WO2000028454A1

WO2000028454A1 - Automatic project management system with machine-initiated bidirectional communication

Info

Publication number: WO2000028454A1
Application number: PCT/US1999/026692
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christopher Kendris; Sam Isaac; Edward Meszaros
Original assignee: Cyberoffice Technologies, Llc
Priority date: 1998-11-12
Filing date: 1999-11-12
Publication date: 2000-05-18
Also published as: AU1912500A; WO2000028454A9

Abstract

The present invention provides a computerized system for actively managing the progress of a project and the tasks that are performed in order to complete the project. The system automatically contacts a party who is responsible for completing a task (37) and expects a response from the party indicating that the task has indeed been started, has been partially completed by whatever amount, and later has been finished (38). If a party does not respond to a notification from the system, then the system can notify the party's supervisor of the situation (39). The active management relieves the supervisor of much of the time and expense associated with tracking the progress of the project manually. It finds applicability in any scheduling or docketing system where a project is broken down into a series of tasks, and offers a bidirectional communication feature that has even broader application.

Description

l o AUTOMATIC PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WITH

MACHINE-INITIATED BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNICATION

15

2 o The present invention is directed to a method, apparatus, and system for initiating

bidirectional communication between man and machine, and in particular a bidirectional

communication in an automatic project scheduling and management system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

25 There exist automatic docketing systems and other software packages which help

people and companies organize their workflow, an example being Project98 distributed by

Microsoft. These systems ask the user to enter certain information about a project, and

automatically calculate the dates on which stages of the project must be completed. For

example, in a lawyer's office the software can be used to enter a date on which a court rendered a decision, and the software will calculate when a notice of appeal must be filed. ^'

In all of these scheduling systems the software is passive, meaning that an operator

is still required to check what events are scheduled for a particular day. If the task is

accomplished, then the operator is responsible for entering information to that effect.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventor has found a need for a better, active solution to scheduling or other

project-oriented systems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computerized

scheduling system which actively manages the progress of a project.

It is another object of the present invention to seek out automatically the party or

parties responsible for accomplishing discrete tasks in a scheduled project.

A still broader object of the present invention is to provide a system which, upon

occurrence of a predetermined event, initiates bidirectional communication with a party or

parties with whom the event is connected allowing the party or parties to respond to

questions from the system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a scheduling system which

initiates communication with a party and allows the party to enter information about the

progress of the project.

These and other objects are also achieved by providing an automatic project

management system comprising a data file including information about a task to be

performed for a project, and at least a first party responsible for performing the task; and a communication section for transmitting, to the first party, a message about the task.

Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from a

review of the detailed description and accompanying drawings. It should be understood that

the description and examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present

invention, are not intended to limit the breadth of the invention and instead will inevitably

lead to various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention as will

be evident to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed

description given below, together with the accompanying drawings which are given by way

of illustration only and thus are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present

invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram of the system configuration of an embodiment of the

present invention.

Figure 2(a) shows a file containing data tables used in an embodiment of the present

invention.

Figure 2(b) shows a table compiling information used according to an embodiment

of the present invention.

Figure 3 shows a flow chart setting forth the operation of an embodiment of the

present invention. Figure 4 shows a sample set of project and communication data according to an ^'

embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention provides an active, computerized proj ect management system

which contacts the party or parties who are associated with predetermined tasks within the

project. Put more broadly, the present invention provides a computerized system which,

upon the occurrence of a scheduled or unexpected event, contacts the party or parties who

are associated with that event. It finds applicability in a project planning or docketing system

where a project is broken down into a series of tasks, although other environments will also

be found suitable. It helps a project manager or supervisor keep track of the progress of the

project even when tasks are spread over a plurality of remote sites. When tasks are to be

performed by a plurality of parties and in a prescribed sequence, the present invention is able

to oversee the timing of the tasks in a manner which greatly improves the likelihood of the

project being completed on schedule and with fewer delay-caused expenses. In one

embodiment, the present invention can even move the schedule ahead based on information

from the field such that the project is completed earlier than expected.

