Method and system for creating a virtual team environment

Abstract

A collaboration services suite is adapted to support a plurality of integrated telecommunications services accessed by geographically dispersed team members using a virtual team environment (VTE) client that generates a graphical user interface (GUI) for each of the respective team members. Communications sessions are automatically set up by the collaboration services suite in response to request messages generated by the VTE client when a team member initiates a communications session request using the GUI. Team members require no knowledge of another team member's communications device address in order to initiate a communications session. The collaboration services suite includes a VTE server that communicates with the VTE clients, a presence engine that collects and maintains a status of communications devices specified in a current profile of the team member; and, a call server for handling setup and control of a voice component of each communications session completed.

We claim:  
     
         1 . A system for facilitating collaboration between members of a geographically-dispersed team, comprising: 
 a collaboration services suite adapted to enable a communications session between at least two of the team members using a plurality of different communications media; and    a graphical user interface adapted to enable a team member to view communications icons representing dynamically maintained presence and availability information respecting different communications devices associated with respective members of the team, and to initiate a request for a communications session with another member of the team by selecting a one of the communications icons associated with the other member of the team.    
     
     
         2 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein each team member is identified with a personal identifier associated with the team.  
     
     
         3 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the graphical user interface is further adapted to display all communications devices associated with a team member, and a team member can initiate a request for a communications session with another team member by selecting any one of the communications devices associated with the other team member.  
     
     
         4 . A system as claimed in  claim 2  wherein the graphical user interface displays information associated with a current team member profile for each member of the team, and the communications icons displayed in association with the personal identifier are determined by communications devices specified in the current profile.  
     
     
         5 . A system as claimed in  claim 4  wherein information respecting the communications device, such as device type and device address are stored by the collaboration services suite, and are not communicated to the team members.  
     
     
         6 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the team member that initiates the communications session indicates whether the communications session is a public communications session or a private communications session.  
     
     
         7 . A system as claimed in  claim 6  wherein a communications session can be changed from a public communications session to a private communications session, and vice versa.  
     
     
         8 . A system as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the collaboration services suite displays information respecting public communications sessions on a communications session information display area of the graphical user interface, and any team member may initiate a request to join the public communications session.  
     
     
         9 . A system as claimed in  claim 6  wherein information respecting a private communications session is displayed only on the graphical user interface of persons who are participants in the communications session, and the graphical user interface of team members who are invitees to the private communications session.  
     
     
         10 . A system as claimed in  claim 8  wherein, if a communications session is changed from a public communications session to a private communications session, the collaboration services suite instructs respective graphical user interfaces to remove information related to the communications session from the communications session information display area.  
     
     
         11 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the other team member associated with the communications icon is automatically invited to join the communications session.  
     
     
         12 . A system as claimed in  claim 11  wherein other team members may be invited to join the communications session at any time during the communications session.  
     
     
         13 . A system as claimed in  claim 12  wherein the communications session is any one of a voice, instant messaging or multi-media communications session.  
     
     
         14 . A system as claimed in  claim 13  wherein any team member may participate in more that one communications session at one time.  
     
     
         15 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the collaborations services suite is further adapted to display team bulletins on the graphical user interface of each team member.  
     
     
         16 . A system as claimed in  claim 14  wherein a team bulletin may be input through the graphical user interface by any member of the team.  
     
     
         17 . A system as claimed in  claim 16  wherein the team member bulletin can be modified by any member of the team.  
     
     
         18 . A system as claimed in  claim 16  wherein a team bulletin input by any member of the team is sent by the collaboration services suite to the graphical user interface of each team member, for display on the respective graphical user interfaces of all team members.  
     
     
         19 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the collaboration services suite is further adapted to permit teams to be defined, changed and deleted.  
     
     
         20 . A system as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the collaboration services suite comprises at least one each of a connection manager, a virtual team environment server, a presence server, and a call server.  
     
     
         21 . A system as claimed in  claim 20  wherein the connection manager performs all client communication and presentation functions, and provides an abstraction layer in order to hide details of individual client types from the virtual team environment server.  
     
     
         22 . A system as claimed in  claim 20  wherein the virtual team environment server performs control functions related to components of the collaboration services suite.  
     
     
         23 . A system as claimed in  claim 20  wherein the presence server receives, stores, updates and retrieves presence information related to registered devices associated with each member of the team.  
     
     
         24 . A system as claimed in  claim 23  wherein the presence server is adapted to maintain dynamic presence information related to a selected communications device associated with a member of the team.  
     
     
         25 . A system as claimed in  claim 24  wherein the selected devices are devices specified in a current profile of each member of the team.  
     
     
         26 . A system as claimed in  claim 24 , wherein the presence server is further adapted to detect the operational status of selected communications devices.  
     
