COMMUNICATION SUPPORT DEVICE, COMMUNICATION SUPPORT SYSTEM, AND COMMUNICATION SUPPORT METHOD

• US 20120086579A1
• Filed: 03/04/2010
• Published: 04/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Ara, Koji, Yano, Kazuo, Sato, Nobuo, Wakisaka, Yoshihiro, Ohkubo, Norio, Horii, Youichi, Tsuji, Satomi
• Granted Patent: US 9,058,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/691.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

It is provided a communication support device, which analyzes communications among a plurality of persons who belong to an organization, comprising a recording module for storing data that indicates the communications among the plurality of persons, a network constructing module for constructing a network structure of the plurality of persons from the data that indicates the communications, a improvement candidate determining module for identifying a first person whose communication is to be improved from the data that indicates the communications, and a connection candidate determining module for identifying a second person and a third person who can help increase triangle structures around the identified first person in the network structure, based on the network structure. The communication support device outputs display data for prompting the second person and the third person to communicate with each other.

Claims

1. A communication support device, which analyzes communications among a plurality of persons who belong to an organization, comprising:

a recording module for storing data that indicates the communications among the plurality of persons;

a network constructing module for constructing a network structure of the plurality of persons from the data that indicates the communications;

a improvement candidate determining module for identifying a first person whose communication is to be improved from the data that indicates the communications; and

a connection candidate determining module for identifying a second person and a third person who can help increase triangle structures around the identified first person in the network structure, based on the network structure,

wherein the communication support device outputs display data for prompting the second person and the third person to communicate with each other.

2. The communication support device according to claim 1, further comprising a cohesion calculating module for calculating cohesion of each of the plurality of persons from the data that indicates the communications,

wherein the improvement candidate determining module identifies a person whose cohesion is smaller than a given threshold as the first person.

3. The communication support device according to claim 1, wherein the connection candidate determining module identifies two persons who increase the triangle structures most when a communication between the two persons is established as the second person and the third person.

4. The communication support device according to claim 1, wherein the outputted display data shows the network structure as a first type of line and shows information prompting the communication as a second type of line different from the first type of line.

5. The communication support device according to claim 1,

wherein the network constructing module reconstructs the network structure after the display data for prompting the communication is output,

wherein the communication support device further comprises an establishment determining module for determining whether a communication has been established between the second person and the third person based on the reconstructed network structure, and

wherein the communication support device outputs display data which connects the second person and the third person with a third type of line different from the first type of line and the second type of line when the communication has been established.

6. The communication support device according to claim 5,

wherein the plurality of persons each hold a terminal including an acceleration sensor,

wherein the recording module records acceleration data which is obtained with the acceleration sensor and which is transmitted from the terminal,

wherein the communication support device further comprises a measuring module for measuring a quality of the communication in a case where the communication has been established based on the acceleration data and the data that indicates the communication, and

wherein the outputted display data includes the quality of the communication as attribute information of information prompting the communication.

7. The communication support device according to claim 1, further comprising a mediator determining module for identifying a fourth person who mediates between the second person and the third person as a mediator based on the network structure,

wherein the communication support device outputs display data for prompting a team that includes the second person, the third person, and the fourth person to communicate.

8. The communication support device according to claim 7, wherein the outputted display data shows the network structure in which the second person, the third person, and the fourth person are shown with a symbol different from a symbol of another person, and a symbol indicating that the fourth person is the mediator is used.

9. The communication support device according to claim 7,

wherein the recording module stores a business operation list which records details of business operations of the organization, and

wherein the communication support device further comprises a business operation assigning module for assigning a business operation to the team that includes the second person, the third person, and the fourth person by referring to the business operation list.

10. The communication support device according to claim 7,

wherein the recording module records a business operation result of the organization, an evaluation of the team, and activeness of the team, which are input from an input device, as an activity record in association with the mediator,

wherein the communication support device further comprises an activity performance calculating module for calculating an activity result of the mediator from the activity record, and

wherein the mediator determining module identifies a fifth person as a new mediator based on the calculated activity result.

11. A communication support system comprising:

a plurality of terminals which are held respectively by a plurality of persons belonging to an organization; and

a computer for processing data that is transmitted from the plurality of terminals to analyze communications among the plurality of persons,

wherein the plurality of terminals each include;

a sensor for obtaining data that indicates a communication with a person who holds another one of the plurality of terminals; and

a transmitter for transmitting the data that indicates the communication to the computer,

wherein the computer includes;

a recording module for storing the data that indicates the communication;

a network constructing module for constructing a network structure of the plurality of persons from the data that indicates the communication;

a improvement candidate determining module for identifying a first person whose communication is to be improved from the data that indicates the communication; and

a connection candidate determining module for identifying a second person and a third person who can help increase triangle structures around the first person in the network structure based on the network structure, and

wherein the computer outputs display data for prompting the second person and the third person to communicate with each other.

12. The communication support system according to claim 11,

wherein the computer further includes a cohesion calculating module for calculating cohesion of each of the plurality of persons from the data that indicates the communications, and

wherein the improvement candidate determining module identifies a person whose cohesion is smaller than a given threshold as the first person.

13. The communication support system according to claim 11,

wherein the network constructing module reconstructs the network structure after the display data for prompting the communication is output,

wherein the computer further includes an establishment determining module for determining whether a communication has been established between the second person and the third person based on the reconstructed network structure, and

wherein the computer outputs display data which connects the second person and the third person with a third type of line different from the first type of line and the second type of line when the communication has been established.

14. The communication support system according to claim 11,

wherein the computer further includes a mediator determining module for identifying a fourth person who mediates between the second person and the third person as a mediator based on the network structure, and

wherein the computer outputs display data for prompting a team that includes the second person, the third person, and the fourth person to communicate.

15. A communication support method, which analyzes communications among a plurality of persons who belongs to an organization, comprising the steps of:

storing data that indicates the communications among the plurality of persons;

constructing a network structure of the plurality of persons from the data that indicates the communications;

identifying a first person whose communication is to be improved from the data that indicates the communications;

identifying a second person and a third person who can help increase triangle structures around the first person in the network structure based on the network structure; and

outputting display data for prompting the second person and the third person to communicate with each other.