Interactions with contextual and task-based computing environments

Abstract

Concepts and technologies are described herein for interacting with contextual and task-focused computing environments. Tasks associated with applications are described by task data. Tasks and/or batches of tasks relevant to activities occurring at a client are identified, and a UI for presenting the tasks is generated. The UIs can include tasks and workflows corresponding to batches of tasks. Workflows can be executed, interrupted, and resumed on demand. Interrupted workflows are stored with data indicating progress, contextual information, UI information, and other information. The workflow is stored and/or shared. When execution of the workflow is resumed, the same or a different UI can be provided, based upon the device used to resume execution of the workflow. Thus, multiple devices and users can access workflows in parallel to provide collaborative task execution.

1 . A computer-implemented method for task-focused computing, the computer-implemented method comprising performing computer-implemented operations for:
 detecting an interaction between a client and an application;   obtaining contextual data associated with the client, the contextual data describing the interaction, the application, and content associated with the interaction;   querying task data to identify relevant tasks comprising tasks expected to be relevant to the client based upon the contextual data; and   configuring a user interface for presenting the relevant tasks to the client, wherein the user interface comprises user interface controls corresponding to the relevant tasks, and wherein selection of the user interface controls causes the client to access the corresponding relevant tasks.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user interface controls comprise workflow user interface control, the selection of which causes the client to access a workflow. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the workflow comprises a batch of tasks. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising receiving data indicating selection of the workflow user interface control. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 beginning execution of the workflow;   determining if execution of the workflow is interrupted; and   in response to determining that execution of the workflow is interrupted, storing workflow progress data.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the workflow progress data comprises data
 identifying the workflow,   identifying progress in execution of the workflow,   describing the contextual data associated with the workflow, and   describing the user interface used to interact with the workflow.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 resuming execution of the workflow;   determining if contextual data associated with a device resuming execution of the workflow is substantially similar to the contextual data associated with the workflow; and   configuring a user interface for resuming execution of the workflow.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein configuring the user interface comprises providing the user interface described by the workflow progress data, in response to determining that the contextual data associated with the device resuming execution of the workflow is substantially similar to the contextual data associated with the workflow. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein configuring the user interface comprises generating a new user interface in response to determining that the contextual data associated with the device resuming execution of the workflow is not substantially similar to the contextual data associated with the workflow. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein collecting the application data comprises:
 obtaining application data, the application data corresponding to the application and describing a task associated with the application;   generating task data describing the task associated with the application; and   storing the task data in a searchable format, the task data being stored at a data storage device.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual data further comprises social network data associated with a user of the client. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual data further comprises task usage history associated with a user of the client. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising determining an advertising scheme and a ranking scheme for the relevant tasks, the advertising scheme comprising data indicating if advertising should be displayed on the user interface, and the ranking scheme comprising data indicating an order in which the user interface controls are to be arranged on the user interface. 
     
     
         14 . A computer-implemented method for task-focused computing, the computer-implemented method comprising performing computer-implemented operations for:
 interacting with an application, the application comprising a web-based application hosted by a server computer;   exposing contextual data to a task engine, the contextual data comprising content data describing content associated with the interacting between the application and the client, social networking data associated with the client, and data describing the client;   receiving data corresponding to a user interface for interacting with relevant tasks, the relevant tasks comprising tasks for interacting with the content; and   displaying the user interface at the client, the user interface comprising a user interface control corresponding to the relevant tasks and advertising.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the relevant tasks comprise a workflow corresponding to a hatch of tasks. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 selecting a user interface control corresponding to the workflow;   beginning execution of the workflow; and   sharing information relating to the workflow with another device to enable the other device to access the workflow,   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the user interface further comprises a menu comprising the user interface control and advertising. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the user interface control comprises an indication that a fee is charged for access of the task associated with the user interface control. 
     
     
         19 . A computer-readable storage medium having computer readable instructions stored thereupon that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
 provide to a task engine data indicating an interaction at a client, the interaction comprising access of an application by the client;   expose contextual data to the task engine the contextual data comprising data describing an activity associated with the interaction and describing the content associated with the interaction, social networking data, and a task usage history associated with the client;   receive, from the task engine, a user interface comprising user interface controls for accessing relevant tasks, the relevant tasks comprising a workflow and a task relevant to the activity and the content;   display the user interface at the client;   receive selection of at least one of the user interface controls; and   in response to the selection, access the relevant task associated with the at least one of the user interface controls.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-readable storage medium of  claim 19 , further comprising instructions that, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to:
 begin execution of the relevant task, the relevant task comprising the workflow;   determine if execution of the workflow is interrupted;   in response to determining that execution of the workflow is interrupted, store workflow progress data comprising data identifying the workflow, data identifying progress in execution of the workflow, data describing the contextual data associated with the workflow, and data describing the user interface used to interact with the workflow;   resume execution of the workflow.