Method and system for granting permissions to parties within an organization

• US 10,635,829 B1
• Filed: 11/28/2017
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intuit, Inc.
• Inventors: Barker, Xiaoyan Cindy, Zhang, Yi, Chittoor, Shankar A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bayou, Yonas A
• Application Number:
  US15/824,739
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/34 Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34

Abstract

Artificial intelligence, big data, and crowd sourcing techniques are utilized to efficiently and effectively determine permissions that should be granted to a party within an organization. In one example, the permissions granted to a party within an organization are determined using one or more algorithms to identify, weight, and correlate historical and current permissions to party attributes for parties within the organization and/or for similar parties in similar organizations. In one example, the activity of the party within the organization is then monitored and the permissions granted the party are automatically modified as needed to allow the party to perform their tasks in the organization as the party'"'"'s responsibilities within the organization evolve.

Claims

1. A method performed by one or more processors of a system, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating attributes of associated parties currently or historically associated with an organization from a database of the system;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the associated parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the associated parties to one or more of the attributes of the associated parties;

generating a first correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the associated parties to the one or more attributes of the associated parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of similar parties currently or historically associated with one or more similar organizations that are distinct from, but determined to be similarly situated with respect to, the organization, from the database;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the similar parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the similar parties to one or more of the attributes of the similar parties;

generating a second correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the similar parties to the one or more attributes of the similar parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of a first associated party associated with the organization from the database;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the first correlation and the second correlation to generate first associated party permissions;

obtaining approval to integrate the first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party;

integrating the approved first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party;

monitoring the attributes of the first associated party, activities of the first associated party, and any special permissions granted to the first associated party;

identifying a need to modify the approved first associated party permissions based, at least in part, on the monitoring of the attributes of the first associated party, the activities of the first associated party, and the special permissions granted to the first associated party; and

for each identified need to modify the approved first associated party permissions;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the first correlation and the second correlation to generate modified first associated party permissions;

obtaining approval to integrate the modified first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party;

integrating the approved modified first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party; and

monitoring the attributes of the first associated party, the activities of the first associated party, and the special permissions granted to the first associated party.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining approval to integrate the first associated party permissions or the modified first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party includes:

providing the first associated party permissions or the modified first associated party permissions to one or more designated decision makers within the organization for approval;

receiving approval of the first associated party permissions or the modified first associated party permissions from the one or more designated decision makers; and

transforming a status of the first associated party permissions or the modified first associated party permissions from first associated party permissions or modified first associated party permissions to approved first associated party permissions or approved modified first associated party permissions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the designated decision makers are owners of resources controlled through the permissions granted.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the designated decision makers are applications or computing systems.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the designated decision makers are supervisors of the first associated party.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the associated parties include one or more of:

employees;

contractors;

volunteers;

clients; and

members.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the party attributes include one or more of:

how long the party has been associated with the organization;

title of the party within the organization;

job description for the party within the organization;

experience of the party outside the organization;

education or training level of the party;

special skill sets associated with the party;

evaluation and performance data associated with the party;

salary of the party;

trust scores or ratings associated with the party;

evaluation data from a supervisor of the party; and

data in an employee record associated with the party deemed relevant.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the party permissions include one or more of:

amounts of data to which the party is provided access;

types of data to which the party is provided access;

capability of the party to perform various actions or tasks within the organization;

access to data management and other applications used by the organization;

level of review required for various tasks and actions taken by the party;

capability and limits placed on the party to act as an agent for the organization;

capability and limits placed on the party to incur debt;

capability and limits on the party to pay bills;

capability and limits on the party to generate and sign agreements or otherwise represent the organization;

spending, transaction, or requisition limits imposed on the party;

types of work the party can perform;

types of clients the party can service, access, or interact with;

specific clients to which the party is provided access; and

level of independence of operation afforded to the party.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein similar parties are identified based on similarity of one or more of the following:

job descriptions of the associated parties and similar parties;

titles of the associated parties and similar parties;

locations of the associated parties and similar parties;

salaries of the associated parties and similar parties;

duration of employment of the associated parties and similar parties;

experience of the associated parties and similar parties;

education or training level of the associated parties and similar parties;

special skill sets of the associated parties and similar parties; and

data associated with the associated parties and similar parties deemed to be relevant.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein similar organizations are identified based on similarity of one or more of the following:

function of the organization and similar organizations;

service or goods provided by the organization and similar organizations;

markets serviced by the organization and similar organizations;

clients of the organization and similar organizations;

revenue of the organization and similar organizations;

number of associated parties of the organization and similar organizations;

location of the organization and similar organizations; and

number of locations of the organization and similar organizations.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein similar organizations are identified by the organization.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein similar parties are identified by the organization.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the second correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms based on the similarity between the organization and the similar organization.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the second correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms based on the similarity between the associated parties and the similar parties.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the organizations are businesses and the parties are employees of the businesses.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring the activities of the first associated party and blocking or allowing access and activities of the first associated party based on the approved first associated party permissions.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the special permissions granted to the first associated party include instances where the first associated party is granted permissions not included in, or within the limits of, the approved first associated party permissions.

