Checklist generation

• US 10,373,119 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2016
• Issued: 08/06/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Driscoll, Dan, Laird-McConnell, Thomas Matthew, Orimoto, Andrea Ryuta
• Primary Examiner(s): Mobin, Hasanul
• Application Number:
  US14/992,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20170199926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,303 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are presented that, in operation, generate a checklist from content in response to a checklist request from a user. More particularly, in response to the checklist request, a content type of the content identified by the checklist request is determined. The content is then analyzed, according to a determined content type, to identify a set of enumerative elements, the set of enumerative elements comprising at least two enumerative elements. Thereafter, for each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements, a checklist item is generated, the checklist item corresponding to the enumerative element and including subject matter of the content corresponding to the enumerative element. Further, the generated checklist item is added as an item of the generated checklist. After iterating each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements, the generated checklist is returned in response to the checklist request.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for generating a checklist from content in response to a checklist request from a computer user, the method comprising:

determining a content type of the content identified by the checklist request;

determining basis content of the content identified by the checklist request via a user interface of a checklist service, wherein the basis content is determined according to bounds established by a computer user and included in the checklist request;

analyzing the content according to the determined content type to identify a set of enumerative elements in the basis content and to further identify a hierarchical structure of the enumerative elements, the set of enumerative elements comprising at least two enumerative elements;

for each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements;

determining a hierarchical level of the enumerative element within the hierarchical structure;

generating a checklist item corresponding to the enumerative element according to the determined hierarchical level of the enumerative element, the generated checklist item further including at least a portion of subject matter of the basis content corresponding to the enumerative element; and

adding the generated checklist item as an item of the generated checklist; and

returning the generated checklist in response to the checklist request.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining bounds of the content to be processed in generating the checklist, and

wherein analyzing the content to identify the set of enumerative elements comprises analyzing the content within the determined bounds of the content to be processed.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the bounds of the content to be processed is less that the entire content.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the bounds are identified by the computer user in the checklist request.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the content further identifies a hierarchical structure among the identified enumerative elements of the set of enumerative elements.

6. The computer implemented method of claim 5 further comprising:

for each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements;

determining the hierarchical level of the enumerative element within the hierarchical structure.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

for each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements;

determining state options of the enumerative element.

8. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein the state options of the enumerative element comprise any one of a single state option, a set of binary state options, and a set of tertiary options.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 7, wherein generating the checklist item corresponding to the enumerative element further comprises generating the checklist item to include a user actionable control that can be manipulated by the computer user to indicate one of a plurality of states for the checklist item.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the content identified by the checklist request comprises third-party content to the computer user.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 10, wherein content identified by the checklist request comprises a reference to the content at a network location remote to the computer user.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the checklist in response to the checklist request from the computer user is conducted on the computer user'"'"'s computing device.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the checklist in response to the checklist request from the computer user is conducted on a network computing device remote to the computer user'"'"'s computing device.

14. A computer readable medium bearing computer executable instructions which, when executed on a computing system comprising at least a processor, carry out a method for generating a checklist from content in response to a checklist request from a computer user, the method comprising:

determining a content type of the content identified by the checklist request;

determining basis content of the content identified by the checklist request via a user interface of a checklist service, wherein the basis content is determined according to bounds established by a computer user and included in the checklist request;

analyzing the content according to the determined content type to identify a set of enumerative elements in the basis content and to further identify a hierarchical structure of the enumerative elements, the set of enumerative elements comprising at least two enumerative elements;

for each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements;

determining a hierarchical level of the enumerative element within the hierarchical structure;

generating a checklist item corresponding to the enumerative element according to the determined hierarchical level of the enumerative element, the generated checklist item further including at least a portion of subject matter of the basis content corresponding to the enumerative element; and

adding the generated checklist item as an item of the generated checklist; and

returning the generated checklist in response to the checklist request.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, the method further comprising:

for each enumerative element of the set of enumerative elements;

determining state options of the enumerative element.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the state options of the enumerative element comprise any one of a single state option, a set of binary state options, and a set of tertiary options.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein generating the checklist item corresponding to the enumerative element further comprises generating the checklist item to include a user actionable control that can be manipulated by the computer user to indicate one of a plurality of states options for the checklist item.

18. A computer system for generating a checklist from content in response to a checklist request from a computer user, the system comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor executes instructions stored in the memory as part of or in conjunction with additional components to respond to the checklist request, the additional components comprising at least:

a checklist generator component that generates a checklist for the computer user from the content in response to the checklist request from the computer user, wherein the checklist generator component comprises;

a document identification module that determines a document type of content identified in the checklist request by the computer user;

a plurality of document parser components, wherein each document parser component determines document structure and parse elements from content of one of a plurality of document types;

a document analysis component that carries out a document analysis of identified content of a checklist request, in conjunction with a document parser selected according to the document type of the content, to identify a set of enumerative elements in the content and to further identify a hierarchical structure of the enumerative elements in the content, the set of enumerative elements comprising at least two enumerative elements identified via a user interface of a checklist service; and

a checklist builder component that iterates through the enumerative elements identified by the document analysis component and, for each enumerative element;

generate a checklist item corresponding to the enumerative element according to the determined hierarchical level of the enumerative element, the generated checklist item further including at least a portion of subject matter of a basis content corresponding to the enumerative element, wherein the basis content is determined according to bounds established by a computer user and included in the checklist request;

add the generated checklist item as an item of the generated checklist; and

return the generated checklist in response to the checklist request.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the checklist builder component determines state options of each enumerative element;

wherein the state options of the enumerative element comprise any one of a single state option, a set of binary state options, and a set of tertiary options; and

wherein the checklist builder further generates the checklist item to include a user actionable control that can be manipulated by the computer user to indicate one of a plurality of states options for the checklist item.