Relationship Engine for Presence Services
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current presence services become overly complex due to increasing numbers of supported presence states and publisher control options, making it difficult even for advanced users to manage and utilize presence information effectively for real-time communication decisions.
Innovation Solution
A relationship engine is introduced to manage relationship information between entities, allowing applications to query and base processing behavior on the level of relationship between users or contacts, using specified relationship rules and data sources to determine relationship levels and notify subscribers of changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If presence services support increasingly larger numbers of presence states and publisher control options, then the functionality and control capability are improved, but the system complexity becomes daunting even for advanced users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a presence service that acts as an intermediary between publishers and subscribers. This service automatically manages the complex matching of presence states and control options, shielding users from the underlying complexity while providing rich functionality. The presence service processes presence information, applies publisher-defined control rules, and delivers filtered information to appropriate subscribers without requiring users to directly manage the complexity of multiple presence states and control mechanisms.
2Measurement precision
If presence information provides detailed availability status, then the information accuracy is improved, but the difficulty of managing and utilizing this information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the presence service automatically processes and filters presence information based on publisher-defined rules. Publishers simply define their presence states and control preferences, and the system automatically manages the distribution and filtering of this information to appropriate subscribers. This eliminates the need for users to manually manage complex presence information, reducing operational difficulty while maintaining high information accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The presence service acts as an intermediary that receives detailed presence information from publishers, processes it according to defined control rules, and delivers filtered information to subscribers. This intermediary layer maintains high information accuracy by preserving detailed presence states while reducing user burden by automating the management and distribution process.
3Adaptability or versatility
If publishers have increased control over subscriber access to presence information, then the control capability is improved, but the complexity of configuring and managing these controls increases
Solution Approach 1:
Publishers can define their own presence states and control rules through a simplified interface. The presence service automatically processes these definitions and enforces the control rules without requiring publishers to manually configure complex access permissions for each subscriber. The system self-manages the matching and filtering based on publisher preferences, reducing configuration complexity while maintaining strong control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The presence service acts as an intermediary that implements publisher control rules automatically. Publishers define their preferences, and the service mediates between publishers and subscribers by applying these rules to filter and deliver presence information appropriately. This intermediary layer provides strong control capability while shielding publishers from the complexity of direct subscriber-by-subscriber configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A relationship engine provides for the management of relationship information between entities. The relationship information indicates the level (or degree) of relationship between an entity and another entity or entities. The relationship engine allows applications to access the relationship information that is being managed by the relationship engine. For example, when an application needs to process an interaction between one entity and another entity, the application can query the relationship engine for the relationship between the entities. The application can then base its processing behavior at least in part on the relationship information obtained from the relationship engine.