Unified Presentation Of Contextually Connected Information To Improve User Efficiency And Interaction Performance

• US 20150242091A1
• Filed: 02/23/2015
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Lu, Qi, Connell, Derrick Leslie, Shakib, Darren, Gates, William H. III
• Granted Patent: US 10,691,292 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/435 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/487 using geographical or spatial information, e.g. location
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/489 using time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0485 Scrolling or panning
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements

Abstract

A unified experience environment supports mechanisms that collect and utilize contextual metadata to associate information in accordance with its relevance to a user'"'"'s current context. An ambient data collector obtains contextual and activity information coincident with a user'"'"'s creation, editing or consumption of data and associates it with such data as contextual metadata. A context generator that utilizes contextual metadata to identify relationships between data and enable the proactive presentation of data relevant to a user'"'"'s current context. Proactive presentation includes a context panel that is alternatively displayable and hideable in an application-independent manner and a unified activity feed that comprises correlated data groupings identified by correlation engines, including a universal, cross-application correlation engine and individual, application-specific correlation engines that exchange information through data correlation interfaces. The context panel and unified activity feed enable users to more efficiently access data and increase their interaction performance with a computing device.

Claims

1. A system for improving a user'"'"'s efficiency, and increasing the user'"'"'s interaction performance, with the system, through the presentation of contextually connected information, the system comprising:

one or more processing units;

a display device communicationally coupled to the one or more processing units; and

one or more computer-readable storage media communicationally coupled to the one or more processing units, the one or more computer-readable storage media comprising computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform steps comprising;

detecting the user'"'"'s accessing, via the system, of a first data that has a first contextual metadata corresponding to it, the first contextual metadata identifying prior contexts of the user that are associated with the first data;

identifying a relationship between the first contextual metadata and a second, different contextual metadata;

obtaining a second data to which the second contextual metadata corresponds, the second data being different than the first data; and

physically generating, on the display device, a graphical user interface comprising;

a primary content area comprising a display of at least a portion of the first data; and

a context panel visually adjacent to the primary content area, the context panel comprising a first user interface element that is indicative of the obtained second data and that is user-selectable to access the obtained second data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface further comprises a second user interface element, the second user interface element being displayed within the graphical user interface externally to, but visually connected, to the context panel;

and wherein further the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising;

detecting user action directed to the second user interface element; and

, in response to the detecting, variously displaying or hiding the context panel within the graphical user interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first user interface element comprises a tile comprising a textual identification of the obtained second data and a graphical icon representative of the obtained second data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein content of the context panel is user-modifiable;

and wherein further the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising;

detecting a user action comprising a drag action from the primary content area to the context panel; and

updating the graphical user interface to comprise an updated context panel now comprising second user interface element that is indicative of the first data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data is a document and the first user interface element is a graphical icon representative of the document;

and wherein further the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising;

detecting a user action directed to the graphical icon;

accessing, in response to the detected user action, the second data; and

updating the graphical user interface to comprise an updated primary content area now comprising a display of at least a portion of the document.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data references a person and the first user interface element comprises graphical icons representative of communication options for communicating with the person;

and wherein further the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising;

detecting a user action directed to one of the graphical icons; and

initiating, in response to the detected user action, via the system, a communication with the person, the initiated communication corresponding to the one of the graphical icons to which the detected user action was directed.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the second data references an action performable by the system;

and wherein further the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising;

detecting a user action directed to the first user interface element; and

initiating, in response to the detected user action, the action performable by the system that is referenced by the second data.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the context panel is automatically displayed within the graphical user interface based on a current time or a current location of the user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the relationship between the first contextual metadata and the second contextual metadata is identified based on equivalencies or similarities between the first contextual metadata and the second contextual metadata.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first contextual metadata comprises ambient data of prior user accesses of the first data.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising:

physically generating, on the display device, a second graphical user interface prior to the detecting, the second graphical user interface comprising;

a unified activity feed comprising;

a first distinct visual element representing a first grouping of correlated data, the first distinct visual element encompassing a defined visual area and being distinct from other visual elements representing other groupings of correlated data, the first distinct visual element having displayed within it elements comprising;

a second user interface element that is indicative of a third data; and

a third user interface element that is indicative of a fourth data, differing from the third data, the third user interface element being visually adjacent to the second user interface element within the first distinct visual element;

wherein the third and fourth data are correlated with one another; and

a second distinct visual element representing a second, different grouping of correlated data, the second distinct visual element also encompassing a defined visual area and being distinct from other visual elements representing other groupings of correlated data, including the first distinct visual element, the second distinct visual element having displayed within it elements comprising;

a fourth user interface element that is indicative of a fifth data, differing from the third and fourth data; and

