System for performing collaborative tasks
A system for performing collaborative tasks which permits collaborators to determine the form of a model of the collaborative work, to modify the model in the course of the collaborative work, and to use the model to access information related to the collaborative work. A graphical user interface permits collaborators to view the model and the information accessible via the model in various ways as well as to modify the model and the information. The information related to the collaborative work includes documents, discussions, email, reminders, and alerts. In a disclosed embodiment of the system, the model is made up of model entities which belong to hierarchies. A model entity may be a member of more than one hierarchy and the different hierarchies are used to provide different views of the model.
1. A system for supporting an arbitrary activity involving collaborators who are not specialists in information technology, the system comprising:
a processor which has access to a representation of a model of the activity, the model including model entities, the model entities being in hierarchical relationships one with another, the hierarchical relationships including a first hierarchy and a second hierarchy, the first hierarchy neither containing nor being contained in the second hierarchy, the second hierarchy including a model entity that also belongs to the first hierarchy, and the representation including representations of the model entities and of the hierarchical relationships, the form of the model being defined by the collaborators and the representations of the model entities providing access to information relating to the activity; and
an interface to the system for the non-specialist collaborators, the interface being provided by the processor and the interface permitting a collaborator to view and modify the model entities and their hierarchical relationships and to view and modify the information to which the representations of the model entities provide access.
2. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the representation of the model entity includes representations of the information.
3. The system set forth in claim 2 wherein:
the interface further permits a collaborator to view the model entities as sorted according to values of the included representations of the information.
4. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the model further includes representations of further information; and
the interface permits the collaborator to view how the further information is related to the model entity and to view the further information.
5. The system set forth in claim 4 wherein:
the interface further permits the collaborator to modify the further information.
6. The system set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the further information is a document that is accessible to the system.
7. The system set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the further information is a message sent to the collaborator by another collaborator.
8. The system set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the further information is an alert that indicates a change in the model that is relevant to the collaborator.
9. The system set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the further information is a reminder generated by the system for the collaborator.
10. The system set forth in claim 5 wherein:
the, further information is a discussion concerning the model among the collaborators.
11. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the representation of the collaborator-defined model of the activity permits the model to be viewed in a plurality of ways; and
the interface permits the model to be viewed according to the plurality of ways.
12. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
there is a plurality of types of model entities;
a representation of a model entity specifies the represented model entity's type; and
the interface permits the collaborator to view the type of a model entity.
13. The system set forth in claim 4 wherein:
there is a plurality of types of model entities;
a representation of a model entity specifies the represented model entity's type;
the interface permits the collaborator to view the type of a model entity; and
a related representation of further information may be related to a representation of a model entity of any type.
14. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
the collaborators have different access privileges with regard to particular ones of the model entities; and
the interface determines what a collaborator views of the model entities according to the collaborator's access privileges.
15. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
There is a plurality of the first hierarchies, one first hierarchy of the plurality neither containing nor being contained in another first hierarchy of the plurality; and
the second hierarchy includes model entities from different ones of the first hierarchies.
16. The system set forth in claim 1 wherein:
there is a plurality of the second hierarchies, one second hierarchy of the plurality neither containing nor being contained in another second hierarchy of the plurality; and
a model entity may belong to more than one of the second hierarchies.