Device-independent attendance prompting tool for electronically-scheduled events

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system for motivating electronically-scheduled event attendance can include a set of attendance listening components, an attendance prompt, and an attendance prompting tool. The attendance listening components can monitor activities performed in a networked environment. The attendance prompt can represent an electronic message and feedback mechanism that is provided on an electronic device. The attendance prompting tool can interject the attendance prompt into an activity identified by an attendance listening component as being performed by a user-selected member of the networked environment. The attendance prompt can be associated with an electronically-scheduled event the user-selected member is to attend.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving of a command by an attendance prompting tool to issue an attendance prompt to at least one attendee of an electronically-scheduled event, wherein said at least one attendee is denoted as being absent from the electronically-scheduled event;   ascertaining whether an existence of at least one activity being performed by the at least one attendee with at least one electronic device;   if at least one activity exists, generating an attendance prompt for the electronically-scheduled event, wherein said attendance prompt comprises at least a reminder message for the electronically-scheduled event and an attendance update mechanism for the at least one attendee to provide a response to the attendance prompt, and, wherein the attendance prompt is compatible with the at least one electronic device; and   interjecting the generated attendance prompt into the at least one activity, wherein contents of the attendance prompt are presented to the at least one attendee operating the at least one electronic device.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 in response to receiving the response from the attendance prompt, updating attendance information presented within a graphical user interface (GUI) of the attendance prompting tool.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, if the at least one activity is non-existent, said method further comprising:
 determining an offline contact method for the at least one attendee;   generating the attendance prompt for the electronically-scheduled event and an electronic device associated with the offline contact method; and   initiating the offline contact method for the at least one attendee, wherein a success of the offline contact method presents the generated attendance prompt to the at least one attendee.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the ascertaining of the at least one activity further comprises:
 aggregating contact data and at least one electronic identifier for the at least one attendee from a plurality of data sources; and   querying a plurality of listener components for the at least one activity involving at least one of an item of contact data and the at least one electronic identifier for the at least one attendee.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 accessing data of an electronic calendar associated with the at least one attendee;   from said electronic calendar data, identifying whether an event occurring within a predefined time span exists prior to the electronically-scheduled event for which the attendance prompt is being sent; and   if a prior event exists, capturing details for said prior event, wherein the details comprise at least a location and a coordinator of the prior event.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generation of the attendance prompt further comprises:
 identifying at least one prompting rule applicable to the at least activity existing for the at least one attendee, wherein prompting rules define business rules, performance options, and user preferences for delivery of the attendance prompt; and   enacting the at least one identified prompting rule to influence the generation of the attendance prompt.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generation of the attendance prompt further comprises:
 for each ascertained activity and electronic device combination, determining a format for the attendance prompt; and   invoking a specific attendance prompt generator to properly format the attendance prompt.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a current location of the at least one attendee using a scheduled information of a calendaring location or presence information maintained for the at least one attendee;   using the current location, determining the at least one electronic device proximate to the at least one attendee; and   interjecting the generated attendance prompt after determining the at least one electronic device proximate to the at least one attendee.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 failing to receive a response after interjecting the generated attendance prompt into the at least one activity of the electronic device;   responsive to the failing to receive the response, determining a different electronic device believed to be proximate to or in use by the user; and   presenting the generated attendance prompt upon the different electronic device, wherein the response resulting in the updating of attendance information is provided by the different electronic device.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 for each of the at least one attendee, determining a set of two or more electronic devices associated with the attendee, upon which the attendance prompt is able to be presented;   determining one of the two or more electronic devices that is in use by the at least one attendee; and   selecting the determined one of the electronic devices for interjecting the generated attendance prompt based on the determined use of the one electronic device.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one electronic device is a telephony device, wherein the activity is a real-time voice communication, wherein the generated attendance prompt is interjected into the real-time voice communication as an audio prompt. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one attendee comprises a plurality of different attendees, each of which receives the generated attendance prompt, wherein the different ones of the different attendees are utilizing different types of electronic devices that are communicating in different modalities with the corresponding attendee, wherein the generated attendance prompt is provided in the modality being used on the specific one of the different type of electronic device in response to the interjecting step occurring, wherein different ones of the attendance prompts are provided to different ones of the attendees as an audio prompt, as a visual prompt overlaid on a video stream, and as a notification presented in a computing screen. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the attendance prompting tool selects the at least one electronic device upon which the generated attendance prompt is presented without a user of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the attendance prompting tool being aware of what electronic device the generated attendance prompt is sent to. 
     