With reference to Figure 1 , there is shown a computer system having a work station

12 connected to a telephone line or other communication line 10. The work station is

preferably a computer which runs a first software program 14. The program 14 is preferably,

but need not be, stored in the work station 12. The work station is optionally connected to an intranet 16 having additional computers 18.

The work station 12 is basically the project manager's, or supervisor's, work station.

Program 14 stores information about the scheduled project. It preferably includes a file 28

in memory such as that shown in Figure 2(a), having a security file 28a identifying the

parties ("resources") and their passwords, and optionally some supplemental information

about the passwords such as their length. A project table 28b identifies the projects being

monitored by name and/or number and web address; and a login name and password for

identified management groups (the supervisor can be a person or entity). A task resources

table 28c identifies, for a given project, the tasks and associated parties, including their login

name, password, e-mail address, pager telephone number, and optionally another telephone

number. As used herein, generally, a task is one of several jobs that are needed in order to

complete the proj ect. The present invention can also monitor optional and independent tasks

as well. A task identification table 28d identifies the task, the project of which it is a part,

the resource personnel (sometimes referred to herein as a party) for performing it, its length

in either time, e.g., minutes, or percentage of overall project time, and boolean flags

indicating whether notifications have been sent out and responses received at the time of task

start and task end. Additional fields can be added if the project requires that notifications be

sent to other persons at other points during the task's completion. Supervisor names, under

the heading "ratchet" group name, points to the supervisor who is to be called in the event

of a non-responding party as will be explained below. A boolean flag is also used to

remember whether a notification was sent to the supervisor. As shown in Figure 2(b), the set of information 28e together represents a series of

tasks with the party or parties associated with those tasks, the sequence or hierarchy in which

the tasks must or should be performed, and importantly, communication information which

can be used to contact the party or parties associated with the tasks. The communication

information can be stored in a table separate from those shown in Figure 2(a), and preferably

identifies one or more telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses for each. It is most

preferable to store communication information for a project supervisor(s) as well.

Each task or set of tasks should be associated with one or more task-executing

parties, one or more supervisors, and their respective communication information. There may

be only one supervisor for the project, or there may be several. A supervisor can be a person

or an entity, as can a party.

Referring back to Figure 1 , at the other end of the telephone or other communication

line 10 is another computer terminal 20. The terminal 20 runs a second program 22 to

broadcast an internet web page from the terminal 20. The internet web page preferably

requires login passwords or other security keys in order to limit access to the page. A

number of password levels are preferably used. When a user accesses the web page, and

enters the appropriate password, then he is able to view information about the scheduled

project and perhaps enter information about it. As will become more apparent from the

description below, it is preferable to allow a project supervisor to access information about

the entire project, and to limit the amount of information available to a party who is

responsible for accomplishing a task. Typical displays on the web page can include a proj ect time line, numbers indicating the percentage by which particular tasks are complete, bar ^'

graphs for the project's and/or tasks' completion, the parties who are currently scheduled to

perform or are in the process of performing their assigned tasks, etc. The types of

information to be displayed can be customized for the particular application or end user.

The project information is initially entered by a user by accessing, directly or through

remote access, a new project file in the work station 12. A user is presented with a series of

prompts which must be answered to register the project. The prompts request a type of

project and/or a type of task within the project, project name or identifier, task name or

identifier, and may also request the amount of time to be allowed for each task or the entire

project. If the user is in a certain line of business, then the program can be tailored to ask

predetermined questions and to know predetermined information. For example, the program

may know that, if the project type is X, then there are five tasks, each of which should take

one week to perform except for the second task, which takes three days. If the program is

intended to receive a variety of project types, then the user can be asked to enter more

detailed data about the proj ect, such as the name of each task, the sequence in which the task

should be executed relative to other tasks, the time/date on which the task should start and/or

end (if appropriate), and the amount of time that the task should take. The program is tied

into the work station's calendar and clock, or has its own calendar and clock, and has as one

of its primary inventive features the ability to contact the appropriate parties and/or

supervisors at appropriate times during the project to let those persons know that their task

is scheduled to start, that they are overdue in starting their task, that the previous task is almost completed (or completed by whatever fraction), etc. The program can also prompt

the user during set up to enter information about the amount of pre- and post-event grace

periods that should be used when contacting the parties.

