SERVICE BASED EVENT PLANNING
Services are queried for resources to be used at an event. For example, service based event planning may be used in conjunction with directory services, social networking services, custom databases, web services, email servers and address book services. Service based event planning may apply constraints to the resources obtained over services. The service based event planning may also be used in conjunction with email or other messaging services to share representations of events with attendees or other interested parties. Both recipients and senders of the event may be able to dynamically modify event details in event representations.
This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/174,201 titled SERVICE BASED EVENT PLANNING, which was filed on Jun. 30, 2011 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,924,490 on Dec. 30, 2014 and which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDTo be successful, events need to be planned and representations of the events may be shared. When organizing an event, various resources, including equipment, rooms, layout, and other items may need to be gathered and the details of these items coordinated along with invitees in order to make the event successful. The resources for an event may be gathered from disparate source services, such as, for example, from social networking sites, directory services, internet and/or intranet web resources, and other sources. Each resource may have timing constraints on availability. After the event is planned, the details of the event may need to be distributed and shared to attendees or other participants (such as people helping to setup the event) in order to make the event successful. Representations of events may be generated, and when the representations are complete, descriptions and illustrations of events may be sent to attendees or other interested parties.
SUMMARYThe following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in order to provide a basic understanding to the reader. This summary is not an extensive overview of the disclosure and it does not identify key/critical elements of the invention or delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts disclosed herein in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Embodiments herein provide event planning based on receiving information items from services. In one embodiment, events may be planned by selecting attendees, furniture, layout of a room, computer equipment as well as time and calendar information about the event. The information may be modeled using a graphical user interface to generate a representation of an event. The representation of the event may include graphics and/or text. The representation of the event may be sent to attendees.
Many of the attendant features will be more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
Like reference numerals are used to designate like parts in the accompanying drawings.
The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present examples may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth functions of the examples and sequence of steps for constructing and operating the examples. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.
Referring to
Event planning system 112 is a server or servers configured to provide event planning services online. Event planning system 112 may send binary data, XML data, HTML, or other markup language to the client devices 104-106 via network 102. Event planning system 112 is configured to communicate with an email services and/or address book services 124. As such, event planning system 112 may access availability information about attendees to the events as well as people and resources available for events. Event planning system 112 may also be in communication with a custom data 122 and directory services 120. The directory services 120 may provide further information about resources such as, for example, meeting rooms, employees, equipment, etc. Still further, custom data 122 may be populated from data on the web such as from web sites or web portals 124 or from social networking sites 128.
Event planning system 112 may be in direct communication with web portal services 124 or social networking sites 128 or may use custom data 122 to hold or cache information. Event planning system 112 may store and/or retrieve information about events on a file on a server, with email services, or may store and/or retrieve data in a database. For example, event planning system 112 may store and/or retrieve event details in custom data 122. Custom data 122 may be implemented with one or more files, database, or other storage mechanism.
Additionally, device 200 may also have additional features and/or functionality. For example, device 200 may also include additional storage (e.g., removable and/or non-removable) including, but not limited to, magnetic or optical disks or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated in
Embodiments of the invention will be described in the general context of “computer readable instructions” being executed by one or more computing devices. Computer readable instructions may be distributed via computer readable media (discussed below). Computer readable instructions may be implemented as program modules, such as functions, objects, application programming interfaces (APIs), data structures, and the like, that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the computer readable instructions may be combined or distributed as desired in various environments.
The term “computer readable media” as used herein includes computer storage media. “Computer readable storage media” includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Memory 204 and storage 208 are examples of computer storage media. Computer readable storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVDs) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. “Computer readable storage media” does not consist of a “modulated data signal.” Any such computer storage media may be part of device 200.
The term “computer readable media” may include communication media. Device 200 may also include communication connection(s) 212 that allow the device 200 to communicate with other devices, such as with other computing devices through network 220. Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency, infrared, and other wireless media.
Device 200 may also have input device(s) 214 such as keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, gesture detection device, laser range finder, infra-red cameras, video input devices, and/or any other input device. Input device(s) 214 may include input received from gestures or by touching a screen. For example, input device(s) 214 may detect swiping the screen with a finger, or one or more gestures performed in front of sensors (e.g. MICROSOFT KINECT). Output device(s) 216 includes items such as one or more displays, speakers, printers.