a fifth user interface element that is indicative of a sixth data, differing from the third, fourth and fifth data, the fifth user interface element being visually adjacent to the fourth user interface element within the second distinct visual element;

wherein the fourth and fifth data are correlated with one another; and

wherein the first distinct visual element and the second distinct visual element are adjacent to one another within the unified activity feed.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising:

detecting user action directed to scrolling the unified activity feed;

updating the second graphical user interface, in response to the detecting the user action directed to scrolling the unified activity feed, such that the first distinct visual element and the second distinct visual element together move in response to the scrolling of the unified activity feed;

detecting user action directed to scrolling within the first distinct visual element; and

updating the second graphical user interface, in response to the detecting the user action directed to scrolling within the first distinct visual element, such that the second user interface element and the third user interface element together move within the first distinct visual element, exclusive of movement of the distinct visual elements in the unified activity feed and exclusive of movement of individual user interface elements in other distinct visual elements, in response to the scrolling within the first distinct visual element.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the computer-readable media comprise further computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by the one or more processing units, cause the system to perform further steps comprising:

determining a current context of the user;

ranking the third or fourth data as more relevant to the determined current context of the user than the fifth or sixth data;

visually arranging, in response to the ranking, the first distinct visual element above the second distinct visual element within the unified activity feed; and

repeating the determining the current context of the user, the ranking and the visually arranging as the current context of the user changes.

14. A graphical user interface for improving a user'"'"'s efficiency, and increasing the user'"'"'s interaction performance, with a computing device physically generating the graphical user interface on a physical display device communicationally coupled to the computing device, the graphical user interface comprising:

a primary content area comprising a display of at least a portion of a first data accessed by the user with the computing device; and

a context panel visually adjacent to the primary content area, the context panel comprising a first user interface element that is indicative of a second data and that is user-selectable to access the second data;

wherein the second data has a second contextual metadata corresponding to it, the second contextual metadata having an identified relationship with a first contextual metadata that corresponds with the first data that was accessed by the user.

15. The graphical user interface of claim 14, further comprising a second user interface element, the second user interface element being displayed within the graphical user interface externally to, but visually connected, to the context panel, the second user interface element being user actionable to trigger displaying or hiding the context panel within the graphical user interface.

16. The graphical user interface of claim 14, wherein the first user interface element comprises a tile comprising a textual identification of the obtained second data and a graphical icon representative of the obtained second data.

17. The graphical user interface of claim 14, wherein the second data is either a document or the second data references a person or an action performable by the computing device;

and wherein further the context panel further comprises a second user interface element that is indicative of a third data that differs in type from the second data and also is either a document or references a person or an action performable by the computing device.

18. A graphical user interface for improving a user'"'"'s efficiency, and increasing the user'"'"'s interaction performance, with a computing device physically generating the graphical user interface on a physical display device communicationally coupled to the computing device, the graphical user interface comprising:

a unified activity feed comprising;

a first distinct visual element representing a first grouping of correlated data, the first distinct visual element encompassing a defined visual area and being distinct from other visual elements representing other groupings of correlated data, the first distinct visual element having displayed within it elements comprising;

a first user interface element that is indicative of a first data; and

a second user interface element that is indicative of a second data, differing from the first data, the second user interface element being visually adjacent to the first user interface element within the first distinct visual element;

wherein the first and second data are correlated with one another; and

a second distinct visual element representing a second, different grouping of correlated data, the second distinct visual element also encompassing a defined visual area and being distinct from other visual elements representing other groupings of correlated data, including the first distinct visual element, the second distinct visual element having displayed within it elements comprising;

a third user interface element that is indicative of a third data, differing from the first and second data; and

a fourth user interface element that is indicative of a fourth data, differing from the first, second and third data, the fourth user interface element being visually adjacent to the third user interface element within the second distinct visual element;

wherein the third and fourth data are correlated with one another; and

wherein the first distinct visual element and the second distinct visual element are adjacent to one another within the unified activity feed.

19. The graphical user interface of claim 18, wherein the unified activity feed is scrollable by a user of the computing device separately from scrolling by the user within the first distinct visual element or the second distinct visual element;

wherein further scrolling the activity feed causes visual movement, within the graphical user interface, of both the first and second distinct visual elements together, while scrolling within the first distinct visual element causes the first and second user interface elements to visually move together within the first distinct visual element, exclusive of movement of the distinct visual elements in the unified activity feed and exclusive of movement of individual user interface elements in other distinct visual elements.

20. The graphical user interface of claim 18, wherein a visual arrangement of distinct visual elements within the unified activity feed is in accordance with a determined relevance between a current context of the user and data indicated by user interface elements within those distinct visual elements, the visual arrangement being automatically updated as the current context of the user changes.