The artisan will appreciate that the program of the present invention can be modified

to suit any type of business or personal needs, and is able to actively oversee the progress of

multiple projects. Each project preferably has its own web address, but several can share the

same address with the user selecting a project after accessing the shared address.

After the project tasks, personnel resources or parties, task dependencies, and

duration of tasks are specified, the management of the project begins and the parties are

expected to notify the system of their progress as they proceed through their scheduled tasks.

The present invention can, as a preliminary matter, contact all parties and/or supervisors to

inform them that they have been assigned to a new proj ect. The communication abilities will

be explained below. Once the project begins, the parties will be expected to tell the system

that their tasks have begun, have been completed, and/or have been partially completed by

whatever amount. The system records the received information and notifies the next party

or parties responsible for completing subsequent task(s). The dependency of tasks can

include one, two, or more tasks starting once a previous task has been finished, and similarly

one task requiring one, two, or more previous tasks to be completed beforehand.

The operation of one embodiment is shown generally in the flow chart of Figure 3.

A user, which can be anyone who has an interest in the project, accesses the web page from

any remote site by entering a user name, a password, and optionally a project identifier. See step 30. These pieces of information direct the system to the appropriate project being ^'

managed and/or provide security to ensure that the user indeed should be granted access to

the stored information. The remote site can include any computer, even computers of the

intranet 16. Work station 12 can also check the web site information being broadcast from

terminal 20. Access can be through wired or wireless connection, as known in the art. The

user accesses the site to view information about the project, about specific tasks, or about any

other information that is stored, and optionally to enter status information about the project

or tasks. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the web site can offer the user a menu

or other list of options for selecting various information to view or to enter. The option to

view or enter certain categories of information can also be screened by the program 22

depending on the user's password level.

At step 32, the program 22 transmits its own electronic mail to the work station 12

along the communication line 10. The e-mail transmission can be programmed to occur at

periodic intervals, at predetermined times, when someone seeks to access the web page,

when someone enters information in response to particular prompts on the web site, or at any

other time. Regardless when the electronic mail is sent by the terminal 20 to the work station

12, the e-mail includes a predetermined command to the work station 12 requesting an

update of the project information. The command can be a predetermined command which

the work station 12 recognizes as a request for specific piece(s) or set(s) of information,

and/or a command which is followed by an identification of the relevant piece(s) or set(s)

of information to be processed. The command to the work station 12 will typically be a request to update the project information. The command can also enter wholly new ^'

categories of information if the project requires such a feature.

In step 34, the work station 12 receives the e-mail from terminal 20 and uses program

14 to parse the e-mail, identifying the command and any attached information. This parsed

5 data is then processed by program 14 to update the project information in the project file.

See step 35. If the command includes information that changes something on the web page,

then the work station generates the new information. For example, the program 14 generates

new displays for the web site, such as graphics that show the percentage by which the project

or certain tasks are completed, the parties currently working on a task, the expected date of

o completion of the task or proj ect based on the current amount of work completed, and/or any

other statistical or descriptive information that may be desired for a particular application of

the present invention. The new display information is then posted to the web page on

terminal 20 via a return e-mail from the work station 12. The terminal 20 receives, parses,

and processes the e-mail and replaces the previous display with the new display.

5 Step 32 is typically initiated based on information fed to the web site by the person

logging on to it. After passing the password stage of the web site's login protocol, the user

may be given the option of inputting project updates into the web site. The party working

on the current task may, for example, want to inform the system that the task is 50% finished.

The web site offers a data input field where such information is entered by the user, which

o data is then included in the e-mail sent to the work station 12. Work station 12 then verifies

the party's identification and updates the web page by generating a new display and posting it to the web site at terminal 20.

