Workflow manager

US6744761B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Nortel Networks Limited · CA

Inventors

• Seth C. Neumann · Mountain View, US
• Sheldon Davis · Union City, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 28, 1998
• Grant date: Jun 1, 2004
• Expiry date: Dec 28, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/10
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method and system for handling, that is routing and tracking, a plurality of incoming media streams of varying types—such as faxes, e-mail, Voice over IP, and others—is disclosed. The system analyzes the incoming media's type, header information and content and, in conjunction with other databases available within an enterprise, such as a human resources or customer information management databases, determines a plurality of suitable enterprise resources that may be able to adequately respond to said incoming media stream. The system may, again in conjunction with the enterprise databases, determine the availability of an identified enterprise resource and, if available, routes said incoming media stream to said identified and available resource. If the identified resource is unavailable, alternate resources are selected from said plurality of identified resources for possible routing of the incoming media stream. The system also tracks the disposition of the media stream by the identified and available resource, and if said disposition of said media stream does not occur within a predetermined time, the system increases the priority of said media stream and re-routes…