Patent Document ID: 8166178
Application ID: 11965124
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method to facilitate optimal communications, comprising: operating at least one processor to perform a method comprising: providing at least one first user interface and at least one second user interface; receiving, via the at least one first user interface: user input designating at least one group, each group comprising at least one person, and a priority associated with each of the at least one group; user input defining a plurality of busyness states and, for each of the busyness states, context information that indicates when the contactee is in the busyness state; user input defining a first subset of policies that indicates processing of communications attempts from a contactor to the contactee based on a context state of the contactee comprising a busyness state of the plurality of busyness states of the contactee and a priority of a group containing the contactor; user input defining a second subset of policies that relate to a first channel of communication for contacting the contactee, a first plurality of context settings of the contactee associated with the first channel of communication, and a first routing sequence of alternative channels of communications associated with the first channel of communication and the first plurality of context settings of the contactee; and user input defining a third subset of policies that relate to the first channel of communication, a second plurality of context settings of the contactee associated with the first channel of communication, and a second routing sequence of alternative channels of communications associated with the first channel of communication and the second plurality of context settings of the contactee; receiving via the at least one second user interface: user input defining a list of preferences of the contactor comprising a third channel of communication and a third routing sequence of alternative channels of communications based on a context of the contactor; identifying correlation between the first subset of policies, the second subset of policies, the third subset of policies, the context state of the contactee, the list of preferences of the contactor and the context of the contactor; and when a communication attempt using a channel of communication selected based on the identified correlation has failed, selecting an alternative channel of communications from the first routing sequence, the second routing sequence, or the third routing sequence based on the identified correlation.