Importantly, the present invention at step 37 uses the stored communication

information to inform parties when their services will be needed. For example, as the

immediately previous task is finishing up, the present invention uses the pre-event grace

period (if present) or some other criterion to trigger it, step 36, to access the communication

information for the party associated with the subsequent task. Using the telephone line 10,

the work station 12 automatically makes a telephone call to the party after accessing the

corresponding entry in the tables 28. Steps 36 and 37 can run in parallel with step 35 in the

flowchart of Figure 3 because step 36 is actually a continually running query regardless of

other processing, as indicated by the "no" branch 36b. It is preferable for the system to make

a call only during business or other designated hours, although e-mail messages can occur

at any time.

The work station preferably contains prestored voice messages and text to voice

messages to be transmitted to the party in the telephone call. The preferred embodiment uses

a unimodem with chips accommodating voice pass-through, and TAPI (telephone) and TAPI

(sound) technology which route telephone sound through the unimodem and are usually

available as components of a computer's operating system. The SAPI board can be

substituted with a sound board produced by Dialogic. All of these boards are available in

the marketplace, and their operation need not be further described herein. The sound

messages sent to the party may indicate that their services are required. A parallel or

subsequent e-mail can also be sent with the same information. At this point, as shown in step 38, the work station awaits a response from the called ^'

party if a response is expected. In one embodiment, the work station 12 can wait for the

response to be made on the web site, in which case a command e-mail from the web site

identifies the party logging in and the information (response) being entered. If the work

5 station simply wants to inform the party that its services will be needed in two days, then the

work station either awaits a confirmation that the party will be available then or does not care

for such a response. The present invention can be configured to contact all parties associated

with a particular number of the immediately upcoming tasks, or all parties whose projects

will start in the next few weeks (or whatever other time period is selected), and/or specific

o parties that may need more time to prepare for their tasks, for example those who must order

materials, etc. Such information would be prompted by the program during set up, and

would apply to applications of the present invention in which such advanced notice is

desired.

In a preferred embodiment, using the post-event grace period that is entered at the

5 start of the project or perhaps as updated during the life of the project, the present invention

awaits the party's response for only that amount of time. At the expiration of the post-event

grace period, considered an internal loop to steps 37 and 38 and thus not shown in Figure 3,

the present invention accesses the communication information for the task supervisor(s) and

contacts him/her using the communication line 12 and/or e-mail address. See step 39. The

o content of this message is to the effect that the party responsible for the task is not

responding. In such a situation, the scheduling system is forced to await further instructions from the supervisor for the series of tasks that is being held up by the non-responding party. ^•

However, the system can continue monitoring tasks, in the same project, that are running in

parallel with the halted sequence of tasks. For example, construction of a building at some

point may branch into a set of tasks dealing with grounds keeping and another set of tasks

dealing with interior work. Each can run independently of the other, at least for some portion

of time. The system also preferably notifies subsequent parties that their tasks are being

delayed by a prior task.

In the preferred embodiment, the present invention takes advantage of telephone tone

technology in receiving responses from parties and supervisors. The automated voice

telephone call that is made to the party at step 37 includes an automated DTMF (dual tone

modulated frequency) or human voice responsive menu. The operation of automated

telephone answering systems which use prerecorded voice messages to lead a caller through

a series of options in order to find the desired informational destination is known to those of

skill, and therefore need not be further detailed herein. In response to each prerecorded

message, the caller is asked to press a certain key on a touch-tone telephone. The automated

system then accesses another message based on the key that the caller has pressed. The

present invention calls the party with a prerecorded voice message, and waits for the party

to press the appropriate keys on the phone. For example, at a time when a particular task

should be 50% completed (step 36), the present invention can initiate a call (step 37) to the

party responsible for the task, requesting that the party use the number keys and the pound

or asterisk keys to enter how complete the task is. If no response is received by the party within, say, ten seconds, such as when an answering machine has answered the call or when ^'

the party decides not to respond, then the telephone call terminates and, immediately or after

a predetermined or configurable grace period, makes another call to that party or calls the

appropriate supervisor.

In this way, the present invention provides unprecedented management of a project.

