Patent ID: 7725342

Claim:
A method of managing event schedules, the method comprising the computer implemented steps of: initializing a calendar system; generating, using a processor, an invitation list; sending an invitation to a first scheduled event having a scheduled event time to a plurality of users in the invitation list; receiving a plurality of acceptance messages associated with the first scheduled event having the scheduled event time, each of the plurality of acceptance messages associated with a respective user of the plurality of users; for each of the plurality of users for which an acceptance message has been received from, identifying, using the processor, a schedule conflict of a user associated with an acceptance message of the plurality of acceptance messages, wherein identifying the schedule conflict comprises accessing a schedule store of a data processing system that generated the acceptance message, wherein the schedule conflict of the user is identified if the schedule store contains a plurality of time-overlapping events with respect to the first scheduled event that the user has previously accepted in their own calendaring system; responsive to identifying the schedule conflict, calculating, using the processor, for each of the plurality of users, a probable attendance from the plurality of acceptance messages, wherein the probable attendance is calculated to be inversely proportional (1/x) to how many (x) of the plurality of time-overlapping events exist, with respect to the first scheduled event, that the user has previously accepted in their own calendaring system; displaying each of the plurality of users and the respective probable attendance for each of the plurality of users in a user interface; forming, using the processor, a meeting status value from the calculated probable attendance for each of the plurality of users; and conveying the meeting status value to at least one user associated with one of the plurality of acceptance messages.