19. A method performed by one or more processors of a system, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating attributes of associated parties currently or historically associated with an organization from a database of the system;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the associated parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the associated parties to one or more of the attributes of the associated parties;

generating a correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the associated parties to the one or more attributes of the associated parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of a first associated party associated with the organization from the database;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the correlation to generate first associated party permissions;

approval of the first associated party permissions;

integrating the approved first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party;

monitoring the attributes of the first associated party, activities of the first associated party, and any special permissions granted to the first associated party;

identifying a need to modify the approved first associated party permissions based, at least in part, on the monitoring of the attributes of the first associated party, the activities of the first associated party, and the special permissions granted to the first associated party; and

for each identified need to modify the approved first associated party permissions;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the correlation to generate modified first associated party permissions;

approval of the modified first associated party permissions;

integrating the approved modified first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party; and

monitoring the attributes of the first associated party, the activities of the first associated party, and the special permissions granted to the first associated party.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the associated parties include one or more of:

employees;

contractors;

volunteers;

clients; and

members.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the party attributes include one or more of:

how long the party has been associated with the organization;

title of the party within the organization;

job description for the party within the organization;

experience of the party outside the organization;

education or training level of the party;

special skill sets associated with the party;

evaluation and performance data associated with the party;

salary of the party;

trust scores or ratings associated with the party;

evaluation data from a supervisor of the party; and

data in an employee record associated with the party deemed relevant.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the party permissions include one or more of:

amounts of data to which the party is provided access;

types of data to which the party is provided access;

capability of the party to perform various actions or tasks within the organization;

access to data management and other applications used by the organization;

level of review required for various tasks and actions taken by the party;

capability and limits placed on the party to act as an agent for the organization;

capability and limits placed on the party to incur debt;

capability and limits on the party to pay bills;

capability and limits on the party to generate and sign agreements or otherwise represent the organization;

spending, transaction, or requisition limits imposed on the party;

types of work the party can perform;

types of clients the party can service, access, or interact with;

specific clients to which the party is provided access; and

level of independence of operation afforded to the party.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the organizations are businesses and the parties are employees of the businesses.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the approval of the first associated party permissions is provided by designated decision makers that are owners of resources controlled through the permissions granted.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the designated decision makers are applications or computing systems.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the designated decision makers are supervisors of the first associated party.

28. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

monitoring the activities of the first associated party and blocking or allowing access and activities of the first associated party based on the approved first associated party permissions.

29. The method of claim 19, wherein the special permissions granted to the first associated party include instances where the first associated party is granted permissions not included in, or within the limits of, the approved first associated party permissions.

30. A method performed by one or more processors of a system, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating attributes of similar parties currently or historically associated with one or more similar organizations that are distinct from, but determined to be similarly situated with respect to, an organization, from a database of the system;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the similar parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the similar parties to one or more of the attributes of the similar parties;

generating a correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the similar parties to the one or more attributes of the similar parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of a first associated party associated with the organization from the database;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the correlation to generate first associated party permissions;

receiving approval of the first associated party permissions;

integrating the approved first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party;

monitoring the attributes of the first associated party, activities of the first associated party, and any special permissions granted to the first associated party;

identifying a need to modify the approved first associated party permissions based, at least in part, on the monitoring of the attributes of the first associated party, the activities of the first associated party, and the special permissions granted to the first associated party; and

for each identified need to modify the approved first associated party permissions;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the correlation to generate modified first associated party permissions;

receiving approval of the modified first associated party permissions;

integrating the approved modified first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party; and

monitoring the attributes of the first associated party, the activities of the first associated party, and the special permissions granted to the first associated party.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first associated party is one of:

an employee;

a contractor;

a volunteer;

a client; and

a member.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the first associated party attributes include one or more of:

how long the first associated party has been associated with the organization;

title of the first associated party within the organization;

job description for the first associated party within the organization;

experience of the first associated party outside the organization;

education or training level of the first associated party;

special skill sets associated with the first associated party;

evaluation and performance data associated with the first associated party;

salary of the first associated party;

trust scores or ratings associated with the first associated party;

evaluation data from a supervisor of the first associated party; and

data in an employee record associated with the first associated party deemed to be relevant.

33. The method of claim 30, wherein the party permissions include one or more of:

amounts of data to which the party is provided access;

types of data to which the party is provided access;

capability of the party to perform various actions or tasks within the organization;

access to data management and other applications used by the organization;

level of review required for various tasks and actions taken by the party;

capability and limits placed on the party to act as an agent for the organization;

capability and limits placed on the party to incur debt;

capability and limits on the party to pay bills;

capability and limits on the party to generate and sign agreements or otherwise represent the organization;

spending, transaction, or requisition limits imposed on the party;

types of work the party can perform;

types of clients the party can service, access, or interact with;

specific clients to which the party is provided access; and

level of independence of operation afforded to the party.

