Policy-Based Instant Messaging Contact List Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional instant messaging systems lack efficient policy-based management for user contacts lists, leading to manual and time-consuming processes for adding and removing contacts based on temporal constraints, resulting in cluttered lists and user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a policy-based management system that evaluates constraints associated with user contacts, allowing temporary contacts to be added or removed automatically based on satisfied policies, using a messaging server and client that retrieve and update active contacts lists dynamically during IM sessions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual management of contacts lists is used, then users have full control over contact addition and removal, but the process becomes time-consuming and cluttered lists result
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-defines policy templates with common contact management scenarios (e.g., add contact when event starts, remove contact when event ends). These policies are prepared in advance and automatically applied when conditions match, eliminating the need for manual real-time contact list management while maintaining user intent.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact management system operates autonomously by continuously monitoring policy conditions and automatically adding or removing contacts based on satisfied constraints. The system serves itself by evaluating policies and updating contact lists without requiring user intervention, thus reducing time loss while preserving control through pre-configured policies.
2Reliability
If traditional contact list management is used, then all contacts are always visible, but relevant and up-to-date contact lists cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The contact list is segmented into multiple policy-based subsets, where each subset represents contacts satisfying specific policy constraints (e.g., active contacts, event-related contacts, work contacts). This segmentation allows the system to maintain multiple relevant contact lists simultaneously without requiring a single complex management structure, as each segment is independently managed by its corresponding policy.
3Extent of automation
If automatic policy-based contact management is implemented, then user intervention is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact list is designed as a dynamic structure that automatically adapts to changing policy conditions. Contacts are dynamically added or removed based on real-time policy evaluation, allowing the system to maintain high automation while managing complexity through event-driven updates rather than continuous full-list processing. The dynamic nature allows selective evaluation of only affected policies when conditions change.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention enable policy-based management of a user contacts list. Applications of the present invention are its use in embodiments of Instant Messaging (IM) systems. During an IM session, a session owner may temporarily add a contact to an active contacts list for a duration determined by evaluating constraints from one or more policies associated with the contact. At IM session initialization, a session owner's persistently stored contacts and their associated policies are retrieved, and the policies are evaluated. An active contacts list for use during the IM session is generated from a subset of stored contacts for which all associated policy constraints are satisfied. In embodiments, the active contacts list may be updated during a session by re-evaluating the stored contacts and associated policies. In embodiments, an active contacts list is updated after addition of a new contact determined to have an associated enabled policy satisfied.