Availability Manager for Multi-Media Communication Sessions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in determining the availability of telecommunications endpoint users across various communication media and endpoints, especially in global enterprises with non-uniform and incomplete information, leading to delays in decision-making and inefficient collaboration.
Innovation Solution
An availability manager system that determines user availability based on discrete rules and continuous functions, transmitting signals to a call-processing server to set up participants in the most appropriate communication medium, considering factors like current sessions, expected session duration, and user roles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If indirect inference methods are used to determine user availability, then the system complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision and reliability of availability determination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an availability manager as an intermediary component that directly communicates with telecommunications endpoints to obtain accurate availability information. This mediator collects real availability data from multiple sources (endpoint status, calendar information, user profiles) and processes it to determine actual user availability, thereby improving measurement precision without requiring direct complex inference between all system components.
2Device complexity
If availability is determined without considering multiple communication media, then the determination process is simplified, but the adaptability and accuracy of medium selection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the availability determination process into a new dimension by evaluating multiple communication media (voice, instant messaging, email, etc.) simultaneously. The availability manager assesses user availability across different media types and selects the most appropriate medium based on user preferences, current activity, and communication requirements, thereby improving adaptability without proportionally increasing complexity.
3Measurement precision
If manual determination of user availability is used, then the information accuracy is high, but the productivity and response time of collaboration setup deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where telecommunications endpoints and users automatically provide availability information to the availability manager. Users configure their availability preferences, communication medium choices, and current status directly in their endpoint systems, eliminating the need for manual input while maintaining high information accuracy. The system automatically processes this data to determine availability and initiate collaborations.
4Reliability
If comprehensive availability criteria are considered, then the reliability of collaboration setup improves, but the device complexity and processing requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive availability determination process into distinct modular components: endpoint status monitoring, calendar information retrieval, user profile analysis, and medium selection algorithms. Each component handles a specific aspect of availability assessment independently, allowing the system to consider multiple criteria reliably while managing complexity through modular architecture and distributed processing.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed for determining, for each candidate communication medium, the availability of one or more telecommunications endpoint users for participating in a communication session of interest (i.e., either new or existing) via the evaluated medium. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, an availability manager determines the availability based on (i) one or more discrete rules, or (ii) one or more continuous functions, or both. The continuous functions are specified with respect to the time that has elapsed since a previous session, the time remaining in an active session, and the expected duration of a new session. Once it has determined the availability of one or more participants in the communication session, the availability manager of the illustrative embodiment transmits one or more signals to a call-processing server, which then sets up the participants on the session via the appropriate communication medium such as voice, instant messaging, and so forth.