The supervisor need only be contacted if there is a problem, or potential problem, in

completing the project or a specific task. Those of skill will appreciate that the present

invention can be adapted to have several layers of supervisors, depending on the type and

complexity of the project. As for updates from parties performing the tasks, the present

invention basically monitors the expected task status and actual status. If an update from a

party says that a task is not yet complete, and it is not scheduled to be complete yet, then the

web page's display is updated and no further action is needed. If the project is past due, then

the system notifies parties associated with dependent tasks that there is a delay. If the project

is completed, then the party for the immediately subsequent task is notified to that effect, and

may have been informed earlier that the preceding task was close to completion, based on

a pre-event grace period for that task. For tasks due to start, the parties are so informed and

they are expected to respond within a predetermined amount of grace time. And if a task is

scheduled to end, then the party for the next task is contacted and expected to respond within

a grace time. It should be understood that grace periods can be set as an amount of fixed

time, such as two hours or two days, but can also be set as a proportion of the task time. For

example, the grace period for a particular task can be set to a certain percentage of the expected amount of time needed to complete that task.

Although the present invention can be implemented in numerous ways, the following

description is of a preferred implementation. It should be understood that the invention set

forth in the appended claims is in no way limited to or by this preferred embodiment, and as

such the full scope and spirit of the invention should be gleaned from the entirety of this

disclosure and not from any particular portion hereof.

A scheduling system which can be run with the present invention is Microsoft's

Project98 scheduling system. While Project98 allows users to design project files with tasks

and parties for performing those tasks, the present invention adds the active management and

bidirectional communication capabilities which give the supervisor(s) immediate and

continuous monitoring using paging, telephone, and web site technology and services. The

system is preferably run on Windows95, Windows98, or WindowsNT operating systems.

All platforms should have internet web page provider services and web-based paging

services. Preferably, the system has a 586 CPU of 166MHz or higher, 64Mb of RAM,

100Mb hard disk, a 32-bit sound card, a high-speed voice-capable modem which is TAPI

compliant (for Windows95 or Windows98 systems) or a Dialogic Proline/2v single-channel

card (for WindowsNT systems). As noted earlier, TAPI cards can be substituted for the

Dialogic cards, but only for Windows95 and Windows98.

Because the invention can run with Project98, setting up a project includes entering

information into the Project98 and entering additional information for communications and

other needs. Certain data that is received and stored by Project98 is retrieved and updated by the management aspects of the present invention in order to provide the aforementioned ^'

bidirectional communications and scheduling updates. The technical disclosure

documentation for Project98 is hereby incorporated by reference. For contacting parties

and/or supervisors by pager, the present invention requires the set up to include pager

manufacturer names, model names, message lengths, and whatever other information may

be necessary to communicate to a pager. Multiple pages of information can be sent to pagers

if the character length of a message to be sent is larger than that receivable by the pager. For

sending and receiving e-mail communications, the system must be told the SMTP outgoing

server, POP incoming server, user name, password, and e-mail address for each supervisor.

All of these pieces of communication information are stored for later retrieval when

notifications are to be sent, or when incoming messages are received from the supervisors.

The project to be monitored also must have a web address where progress and other

information are to be posted. A URL must be obtained and entered into the system. It is also

important to record the server's file transfer protocol (FTP) server address, user name, and

password. The web page must have an embedded program object 22 which verifies user

names, passwords, etc., in incoming e-mails in order to ensure security. The reason why the

present invention is preferably implemented using a web site is to enhance the security of the

system. By separating the functions of work station 12 and terminal 20, it becomes more

difficult to infiltrate the scheduled project. The basic updating mechanism is entry of data

via the web site; even when a party calls the system by telephone to report an update in the

status of a task, the telephone number called by the party must have access to the web site. In the embodiment which runs adjacent Project98, the Project98 software requests

information about the resource personnel (parties) responsible for performing the tasks. The

management capabilities of the present invention extract the data set from Project98 and

display them with prompts for telephone and/or e-mail information for each party. This

communication information is stored for retrieval whenever notifications or other

communications are sent to the parties. Similarly, supervisor information is entered for each

party or each task for use when the party fails to respond to a notification. The present

invention also contemplates an even higher supervisory level that can be contacted in the

event the first supervisor is similarly nonresponsive.

