David G. Boyer

Bio: David G. Boyer is an academic researcher from Avaya. The author has contributed to research in topics: Mobile telephony & Message broker. The author has an hindex of 13, co-authored 17 publications receiving 1322 citations.

Introducing instant messaging and chat in the workplace

Abstract: We report on our experiences of introducing an instant messaging and group chat application into geographically distributed workgroups. We describe a number of issues we encountered, including privacy concerns, individual versus group training, and focusing on teams or individuals. The perception of the tool's utility was a complex issue, depending both on users' views of the importance of informal communication, and their perceptions of the nature of cross-site communication issues. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of critical mass, which is related to the features each user actually uses. More generally, we encountered a dilemma that imposes serious challenges for user-centered design of groupware systems

Topical dynamic chat

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a customer contact 100 in which a session monitor 140 identifies and implements multi-customer sessions. A conferencing function 136 connects the plurality of customers 110-118 simultaneously to the same resource and/or to each other. Participation in the sessions can be mandatory or optional. The sessions can be created continually or periodically, such as when the contact center 100 is in an session mode. The sessions can be closed or open to new customers after commencement.

Method and apparatus for launching a conference based on presence of invitees

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for establishing a conference based on the presence or preferences (or both) of one or more invitees. The presence of each invitee is evaluated on one or more devices. A media type is selected based on the presence information. User preference information may be evaluated for those invitees who are not currently present on a device. The selected media type for the conference may optionally be required to support the requirements of the conference, such as document sharing or video links. In this manner, the same communication application can trigger conferences of different media types (where the selected media type is most likely to lead to the successful establishment of the conference). In addition, the present invention allows a media type to be selected that will be more likely to lead to the successful establishment of a conference.

Programmable presence proxy for determining a presence status of a user

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided that evaluate a number of different sources of presence information to determine a presence status of a user. The presence status of a user is determined by obtaining presence information from a plurality of presence data stores; translating the obtained presence information from at least one of the presence data stores into a standard format; and determining the presence status of the user based on the obtained presence information. Presence information can also be based on user-specified rules. Presence information is obtained from a number of presence data stores and the presence status of a user is determined based on one or more rules that are applied to the obtained presence information. The rules may include, for example, aggregation rules that determines the presence status based on one or more of the obtained presence information or filter rules that determine who may receive the presence status.

Presence awareness agent

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a customer contact 100 in which a agent service function 136 to collect predetermined types of information regarding the contact and/or the contact center 100 and interface with the contact. The interface can include presenting service options to the contact. A mood detector 152 can be used to collect information about the customer's state of mind.

Display screen or portion thereof with graphical user interface

Abstract: Newness and distinctiveness is claimed in the features of ornamentation as shown inside the broken line circle in the accompanying representation.

Intelligent Automated Assistant

Abstract: An intelligent automated assistant system engages with the user in an integrated, conversational manner using natural language dialog, and invokes external services when appropriate to obtain information or perform various actions. The system can be implemented using any of a number of different platforms, such as the web, email, smartphone, and the like, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the system is based on sets of interrelated domains and tasks, and employs additional functionally powered by external services with which the system can interact.

An empirical study of speed and communication in globally distributed software development

Abstract: Global software development is rapidly becoming the norm for technology companies. Previous qualitative research suggests that distributed development may increase development cycle time for individual work items (modification requests). We use both data from the source code change management system and survey data to model the extent of delay in a distributed software development organization and explore several possible mechanisms for this delay. One key finding is that distributed work items appear to take about two and one-half times as long to complete as similar items where all the work is colocated. The data strongly suggest a mechanism for the delay, i.e., that distributed work items involve more people than comparable same-site work items, and the number of people involved is strongly related to the calendar time to complete a work item. We replicate the analysis of change data in a different organization with a different product and different sites and confirm our main findings. We also report survey results showing differences between same-site and distributed social networks, testing several hypotheses about characteristics of distributed social networks that may be related to delay. We discuss implications of our findings for practices and collaboration technology that have the potential for dramatically speeding distributed software development.

Method, apparatus and system for capturing and analyzing interaction based content

Abstract: A method and apparatus (100) for capturing and analyzing customer interactions, the apparatus comprising a multi-segment interaction capture device (324), an initial set up and calibration device (326), a pre-processing and context extraction device (328) and a rule-based analysis engine (300).