     
         14 . A system comprising:
 a plurality of attendance listening components configured to monitor activities performed in a networked environment;   an attendance prompt representing an electronic message and feedback mechanism; and   an attendance prompting tool configured to interject the attendance prompt into an activity identified by an attendance listening component as being performed by a user-selected member of the networked environment, wherein said attendance prompt is associated with an electronically-scheduled event the user-selected member is to attend.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the attendance prompting tool further comprises:
 an attendee locator configured to utilize the plurality of attendance listening components to determine an electronic device to which the attendance prompt is to be sent;   a plurality of prompt data containing user-selectable predefined textual components for the attendance prompt;   a plurality of prompting rules defining business rules, performance options, and user preferences for delivery of the attendance prompt;   a user interface configured to allow selection of prompt data and configuration of prompting rules; and   a prompt manager configured to manage delivery of the attendance prompt to the electronic device determined by the attendee locator in accordance with applicable prompting rules.   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the prompt manager further comprises:
 a plurality of prompt generators configured to format at least one of the prompt data and the attendance prompt for delivery to the determined electronic device.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein a prompt generator comprises at least one of a text-to-speech generator, a phone tree generator, a text message generator, and an instant message generator. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the attendance locator is configured to access data associated with the user-selected member from at least one data system of the networked environment. 
     
     
         19 . A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer usable program code embodied therewith, the computer usable program code comprising:
 computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to receive of a command by an attendance prompting tool to issue an attendance prompt to at least one attendee of an electronically-scheduled event, wherein said at least one attendee is denoted as being absent from the electronically-scheduled event;   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to ascertain whether an existence of at least one activity being performed by the at least one attendee with at least one electronic device;   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to, if at least one activity exists, generate an attendance prompt for the electronically-scheduled event, wherein said attendance prompt comprises at least a reminder message for the electronically-scheduled event and an attendance update mechanism for the at least one attendee to provide a response to the attendance prompt, and, wherein the attendance prompt is compatible with the at least one electronic device;   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to interject the generated attendance prompt into the at least one activity, wherein contents of the attendance prompt are presented to the at least one attendee operating the at least one electronic device; and   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to, in response to receiving the response from the attendance prompt, update attendance information presented within a graphical user interface (GUI) of the attendance prompting tool.   
     
     
         20 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein, if the at least one activity is non-existent, said computer program product further comprising:
 computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to determine an offline contact method for the at least one attendee;   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to generate the attendance prompt for the electronically-scheduled event and an electronic device associated with the offline contact method; and   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to initiate the offline contact method for the at least one attendee, wherein a success of the offline contact method presents the generated attendance prompt to the at least one attendee.   
     
     
         21 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , wherein the ascertaining of the at least one activity further comprises:
 computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to aggregate contact data and at least one electronic identifier for the at least one attendee from a plurality of data sources; and   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to query a plurality of listener components for the at least one activity involving at least one of an item of contact data and the at least one electronic identifier for the at least one attendee.   
     
     
         22 . The computer program product of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to access data of an electronic calendar associated with the at least one attendee;   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to, from said electronic calendar data, identify whether an event occurring within a predefined time span exists prior to the electronically-scheduled event for which the attendance prompt is being sent; and   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to, if a prior event exists, capture details for said prior event, wherein the details comprise at least a location and a coordinator of the prior event.   
     
     
         23 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to identify at least one prompting rule applicable to the at least activity existing for the at least one attendee, wherein prompting rules define business rules, performance options, and user preferences for delivery of the attendance prompt; and   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to enact the at least one identified prompting rule to influence the generation of the attendance prompt.   
     
     
         24 . The computer program product of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to determine a current location of the at least one attendee using a scheduled information of a calendaring location or presence information maintained for the at least one attendee;   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to use the current location, determining the at least one electronic device proximate to the at least one attendee; and   computer usable program code stored in the storage medium that upon being executed by a processor is operable to interject the generated attendance prompt after determining the at least one electronic device proximate to the at least one attendee.   
     
     
         25 . A system comprising:
 a data system comprising event data for a plurality of events and corresponding attendee data for the events;   a plurality of attendance listening components configured to monitor activities performed in a networked environment;   a means for ascertaining whether at least one of the activities being monitored by the listening components are being performed by any of the attendees of one of the events as determined by the data system;   means for generating an attendance prompt for the corresponding event, wherein said attendance prompt comprises at least a reminder message for the corresponding event and an attendance update mechanism for the at least one attendee performing the activity to provide a response to the attendance prompt; and   an attendance prompting tool configured to interject the generated attendance prompt into the ascertained activity.