In order to reference the correct one of the projects entered into Project98 with the

communications and supervisory features of the present invention, a prompt requests the

identity of the project. The present invention then asks for supervisor information, including

name and e-mail address, settings for the pre- and post-event grace periods and for the timing

of telephone calls. For example, if the party or supervisor does not respond to a notification,

then the system must know when to try them again and/or when to try the (next) supervisor.

These associations are then stored into the data file and tables discussed with regard to

Figures 2(a) and 2(b) above.

The task schedule entered into Project98 serves as the base for timing telephone calls

and other communications to parties and supervisors. It is preferable to call during office

hours, so the present invention preferably limits its calls to proper times of day wherever the

call may be going throughout the world. Whenever a notification is to be transmitted to a party or supervisor, the present invention prepares to send a pager message by accessing the

stored text or number identifying the project and/or task. A predetermined message is also

extracted from a set of messages stored in memory, such as "time for you to start - please

respond." The message depends on the type of notification being sent. The extracted

message is combined with the other character strings or identifiers and transmitted to the

party's or supervisor's pager together with a return telephone number to use when responding,

and perhaps with the identity of the party or supervisor itself. The pager message may

include the sample set of information shown in the table 50 of Figure 4, and is sent from

work station 12 over communication line 10.

In addition to or in place of the pager notification, the present invention can also

retrieve telephone voiceline numbers for the party or supervisor as entered during project set

up, and can transmit an automated voice message that it generates. The voice message can

be a single message or a concatenation of several individual voice messages having a

greeting and the above-mentioned information. The voice messages are stored in memory

at the work station 12. Instead of returning the call, it is preferable for the user to respond

immediately using the touch tone keypad on his/her telephone, as discussed above. Such

information is bidirectionally passed through the communication line 10 of Figure 1 and the

communication boards of the work station 12.

Last, the present invention is able to transmit e-mail messages to the party or

supervisor together with text similar to that discussed with respect to the pager messages.

It is also preferable, when notifying parties or supervisors using any of these methods, to include the web address where the project progress is posted.

Responding to a notification can be performed immediately, as mentioned above, or

by making a separate telephone call to the telephone number which was entered during set

up of the present invention and transmitted with the notification. The telephone number is

preferably controlled by a module which, like the previously described outgoing automated

voice message, automatically plays a series of informational greetings or messages

instructing the caller on how to provide status information using the telephone's tone-

generating keypad. Preliminary steps include verifying the caller's identity which may

include comparing passwords entered into the phone with user names and passwords

previously recorded into the system's memory. For example, the caller can be instructed to

enter a password, the project number, and the task number, each separated by the pound (#)

key.

It is important for the telephone number to have access to the web site because data

received from the telephone call is translated and used to update the status of the task or

project. For this reason it is preferable to use a telephone number which goes to a module

in work station 12 which can receive and decode a DTMF call, and generate a new display

for posting on the web page. The work station 12 will log onto the web page after the call

and upload an updating e-mail to terminal 20. The program in terminal 20 determines

whether the e-mail is arriving from a verified work station by checking its source identifiers,

and if so, uses the data from the e-mail to supplant the status previously broadcast on the

page. During the call, the caller indicates the type of status update using assigned numerical keys such as " 1 " for the task's actual start time/date, "2" for task completion time/date, or "3" ^'

for percentage completion followed by the actual input, as instructed by the automated voice.

Again, the pound key can be used as a separator. Using the tone data from the keys, the

system determines what information has been input and generates new displays for the

project web page, and then posts them to the terminal 20. The data is also used to

automatically update the Project98 project file.

One can also enter status data using the project web site. Using the work station 18

or any other remote terminal, a successful logon involves entering a correct user name,

password, and project identifier. Based on the password, the display on the web page may

give the user wide or narrow access to the project information. In order to enter task status

information, the web site offers a series of screens where the user enters the task number and

can select a "started" or "completed" status option, or a "percentage" option requiring entry

of a percentage number. The information is used to update the Project98 project file and also

to compile a history of the project which is viewable as a timetable with events identified

with time/date, length of time elapsed, or whatever other data may be informative to the

supervisor and other users.

