Unified Group Management via XML Tree for Communication Services
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional communication networks manage group communications in a siloed manner, requiring users to learn different interfaces for various communication services and applications, which hinders the adoption of additional communication services due to separate design and management of each application.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of systems and methods for managing communication groups using XML documents structured as a tree, providing a unified approach for group management across different applications, including opt-in/opt-out features, address book synchronization, and policy management, through network architectures based on XML document management standards and Open Mobile Alliance's document management standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate applications are used for different communication services, then each application can be designed and managed independently, but users must learn multiple interfaces and the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal group management application that handles multiple communication services (instant messaging, voice calls, video conferences, etc.) through a single interface. The system uses a standardized data model with common elements like group definitions, member lists, and management operations that work across all service types, eliminating the need for separate applications while maintaining service-specific functionality through configurable parameters and service adapters
2Adaptability or versatility
If each application manages its own group data separately, then application-specific requirements can be met, but data redundancy increases and management efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges group data management into a centralized system where a single group definition (including member lists, group properties, and management rules) is stored and shared across multiple communication services. The system uses a common data model that can be instantiated for different services, allowing voice calls, instant messaging, and video conferences to all reference the same group data without duplication, thereby reducing storage requirements and improving consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary group management service that acts as a mediator between the centralized group data repository and various communication services. This intermediary layer provides standardized access interfaces and translation mechanisms, allowing different services to retrieve and manipulate group data according to their specific requirements while maintaining a single source of truth, thus eliminating data redundancy while preserving application-specific management capabilities
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for supporting group communications are provided. A group list management server (GLMS) stores communications group definitions in documents, such as extensible mark-up language (XML) documents. The communications group can include communication addresses for different types of communication applications, including electronic mail, voice telephone, data, instant messaging, voice dispatch, short messaging service (SMS), and multimedia service (MMS). Various methods for joining communications groups are provided.