Patent ID: 7876714

Claim:
A method for scheduling a conference among multiple persons, comprising: receiving group data that indicates a plurality of groups that include a first plurality of persons in a first group and a second plurality of persons in a second group different from the first plurality of persons in the first group; receiving availability data from a shared database that includes information about availability for a conference of a population plurality of persons that includes the first plurality of persons; receiving quorum data that indicates that a quorum for a particular conference includes any one or more persons in the first group and less than all persons in the first group and includes a particular number of persons from the second group, whereby the first group is a representative group; and determining, using a scheduling apparatus, a proposed time interval for the particular conference that satisfies the quorum based on the group data, the availability data, and the quorum data, the proposed time interval being determined prior to an invitation for the particular conference is sent.