34. The method of claim 30, wherein similar parties are identified based on similarity of one or more of the following:

job descriptions of the first associated party and similar parties;

titles of the first associated party and similar parties;

locations of the first associated party and similar parties;

salaries of the first associated party and similar parties;

duration of employment of the first associated party and similar parties;

experience of the first associated party and similar parties;

education or training level of the first associated party and similar parties;

special skill sets of the first associated party and similar parties; and

data associated with the first associated party and similar parties deemed to be relevant.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein similar organizations are identified based on similarity of one or more of the following:

function of the organization and similar organizations;

service or goods provided by the organization and similar organizations;

markets serviced by the organization and similar organizations;

clients of the organization and similar organizations;

revenue of the organization and similar organizations;

number of associated parties of the organization and similar organizations;

location of the organization and similar organizations;

number of locations of the organization and similar organizations; and

tax structure of the organization and similar organizations.

36. The method of claim 30, wherein similar organizations are identified by the organization.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein similar parties are identified by the organization.

38. The method of claim 30, wherein the correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms.

39. The method of claim 30, wherein the correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms based on the similarity between the organization and the similar organization.

40. The method of claim 30, wherein the correlation is weighted by one or more algorithms based on the similarity between the associated parties and the similar parties.

41. The method of claim 30, wherein the organizations are businesses and the parties are employees of the businesses.

42. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

monitoring the activities of the first associated party and blocking or allowing access and activities of the first associated party based on the approved first associated party permissions.

43. The method of claim 30, wherein the special permissions granted to the first associated party include instances where the first associated party is granted permissions not included in, or within the limits of, the approved first associated party permissions.

44. A method performed by one or more processors of a system, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating attributes of associated parties currently or historically associated with an organization from a database of the system;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the associated parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the associated parties to one or more of the attributes of the associated parties;

generating a first correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the associated parties to the one or more attributes of the associated parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of similar parties currently or historically associated with one or more similar organizations that are distinct from, but determined to be similarly situated with respect to, the organization, from the database;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the similar parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the similar parties to one or more of the attributes of the similar parties;

generating a second correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the similar parties to the one or more attributes of the similar parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of a first associated party associated with the organization from the database;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the first correlation and the second correlation to generate first associated party permissions;

receiving approval of the first associated party permissions; and

integrating the approved first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party.

45. A method performed by one or more processors of a system, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating attributes of associated parties currently or historically associated with an organization from a database of the system;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the associated parties from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the associated parties to one or more of the attributes of the associated parties;

generating a correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the associated parties to the one or more attributes of the associated parties;

obtaining or generating attributes of a first associated party associated with the organization from the database;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the first associated party and the correlation to generate first associated party permissions;

receiving approval of the first associated party permissions; and

integrating the approved first associated party permissions into the attributes of the first associated party.

46. A method performed by one or more processors of a system, the method comprising:

obtaining or generating attributes of business employees currently or historically employed by a business from a database of the system;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the business employees from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the business employees to one or more of the attributes of the business employees;

generating a first correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the business employees to the one or more attributes of the business employees;

storing the first correlation in a first correlation section of a memory;

obtaining or generating attributes of a similar employee currently or historically associated with one or more similar businesses that are distinct from, but determined to be similarly situated with respect to, the business, from the database;

obtaining or generating permissions granted to the similar employees from the database;

correlating one or more of the permissions granted to the similar employee to one or more of the attributes of the similar employee;

generating a second correlation of the one or more permissions granted to the similar employee to the one or more attributes of the similar employee;

storing the second correlation in a second correlation section of a memory;

obtaining or generating attributes of a new employee employed by the business from the database;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the new employee and the first correlation and the second correlation to generate new employee permissions;

providing the new employee permissions to one or more designated decision makers within the business for approval;

receiving approval of the new employee permissions from the one or more designated decision makers within the business;

transforms g a status of the new employee permissions from new employee permissions to approved new employee permissions;

integrating the approved new employee permissions into the attributes of the new employee;

enforcing the approved new employee permissions;

monitoring the attributes of the new employee, activities of the new employee, and any special permissions granted to the new employee;

identifying a need to modify the approved new employee permissions based, at least in part, on the monitoring of the attributes of the new employee, the activities of the new employee, and the special permissions granted to the new employee; and

for each identified need to modify the approved new employee permissions;

analyzing and processing the attributes of the new employee and the first correlation and the second correlation to generate modified new employee permissions;

providing the modified new employee permissions to one or more designated decision makers within the business for approval;

receiving approval of the modified new employee permissions from the one or more designated decision makers within the business;

transforming a status of the modified new employee permissions from modified new employee permissions to approved new employee permissions;

integrating the approved modified new employee permissions into the attributes of the new employee;

enforcing the approved new employee permissions; and

monitoring the attributes of the new employee, the activities of the new employee, and the special permissions granted to the new employee.