Those skilled in the art will realize that computer readable instructions may be stored on storage devices that are distributed across a network. For example, a computing device 230 accessible via network 220 may store computer readable instructions to implement one or more embodiments of the invention. Computing device 200 may access computing device 230 and download a part or all of the computer readable instructions for execution. Alternatively, computing device 200 may download pieces of the computer readable instructions, as needed, or some instructions may be executed at computing device 200 and some at computing device 230. Display representations may be sent from computing device 200 to computing device 230 or vice versa. Those skilled in the art will also realize that all or a portion of the computer readable instructions may be carried out by a dedicated circuit, such as a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), programmable logic array, and the like.
Business Event PlanningEmbodiments of the invention provide a mechanism for planning and sharing event representations using services. Event representations may include diagrams/layouts of events as well as descriptions of details about the events.
At step 302, a type of event and/or other parameters are selected. For example, types of event may include a corporate meeting, a social event such as a speech or a wedding. Other parameters may be received that constrain the event. For example, in step 302, a date and time for the event may be selected.
At step 304, based on the type of event, the computer-implemented method may query disparate data sources for resources that are available for the type of event. At step 305, constraints associated with the resources may be queried and received. For example, the resources may be available based on timing and schedule for the event. As one example, a meeting room may only be available during a certain date. At step 306, the event planner user interface may be populated based on resources suitable for the type of event and suitable for the scheduling of the event. At step 308, a view may be displayed with the resources and constraints available.
Still referring to
At step 314, the event details, including resources, timing, and the like may be persisted to a file, a database, or other storage. At step 316, the details of the event, including any depiction of the event may be forwarded to any one of the attendees.
The computer-implemented method may be operated in any software and/or hardware. As a first example, the computer-implemented method may be an option in a drawing program that interoperates with services, including directory services, custom databases, as well as calendar software such as email servers or address book servers. As one example, a drawing program could be MICROSOFT VISIO. In another embodiment, the computer-implemented method may be operated in calendar or email software application that allows for planning events. As an example, a calendar software application could be MICROSOFT OUTLOOK.
By way of further illustration of the computer-implemented method depicted by
As described previously, the computer-implemented method may use any combination of services to populate resources and/or constraints of the resources available for an event. For example the first service in the example may be a directory service, a web service, a social networking service or an address book listing attendees.
After the event has been planned, a user may save the event in step 314. In addition, a user may send a representation of the event via email to one or more participants. Participants may include attendees or those helping with logistics of the event. A feature of the event planner may include the ability to modify details of the event in an email program. Depending on permissions, either a sender or receiver of an email may modify details about an event. For example, a user may modify an attendee in the event in email, before sending the event representation out. Under those circumstances, the event planner data may be saved or updated when a resource instance is modified in the event planning. Details of the event may be saved in a database or file.
As previously described, the event planner may receive one or more indications of constraints associated with the resources of an event. For example, constraints may be received over XML web services, via text, via binary data exchange, or other network protocols. The constraints may limit the use of resources in event planning. For example, constraints may include availability information of resources, such as dates/times when an attendee may be able to attend an event, or as another example, the locations in which an attendee can attend during certain timeframes. As yet another example, services may indicate a limited quantity of a resource. For example, a directory service may indicate that only one resource of a certain type is available. The event planner method may include modifying details of the event based on constraints associated with the event, such as by modifying the date of the event. The event planner method may also include modifying resources, such as facilities of the event.
The details of the event may be displayed on the local computer or displayed remotely on a client device. If displayed remotely, a representation of the event may be sent using HTML, XML, other markup languages, or binary data.
The resources to be used in the user interface 400 may be populated from a local file of resources, or as described previously, the resources may be dynamically populated from various data sources and network services. For example, the category 406 may be dynamically populated from a directory service that may maintain devices available within an enterprise. Similarly, equipment may be listed from a directory service, a custom database or other source. Attendees or other participants may be retrieved from an email address book service, an active directory, a database, a social networking service, or other network service. Furniture, snacks or other categories of resource may be retrieved from a custom database, directory service or other data source.
Still referring to
The instances of resources may be constrained via services. For example, a directory service may restrict how many instances of a person can appear in a view. As an example, a constraint may exist such that only one instance of a person may be placed on the view. The constraints may be customized locally on the event planning view computer, or they may be downloaded from any one of the network services in conjunction with the resources or they may be downloaded as separate items to the resources.
