Collaboration Window Mediator for Multi-Channel Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication technologies face challenges in integrating multiple communication channels with graphical user interfaces, leading to suboptimal user experiences due to the lack of expertise or willingness from software or communication providers to provide compatible communication functionalities.
Innovation Solution
A computer system and method that utilize a collaboration window with a graphical user interface to facilitate communication across multiple channels, employing a collaboration engine and manager to interact with various collaboration components, enabling seamless communication while providing relevant data from backend applications, thus bridging the gap between software and communication providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If software providers integrate communication channels directly into their applications, then communication functionality is improved, but device complexity and development burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a collaboration manager as an intermediary component that sits between the software application and multiple communication channels. The collaboration manager handles the complexity of integrating different communication protocols and channels, while the software provider only needs to implement a simple collaboration interface. This mediator pattern resolves the contradiction by shielding the software provider from integration complexity while still enabling versatile communication functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The collaboration manager is designed as a universal component that can handle multiple types of communication channels (email, chat, voice, video) through a single standardized interface. This multi-functional approach allows the system to support diverse communication needs without requiring separate integration logic for each channel, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high adaptability.
2Loss of information
If communication channels are integrated with backend applications, then data relevance and user experience are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The collaboration connector acts as an intermediary that bridges the collaboration manager and the backend application. It retrieves relevant data from the backend (such as customer information, order details, or context data) and makes it available to the collaboration window without requiring the communication channel providers to directly access or understand the backend system. This maintains data relevance while containing system complexity within the connector component.
Solution Approach 2:
The system architecture is segmented into distinct layers: the collaboration interface layer (collaboration window), the management layer (collaboration manager), the connection layer (collaboration connector), and the data layer (backend application). This segmentation allows each component to focus on a specific function, reducing the complexity any single component must handle while maintaining overall system coherence and data relevance.
3Ease of operation
If multiple communication channels are supported through a single interface, then ease of operation is improved, but component selection complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The collaboration manager includes an automated component selection mechanism that intelligently selects the appropriate collaboration component based on the communication channel type and requirements. Rather than requiring manual configuration or complex user decisions, the system automatically matches the right component to the right channel, simplifying the user interface while managing the underlying selection complexity through automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback mechanisms where the collaboration manager receives information about the desired communication channel and automatically selects the appropriate component. The selection process uses feedback from the channel requirements to make intelligent decisions, allowing the user interface to remain simple while the backend handles the complexity of component matching based on real-time conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A collaboration window may provide a graphical user interface to a user for facilitating communication over at least one of a plurality of communication channels while providing data relevant to the communication and available from a backend application. A collaboration engine may be configured to generate the collaboration window including the graphical user interface, and configured to provide and receive information therewith regarding the communication. A collaboration manager may be configured to communicate, in accordance with a common collaboration interface, with each of a plurality of collaboration components, each collaboration component associated with at least one communication channel. The collaboration manager may include a component selector configured to select a selected collaboration component from among the plurality of collaboration components, the selected collaboration component associated with a communication channel for executing the communication, and a plurality of component managers, each associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of collaboration components and configured to communicate therewith using the common collaboration interface, wherein a selected component manager corresponding to the selected collaboration component is configured to relay information between the selected collaboration component and the collaboration engine to thereby execute the communication using the collaboration window.