Patent ID: 7313615

Claim:
A method for managing communications comprising the steps of: receiving a plurality of communication attempts from a plurality of communication sources; for each communication attempt, responsively determining a plurality of corresponding communication events, the plurality of communication events comprising, for each communication attempt, a communication event indicating a communication source of the communication attempt, another communication event indicating a channel over which the communication attempt is received, and another communication event indicating a recipient device to which the communication attempt is directed; for each communication event, determining a quantitative value defining an event weight corresponding to said communication event; comparing said event weight with an event threshold associated with said communication event to determine whether said event weight exceeds said event threshold; responsive to said comparing step, performing at least one communication management action; detecting an event exception; responsive to detecting an event exception, adjusting at least one of said event weight and said event threshold based upon said event exception, wherein if said event exception comprises receiving more than a predetermined number of email communication attempts within a predetermined time interval or if said event exception comprises determining that a communication source has been waiting in a queue for longer than a predetermined time interval, then said event weight is increased by a predetermined factor; detecting a management control condition; and, responsive to detecting a management control condition, temporarily adjusting at least one of said event weight and said event threshold, wherein if said management control condition comprises receiving a communication attempt while a communication recipient is communicating over a telephone channel or receiving a communication attempt during a designated time period, then said event threshold is increased by a predetermined factor.