Method and apparatus for facilitating computer-supported collaborative work sessions
First Claim
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1. A method for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative work session, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving ideas from a plurality of session participants that relate to a stated objective;
forwarding ideas collected from said session participants to at least one of said session participants;
prompting said at least one of said session participants to group said ideas into two or more participant-defined clusters of related ideas; and
aggregating said participant-defined clusters to form two or more collective clusters reflective of a consensus among said participants.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for facilitating computer-supported collaborative work sessions solicits ideas from participants in a collaborative work session, and then prompts the participants to group the generated ideas into discrete clusters of related ideas. The participants'"'"' clusters are then aggregated to form collective clusters that represent overarching themes or ideas generated in the collaborative work session. The collective clusters and the ideas contained therein may be used by an organization, for example to address a specific need or to shape a policy.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A method for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative work session, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving ideas from a plurality of session participants that relate to a stated objective;
forwarding ideas collected from said session participants to at least one of said session participants;
prompting said at least one of said session participants to group said ideas into two or more participant-defined clusters of related ideas; and
aggregating said participant-defined clusters to form two or more collective clusters reflective of a consensus among said participants. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer readable medium containing an executable program for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative work session, where the program performs the steps of:
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receiving ideas from a plurality of session participants that relate to a stated objective;
forwarding ideas collected from said session participants to at least one of said session participants;
prompting said at least one of said session participants to group said ideas into two or more participant-defined clusters of related ideas; and
aggregating said participant-defined clusters to form two or more collective clusters reflective of a consensus among said participants. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. Apparatus for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative work session, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving ideas from session participants that relate to a stated objective;
means for prompting said participants to group said ideas into two or more participant-defined clusters of related ideas; and
means for aggregating said participant-defined clusters to form two or more collective clusters reflective of a consensus among said participants.
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50. A method for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative work session, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving ideas from session participants that relate to a stated objective; and
prompting said participants, via questions or ideas submitted through a synthetic session participant, if said participants do not generate a predefined minimum number of ideas or if a rate of idea generation appears to be slowing. - View Dependent Claims (51)
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52. Apparatus for facilitating a computer-supported collaborative work session, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving ideas from session participants that relate to a stated objective; and
means for prompting said participants, via questions or ideas submitted through a synthetic session participant, if said participants do not generate a predefined minimum number of ideas or if a rate of idea generation appears to be slowing.
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53. A method for participating in a computer-supported collaborative work session, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing one or more ideas that relate to a stated objective;
receiving ideas collected from other session participants; and
grouping said received ideas into two or more participant-defined clusters of related ideas.
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54. Apparatus for enabling a user to participate in a computer-supported collaborative work session, the apparatus comprising:
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means for providing one or more ideas that relate to a stated objective;
means for receiving ideas collected from other session participants; and
means for grouping said received ideas into two or more participant-defined clusters of related ideas.
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55. A method for participating in a computer-supported collaborative work session, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing one or more ideas that relate to a stated objective; and
receiving prompts, via questions or ideas submitted through a synthetic session participant, if said provided ideas do not satisfy a predefined minimum number of ideas or if a rate of idea generation appears to be slowing.
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56. Apparatus for enabling a user to participate in a computer-supported collaborative work session, the apparatus comprising:
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means for providing one or more ideas that relate to a stated objective; and
means for receiving prompts, via questions or ideas submitted through a synthetic session participant, if said provided ideas do not satisfy a predefined minimum number of ideas or if a rate of idea generation appears to be slowing.
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Specification