus may include: 
     Organization Details: 
     
         
         
           
             Organization Name 
             Address 
             City 
             Zip Code 
             Country 
             URL 
             Telephone Number 
             Primary Email 
             Secondary Email 
             Company Tax ID 
             Administrator Details 
             User Id 
             Password 
             Admin Name 
             Email 
             Telephone Number 
             Contact Name 
             Contact Title 
             Contact Telephone Number 
             Contact Cell phone Number 
             Contact Fax Number 
             Contact Email 
             Currency 
           
         
       
    
     Billing Details: 
     
         
         
           
             Contact Name 
             Contact Title 
             Contact Telephone Number 
             Contact Cell phone Number 
             Contact Fax Number 
             Contact Email 
             Address 
             City 
             Zip Code 
             Country 
             Logo 
             Enable Email Contact For End User 
             Enable Login For End Users 
             Max Number of Users 
             Sub Org Enroll Date 
             Sub Org Billing Type 
             Service Type 
             Other Fields 
           
         
       
    
     Charity or Donor 
     
         
         
           
             Charity Description 
             Donation Description 
           
         
       
    
     Event Details 
     
         
         
           
             Number of people affected 
             Measure of change 
             Trees saved 
             Sustainability report 
             Carbon Footprint 
             Social Impact 
           
         
       
    
     The information requested for user registration process may include information used in  140  and activity submission may include information used in  300 . The reports and certificates may include information used in  140  and  300  and mathematically derived values from different information in the system in various formats. 
     The user can create  550 , edit  560  or generate new and existing information and may include actions related to the various administrative tasks and save them  570 . The user can log off  580  if desired and exit the system  600 . 
       FIG. 4  is a sample report of a user  600 , who is a high school student  605 , who wants to use the system to send a report to the College Admissions Counselor  620 . The same report or a similar may be sent in electronic file format or any media format to a recipient, requested by the user.  FIG. 7  is a similar report created for adult users or employees of an organization  800  sorted by organizational team  810  communicated in any format to other recipients or systems or media formats. 
     Any report can be created in any summary  600  format or detailed format  700  or as a Certificate  750  ( FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 5 ,  FIG. 6 )  116  using stored information and sent to any user or entity, as requested by user  605 . 
       FIG. 5  shows the detailed report for the sample report in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 8  is a similar report created for adult users or employees of an organization  800  sorted by department  840  communicated in any format to other recipients or systems or media formats. 
     Operation—FIGS. 1,  2 ,  3   
     In operation, user accesses the application or website or portal or system over wireless or wired networked devices or systems, including all types of computing, communication, handheld and mobile devices, and related applications. User logs in or registers as a user and sets the personal profile. When a new activity is entered by manual or electronic or automatic means, it is checked for verification necessity. If it has to be verified, a communication or message will be sent to supervisor or manager or authority to verify it. If the supervisor does not verify or approve the data, it is stored in the system as unverified with any comments. If the data is approved by the supervisor, it is verified for payment. If it relates to a payable activity for the user, that will be communicated to the appropriate department. If it is an unpaid activity, data is stored in the system as unverified with any comments. 
     User can publish information including reports in various formats or initiate contact with others including users, systems, devices, and media as per user preferences in the profile. The system will send periodic messages to user based on user preferences and profile. If the user wants to send a report or communication to other systems or users or devices or media, user will enter details of receiving entity and submit a request. 
     When the data in the system gets old, it is sent to archiving, based on preferences. Archived data will be stored as summary information. 
     The administrative section of the application comprises of various means to control the different organizations and users in them based on hierarchy levels and different options to do various tasks which may include track, report, campaign, recognize, and communicate with members. The system supports various countries, states, regions, and currencies of the world and the user with the highest privileges can set the profile of other users based on various parameters.