The computer-implemented event planning application may employ logic to parse details about people from the format shared out by the social networking site or the social networking site may adhere to a standard for sharing out resources.
In
Still referring to
The event representation, or part of the event representation may be dynamic (allowing modification) or static (no modification possible). By being dynamic, a sender and/or recipient of the shared view of the event may be able to modify resources and/or attendees. The organizer or sender of the event representation may be able to set permissions that specify the level of modifications that are possible by each recipient. In addition, the sender or organizer may be able to set privacy levels associated with the event representation.
Various operations of embodiments of the present invention are described herein. In one embodiment, one or more of the operations described may constitute computer readable instructions stored on computer readable media, which if executed by a computing device, will cause the computing device to perform the operations described. The order in which some or all of the operations are described should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. Alternative ordering will be appreciated by one skilled in the art having the benefit of this description. Further, it will be understood that not all operations are necessarily present in each embodiment of the invention.
The above description of embodiments of the invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples of the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize in light of the above detailed description. The terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification. Rather, the following claims are to be construed in accordance with established doctrines of claim interpretation.
Claims
1. A computer system comprising:
- a processor for executing computer readable instructions, and
- memory storing computer readable instructions configured to perform a method comprising: receiving an indication to plan an event; receiving parameters including an event type and an event time; in response to the event type, querying a service for at least one physical location available during the event time; receiving, from the service, information about resources available at the at least one physical location; displaying a graphical user interface depicting a representation of the at least one physical location and a toolbox depicting instances of the available resources; receiving a selection of an instance of an available resource; and updating the graphical user interface to display the instance of the selected available resource within the representation of the at least one physical location.
2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the memory further stores computer readable instructions configured to access information related to attendees to the event.
3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the information related to the attendees is accessed from a social networking service.
4. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the memory further stores computer readable instructions configured to:
- depict instances of available attendees in the toolbox;
- receive a selection of an instance of an available attendee; and
- update the graphical user interface to display the instance of the selected available attendee within the representation of the at least one physical location.
5. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the memory further stores computer readable instructions configured to distribute the representation of the at least one physical location including the instance of the selected available resource to one or more of the attendees.
6. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the event is a business event.
7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the event is a social event.
8. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the instances of the available resources depict equipment to be used during the event.
9. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the instances of the available resources depict furniture to be used during the event.
10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the instances of the available resources depict food to be served during the event.
11. A computer-implemented method, comprising:
- receiving an indication to plan an event;
- receiving parameters including an event type and an event time;
- in response to the event type, querying a service for at least one physical location available during the event time;
- receiving, from the service, information about resources available at the at least one physical location;
- displaying a graphical user interface depicting a representation of the at least one physical location and a toolbox depicting instances of the available resources;
- receiving a selection of an instance of an available resource; and
- updating the graphical user interface to display the instance of the selected available resource within the representation of the at least one physical location.
12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:
- accessing information related to attendees to the event.
13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the information related to the attendees is accessed from a social networking service.
14. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:
- depicting instances of available attendees in the toolbox;
- receiving a selection of an instance of an available attendee; and
- updating the graphical user interface to display the instance of the selected available attendee within the representation of the at least one physical location.
15. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, further comprising:
- distributing the representation of the at least one physical location including the instance of the selected available resource to one or more of the attendees.
16. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the event is a business event.
17. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the event is a social event.
18. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the instances of the available resources depict one or more of:
- equipment to be used during the event, furniture to be used during the event, and food to be served during the event.
19. A computer readable storage device storing computer readable instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:
- receiving an indication to plan an event;
- receiving parameters including an event type and an event time;
- in response to the event type, querying a service for at least one physical location available during the event time;
- receiving, from the service, information about resources available at the at least one physical location;
- displaying a graphical user interface depicting a representation of the at least one physical location and a toolbox depicting instances of the available resources;
- receiving a selection of an instance of an available resource; and
- updating the graphical user interface to display the instance of the selected available resource within the representation of the at least one physical location.
20. The computer readable storage device of claim 19, further storing computer readable instructions configured to:
- access information related to attendees to the event;
- depict instances of available attendees in the toolbox;
- receive a selection of an instance of an available attendee; and
- update the graphical user interface to display the instance of the selected available attendee within the representation of the at least one physical location.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 29, 2014
Publication Date: Jul 2, 2015
Inventor: Chee Wee Tng (Bellevue, WA)
Application Number: 14/584,421