Automatic Status Notification

Abstract

A status reporting system (SRS) automatically reports updated status of a project to an interested party based on status information stored in a status system. The SRS is communicatively coupled to the status system and includes a monitoring device that contacts the status system to determine whether such status system has new status information stored therein and obtains such new status information from the status system. An internal mail device receives the obtained status information, ascertains from the received status information the interested party, locates an electronic mail address for the interested party, formats the received status information into a piece of electronic mail which includes the received status information and the located electronic mail address, and forwards the piece of electronic mail to the interested party by way of an electronic mail service.

1 . A status reporting system (SRS) for automatically reporting updated status of a project to an interested party based on status information stored in a status system, the SRS being communicatively coupled to the status system and comprising: 
 a monitoring device contacting the status system to determine whether such status system has new status information stored therein and obtaining such new status information from the status system; and    an internal mail device receiving the obtained status information, ascertaining from the received status information the interested party, locating an electronic mail address for the interested party, formatting the received status information into a piece of electronic mail which includes the received status information and the located electronic mail address, and forwarding the piece of electronic mail to the interested party by way of an electronic mail service.    
     
     
         2 . The SRS of  claim 1  wherein the electronic mail service is selected from a group consisting of an Internet E-Mail mail service, an Internet voice mail service, and a telephone-based voice mail service, and wherein the internal mail device formats the received status information into a piece of electronic mail compatible with the selected electronic mail service.  
     
     
         3 . The SRS of  claim 1  further comprising an ID database, wherein the status system tags the status information stored therein with an ID identifying the interested party, wherein the ID database includes a record having the ID and the electronic mail address for the interested party, and wherein the internal mail device locates the electronic mail address for the interested party from the ID database based on the ID tagged to the received status information.  
     
     
         4 . The SRS of  claim 3  wherein the ID database includes a record having the ID and electronic mail addresses for a plurality of interested parties, and wherein the internal mail device locates the electronic mail addresses for the plurality of interested parties from the ID database based on the ID tagged to the received status information, formats the received status information into a piece of electronic mail which includes the received status information and the located electronic mail addresses, and forwards the piece of electronic mail to the plurality of interested parties by way of the electronic mail service.  
     
     
         5 . The SRS of  claim 1  further comprising a status database including status data, the monitoring device referring to the status data in the status database in conjunction with determining whether the status system has new status information stored therein.  
     
     
         6 . The SRS of  claim 5  wherein the status data in the status database includes previous status information obtained from the status system for the project, and wherein the monitoring device compares the status information for the project as stored in the status database and the status information for the project as stored in the status system and notes differences that identify the new status information.  
     
     
         7 . The SRS of  claim 6  wherein the status database is updated with the new status information.  
     
     
         8 . The SRS of  claim 5  wherein each piece of status information stored in the status system is tagged with a time stamp, wherein the status data in the status database includes a time indicative of a last contact review of the status system by the monitoring device, and wherein the monitoring device obtains from the status system only those pieces of status information stored therein that have a time stamp later than the time of the last review as stored in the status database.  
     
     
         9 . The SRS of  claim 8  wherein the status database is updated with a time indicative of the present review.  
     
     
         10 . The SRS of  claim 1  wherein the monitoring device contacts the status system and obtains the new status information therefrom automatically on a periodic basis.  
     
     
         11 . The SRS of  claim 1  for automatically reporting updated status of a plurality of projects to corresponding interested party based on status information stored in the status system, wherein the internal mail device receives obtained pieces of status information, ascertains from each received piece of status information the corresponding interested party, locates an electronic mail address for the corresponding interested party, formats the received piece of status information into a piece of electronic mail which includes the received piece of status information and the located corresponding electronic mail address, and forwards the piece of electronic mail to the corresponding interested party by way of the electronic mail service.  
     
     
         12 . The SRS of  claim 1  further comprising a memory storing the obtained new status information.  
     
     
         13 . A method for automatically reporting updated status of a project to an interested party based on status information stored in a status system, the method comprising: 
 contacting the status system to determine whether such status system has new status information stored therein, and obtaining such new status information from the status system;    ascertaining from the obtained status information the interested party;    locating an electronic mail address for the interested party;    formatting the obtained status information into a piece of electronic mail which includes the received status information and the located electronic mail address; and    forwarding the piece of electronic mail to the interested party by way of an electronic mail service.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein the electronic mail service is selected from a group consisting of an Internet E-Mail mail service, an Internet voice mail service, and a telephone-based voice mail service, and comprising formatting the obtained status information into a piece of electronic mail compatible with the selected electronic mail service.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  comprising ascertaining the interested party from an ID identifying the interested party and tagged to the received status information and locating the electronic mail address for the interested party based on the ID tagged to the received status information.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15  comprising ascertaining a plurality of interested parties from an ID identifying the plurality of interested parties and tagged to the received status information and locating an electronic mail address for each interested party based on the ID tagged to the received status information.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising referring to status data in conjunction with determining whether the status system has new status information stored therein.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the status data includes previous status information obtained from the status system for the project, the method comprising comparing the previous status information for the project and the status information for the project as stored in the status system and noting differences that identify the new status information.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  comprising updating the status data with the new status information.