The web site also allows supervisors, and perhaps the parties, to see the progress of

the proj ect if their password so permits. It is preferable for parties to see only their own tasks

and the immediately preceding and succeeding tasks, in order to limit exposure of potentially

confidential information.

The present invention can be run in two fundamental ways. First, it can run according to the schedule which is input at the time of setup, as adjusted by the supervisor

from time to time. Alternatively, it can automatically adjust the scheduled start and end

times for the various tasks in order to finish the project "as soon as possible." In this mode,

if a task ends early, then the system reviews the start and end data for each subsequent

dependent task, and adjusts them accordingly. This moves up the entire project time line,

resulting in a faster completion date.

As discussed above, it is preferable to separate the work station 12 and terminal 20.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the functions of the work station 12 and

terminal 20 can be combined into a single terminal. Like the embodiment in which the two

terminals are separate, this embodiment also initiates a communication to the parties

responsible for particular tasks through electronic mail and/or by telephone, and contacts the

supervisor or project manager when a party is not responsive to those communications. By

informing all relevant parties and supervisor(s), the present invention oversees the progress

of the project and allows the parties to coordinate their schedules so that the project is

finished on time.

The invention having been thus described, it will be obvious that the same can may

be varied in many ways not only in construction but also in application. For example, the

methods of communication need not be limited to telephone, e-mail, and pager. The web site

is the preferred way to post information for viewing by plural parties from plural remote

locations can be replaced by a similar method of posting, by which the relevant parties and

supervisors, and perhaps the general public, can transfer information. The web page can be replaced by any type of display device, be it a visual monitor or an audio system. It should

be understood that the description and examples, while indicating preferred embodiments,

are not intended to limit the breadth of the inventive concepts disclosed herein, since various

changes and modifications that will become apparent to those skilled in the art are intended

to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic project management system comprising:

a data file including information about a task to be performed for a project, and at

least a first party responsible for performing the task; and

a communication section for transmitting, to the first party, a message about the task.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said data file includes a start time for a first

task, and further wherein said message includes a notification that the task is to be started at

the start time.

0

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein said start time includes only a date.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said data file includes information about

a plurality of tasks, at least one of the tasks being dependent on a completion of a prior task,

5 the first party being responsible for performing said one task, and further wherein said

message notifies the first party that the prior task is completed.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein said data file includes information about

o the first party being responsible for performing said one task, and further wherein said

message notifies the first party that the prior task is not yet completed.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein said data file includes information about

the first party being responsible for performing said prior task, and further wherein said

message requests the first party to respond with information about the prior task.

7. The system according to claim 6, further comprising:

a web site for receiving a response from the first party; and

a project status processor operatively connected to said communication device and

said web site for generating project status information based on the response.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein said project status processor is remote from

said web site, and said processor posts to said web site a new status display to be broadcast

by said web site.

5 9. The system according to claim 6, wherein said communication section is a

bidirectional telephone section calling a telephone of the first party, and a response to said

message includes activation of keys on the first party's telephone.

10. The system according to claim 6, wherein the first party transmits a response to the

o communication section, said system further comprising:

a display for displaying status information about the project; and a project status processor operatively connected to said communication device and ^'

said display for receiving the response and generating a new display for said display device.

11. The system according to claim 6, wherein said message requests the first party to

respond with information about one of: whether the prior task has been started, what

proportion of the prior task is completed, and whether the prior task is completed.

12. The system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a web site for broadcasting status information about the project; and

said web site for generating project status information for posting on said web site.

13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said message is a prestored voice message.

14. The system according to claim 1, wherein said communication section is a

bidirectional telephone section calling a telephone of the first party, said message

requests the first party to respond with information about the task, and a response to

said message includes a vocal response by the first party during the call.

15. The system according to claim 1, wherein said message requests the first party to

respond with information about the task, and a response to said message included a telephone call by the first party to the system.

16. The system according to claim 15, further comprising a telephone call decoding

module for decoding information included in said telephone call.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein said information included in said

telephone call includes DTMF signals, and further wherein said decoding module

generates data relevant to the status of the task based on said DTMF signals.