Granted Patent B1

US 8,782,668 · App. 13/323,240 · Granted Jul 15, 2014

Abstract

Claims (51)

1. A method of operating a computer system to process computer events, comprising:

a primary event module communicating with an operating system to detect application events generated by user input and processing the application events to determine if a primary event has occurred; and

a secondary event module communicating with the primary event module to obtain an indication of the application events detected by the primary event module and processing the application events to determine if a secondary event has occurred; wherein an indication of the application events includes an occurrence time for each application event and further comprising the secondary event module:

receiving process definitions that each define a process based on a sequence of events;

receiving telephony events, wherein each telephony event indicates an occurrence time;

processing the application events and the telephony events to determine whether a subset of the application events and telephony events is a first process based on the process definitions;

determining an occurrence time for the first process based on the occurrence times for the subset of the application and telephony events; and

displaying the first process on a timeline along with the application events and the telephony events in accordance with the occurrence times of the first process, the application events, and the telephony events.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the primary event module comprises a browser helper object and the user input is entered into web page displayed in a web browser application.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the primary event module comprises an accessibility application programming interface (API) for the operating system.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

processing the application events to using recursive substring analysis to identify events that are likely to follow one another;

creating a matrix of the application events that are likely to follow one another; and

graphically displaying the matrix including a visual indication of the application events that are likely to follow one another.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the application events includes an occurrence time and event type for each application event and further comprising the secondary event module:

receiving schedule information regarding a schedule for use of a plurality of computer workstations;

determining a metric for whether each of the plurality of computer workstations is in use based on the schedule information, occurrence time, and event type; and determining a number of occupied seats in a room based on the metric.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the secondary event module:

receiving an indication of the user input from the primary event module;

determining a user action that should be taken with the computer system by a user based on the user input and the application events; and

generating an instruction to notify the user about the user action that should be taken.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the secondary event module:

receiving process definitions that each define a process based on a sequence of events;

processing the application events to determine whether a subset of the application events comprises a first process based on the process definitions even if the subset of application events includes application events that are extraneous to a definition for the first process; and

processing the application events a second time to determine whether a second subset of the application events comprises an incomplete process based on the process definitions even if the second subset of application events includes application events that are extraneous to a definition for the incomplete process.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions stored thereon for operating a computer system to process computer events, wherein the instructions, when executed by the computer system, direct the computer system to:

communicate with a primary event module to obtain an indication of application events detected by the application enhancement event module, wherein the primary event module communicates with an operating system to detect the application events generated by user input and determine if a primary event has occurred based on the application events;

process the application events to determine if a secondary event has occurred; and

process the application events to determine if a business process has occurred; wherein the instructions further direct the computer system to:

receive process definitions that each define a process based on a sequence of events;

receive telephony events, wherein each telephony event indicates an occurrence time;

process the application events and the telephony events to determine whether a subset of the application events and telephony events is a first process based on the process definitions;

determine an occurrence time for the first process based on the occurrence times for the subset of the application and telephony events; and

display the first process on a timeline along with the application events and the telephony events in accordance with the occurrence times of the first process, the application events, and the telephony events.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the primary event module comprises a browser helper object and the user input is entered into web page displayed in a web browser application.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the primary event module comprises an accessibility application programming interface (API) for the operating system.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further direct the computer system to:

process the application events to using recursive substring analysis to identify events that are likely to follow one another;

create a matrix of the application events that are likely to follow one another; and graphically display the matrix including a visual indication of the application events that are likely to follow one another.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further direct the computer system to:

receive schedule information regarding a schedule for use of a plurality of computer workstations;

determine a metric for whether each of the plurality of computer workstations is in use based on the schedule information, occurrence time, and event type; and

determine a number of occupied seats in a room based on the metric.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further direct the computer system to:

receive an indication of the user input from the primary event module;

determine a user action that should be taken with the computer system by a user based on the user input and the application events; and

generate an instruction to notify the user about the user action that should be taken.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further direct the computer system to:

receive process definitions that each define a process based on a sequence of events;

process the application events to determine whether a subset of the application events comprises a first process based on the process definitions even if the subset of application events includes application events that are extraneous to a definition for the first process; and

process the application events a second time to determine whether a second subset of the application events comprises an incomplete process based on the process definitions even if the second subset of application events includes application events that are extraneous to a definition for the incomplete process.

Assignments (9)