Summarization tool and method for a dialogue sequence

• US 20080281927A1
• Filed: 05/11/2007
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Vanderwende, Lucretia H., Mukherjee, Rajatish, Gamon, Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/801,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20080281927A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/258 Heading extraction; Automatic titling; Numbering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]

Abstract

The application discloses embodiments of a summarization tool for a dialogue sequence or message thread. In the embodiments disclosed, the summarization tool utilizes a topic shift component to identify a topic start to define a topic group for the dialogue sequence or message thread. A summary component uses the topic start to generate a summary output for the topic group of the dialogue sequence or message thread. In illustrated embodiments, the summary output includes one or more of a context summary, a thread summary, and scope data or information.

Claims

1. An application implementable on a computer readable medium comprising:

a tool to summarize an electronic dialogue sequence configured to invoke a topic shift component that is configured to utilize context data for the electronic dialogue sequence to detect a topic shift for one or more dialogue exchanges of the dialogue sequence and output a topic start for a topic group of the dialogue sequence; and

a summary component configured to receive the topic start and utilize the topic start to generate a summary output for one or more exchanges of the topic group of the dialogue sequence.

2. The application of claim 1 wherein the dialogue sequence includes one or more of a tele-conference, instant message, electronic mail or voice mail exchange.

3. The application of claim 1 wherein the dialogue sequence comprises an audio input and the tool is configured to invoke a speech recognition component to output text recognition for the audio input.

4. The application of claim 1 wherein the dialogue sequence is a message thread including an original message and one or more messages linked to the original message.

5. The application of claim 4 wherein the summary component is configured to generate the summary output based upon summarization of one or more messages in the topic group of the message thread.

6. The application of claim 4 wherein the summary output includes a context summary generated based upon summarization of a topic start message of the topic group.

7. The application of claim 4 wherein the summary output includes a thread summary generated based upon a summarization of one or more messages linked to the topic start.

8. The application of claim 4 wherein the summary output utilizes a format comprising A wrote or said . . . , where A corresponds to the author or sender of a message in the topic group and followed by a summary of a content of the message.

9. The application of claim 1 wherein the context data for the topic group of the dialogue sequence is utilized to output scope data or information for the topic group.

10. The application of claim 4 wherein the context data includes data associated with the original message or the one or messages linked to the original message in the message thread or one or more attachments linked to the original message or the one or more messages linked to the original message in the message thread.

11. The application of claim 4 wherein the context data includes at least one of keywords or key phrases in the original message or the one or more messages linked to the original message, or one or more attachments linked to the original message, or to the one or more messages linked to the original message in the message thread.

12. The application of claim 4 wherein the context data includes cluster data or labels for messages of the topic group generated for a collection of electronic mail messages in a data store.

13. A method comprising:

receiving a dialogue sequence and using context data extracted from the dialogue sequence to output a topic start for a topic group of the dialogue sequence; and

generating a summary output for the topic group of the dialogue sequence.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the dialogue sequence comprises a message thread and comprising:

designating an original message in the message thread as the topic start;

comparing messages in the message thread to a topic start message to detect a topic shift; and

outputting the topic start associated with the topic shift.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein generating the summary output comprises:

summarizing the topic start message; and

outputting a context summary for the topic start message.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein generating the summary output comprises:

summarizing the messages in the topic group associated with the topic start; and

outputting a thread summary for the messages in the topic group.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein generating the summary output comprises:

extracting keywords or phrases from messages in the topic group associated with the topic start; and

outputting the keywords or phrases from the messages in the topic group.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein one or more of the messages in the message thread includes an attachment and comprising:

summarizing one or more attachments linked to one or more messages in the topic group; and

outputting a reference summary for the one or more attachments.

19. The method of claim 13 and further comprising:

generating cluster labels; and

utilizing the cluster labels to output at least one of the topic start or the summary output.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the dialogue sequence comprises a message thread and the summary output is in the form of “

A wrote or said . . . ”

where A is the author or sender of a message in the message thread and followed by a summary of a content of the message.