     
         27 . A system as claimed in  claim 26 , wherein the selected communications devices are adapted to forward status messages to the system, and the presence server is adapted to receive status messages from the selected communications devices; and declare one of an “in-use” and an “idle” status of the selected communications devices based on a content of one or more of the status messages.  
     
     
         28 . A system as claimed in  claim 27 , wherein the virtual team environment server is adapted to assert an “unavailable” status of the selected communications device if a current profile of a team member indicates that communications are not to be received on the communications device.  
     
     
         29 . A system as claimed in  claim 26 , wherein the selected communications device is connected to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and the presence server is adapted to monitor an on-hook and off-hook status of the preferred communications device.  
     
     
         30 . A system as claimed in  claim 29 , wherein the presence server is adapted to assert a query against a dial number of the selected communications device, and receive a query response including an indication of the on-hook status of the selected communications device.  
     
     
         31 . A system as claimed in  claim 26 , wherein the selected communications device is a wireless telephone, and the presence server is adapted to query a respective Home Location Registry (HLR) associated with the selected communications device and, receive a respective query response including an indication of the operational status of the selected communications device.  
     
     
         32 . A system as claimed in  claim 20  wherein the voice communications session server performs voice communications setup between members of the team.  
     
     
         33 . A system as claimed in  claim 32  wherein the call server is a virtual switching point (VSP) in a public switched telephone network (PSTN).  
     
     
         34 . A system as claimed in  claim 32  wherein the call server is a private branch exchange in an enterprise telephone network.  
     
     
         35 . A system as claimed in  claim 11  wherein the communications device is any one of a personal computer, a wire-line telephone, a wireless telephone, a one-way paging device, a two-way paging device, a wireless personal digital assistant, and a wireless application protocol (WAP) device.  
     
     
         36 . A system as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the presence and availability information respecting each team member displayed by the graphical user interface comprises information indicative of an availability of respective team members for participation in a communications session.  
     
     
         37 . A method as claimed in  claim 36  wherein the presence and availability information displayed by the graphical user interface is the same for each team member, with respect to other members of the team.  
     
     
         38 . A method of facilitating collaboration between members of a geographically-dispersed team, comprising steps of: 
 enabling team members to initiate a communications session between at least one other team member using at least one of a plurality of different communications media; and    providing a graphical user interface adapted to enable a team member to view communications icons representing dynamically maintained presence and availability information respecting different communications devices associated with respective members of the team, and to initiate a request for a communications session with another member of the team by selecting a one of the communications icons associated with the other member of the team.    
     
     
         39 . The method as claimed in  claim 38  wherein the graphical user interface displays the dynamic presence and availability information when the team member logs on to a virtual team environment server.  
     
     
         40 . The method as claimed in  claim 39  wherein the virtual team environment server dynamically updates the graphical user interface as the dynamic presence and availability information changes with respect to any one of the members of the team.  
     
     
         41 . The method as claimed in  claim 38  wherein each graphical user interface displays the same information with respect to other members of the team.  
     
     
         42 . The method as claimed in  claim 38  further comprising a step of displaying on each graphical user interface every active communications sessions in which any team member is involved, provided that the active communications sessions are indicated to be public.  
     
     
         43 . The method as claimed in  claim 42  further comprising a step of displaying information related to communications sessions that are indicated to be private only on the graphical user interface of team members involved in the private communications session, or other team members invited to participate in the private communications session.  
     
     
         44 . The method as claimed in  claim 38  further comprising a step of provisioning a presence server to collect and store the dynamic presence and availability information.  
     
     
         45 . The method as claimed in  claim 44  further comprising a step provisioning the presence server to advise a virtual team environment server each time a status of a monitored device changes.  
     
     
         46 . The method as claimed in  claim 45  further comprising a step provisioning the virtual team environment server to update the graphical user interface of each team member logged on to the virtual team environment server each time a status of a monitored device is reported by the presence server to have changed.  
     
     
         47 . The method as claimed in  claim 46  wherein devices monitored by the presence server are determined by an active profile specified by each team member.  
     
     
         48 . A method as claimed in  claim 38  further comprising steps of enabling the graphical user interface to permit a team member to initiate a communications session with any other team member available to participate in the communications session; and, sending a communications session request message to a virtual team environment server when the team member initiates a communications session, the request message including information respecting a communications session type and communications session invitees.  
     
     
         49 . A method as claimed in  claim 48  further comprising a step of receiving the request message at a virtual team environment server and determining the actions that are required to initiate the communications session with the requesting team member.  
     
     
         50 . A method as claimed in  claim 49  further comprising a step of sending instructions to other components of the collaboration services suite to initiate the communications session after the step of determining the actions that are required.