Method of constructing and displaying an entity profile constructed utilizing input from entities other than the owner

• US 6,405,197 B2
• Filed: 03/17/1999
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tacit Software, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Gilmour, David L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain T.
• Application Number:
  US09/271,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20010013029A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,182 Days
• Field of Search: 707/4-6, 707/10, 707/104, 707/1, 709/201-203, 709/219, 709/217, 379/88-2-, 705/7-10, 705/24, 705/26, 705/36-38
• US Class Current: 707/805
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/30 of unstructured textual data document management systems G06F16/93
• 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: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A method of constructing a profile comprising terms indicative of a characteristic of an entity commences when first electronic mail address, associated with a first entity, is created within a knowledge management system. The electronic mail address may be created automatically upon submission of an electronic mail document, or may be created manually by a systems administrator. A first electronic document is received via an electronic communications network at the first electronic mail address from a second entity, typically a user of the knowledge management system who is a registered and interactive user. The first electronic document is then parsed to identify profile terms therein. These profile terms are included within a first profile for the first entity. In this way, users of a knowledge management system may construct a profile of an entity (e.g., a customer) that is not a user of or participant within the knowledge management system.

Claims

1. A method of constructing a profile comprising terms descriptive of an entity, the method including:

recording, at a profile system, a first profile identifier associated with a first descriptive profile describing a first entity, wherein the first descriptive profile is owned by a second entity other than the first entity;

receiving, at the profile system, a first electronic communication via an electronic communications network from the second entity, the first electronic communication including the first profile identifier;

processing the first electronic communication at the profile system to identify a first descriptive term therein, the first descriptive term not being included within the first descriptive profile describing the first entity;

utilizing the first profile identifier to identify the first electronic communication as being associated with the first entity;

assigning a confidence level to the first descriptive term based on a contextual characteristic of the first descriptive term within the first electronic communication; and

including the first descriptive term within the first descriptive profile describing the first entity but owned by the second entity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first profile identifier comprises a first electronic mail address that is automatically created by a knowledge management server of the profile system upon reception of the first electronic communication at the knowledge management server from the second entity, the second entity specifying the first profile identifier as being associated with the first entity.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the first descriptive profile describing the first entity is searchable by a third entity.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the first entity is not registered as an interactive user within the profile system that maintains the first descriptive profile describing the first entity, and wherein the first descriptive profile describing the first entity is not accessible by the first entity.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the first entity is a customer of, or a supplier to, an organization serviced by the profile system.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein both the first and second entities are each registered as interactive users of the profile system that maintains the first descriptive profile describing the first entity, and wherein the first descriptive profile describing the first entity is accessible by the first entity.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the first descriptive profile describing the first entity is both accessible and modifiable by the first entity.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the first electronic communication comprises an electronic mail message.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the first electronic communication comprises an attachment to an electronic mail message.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the confidence level assigned to the first descriptive term based on a part of speech comprising the first descriptive term.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the confidence level is assigned to the first descriptive term based on the number of occurrences of the first descriptive term within the first electronic document.

12. The method of claim 1 including assigning a confidence level to the first descriptive term based on address information associated with the first electronic communication.

13. The method of claim 1 including receiving a second electronic communication via the electronic communications network at the profile system from the first entity, processing the second electronic communication to identify a second descriptive term therein, including the second descriptive term within the first descriptive profile describing the first entity, and distinguish the first descriptive term from the second descriptive term within the first descriptive profile describing the first entity to reflect the submission of the first descriptive term by the second entity and the submission of the second descriptive term by the first entity.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the first profile describing the first entity includes descriptive terms allocated to either a public portion of the first profile that has a first level of access or a private portion of the first profile that has a second level of access.

15. The method of claim 14 including making the descriptive terms allocated to the public portion of the first profile available for public viewing within a knowledge management system in response to a query to the first profile.

16. The method of claim 14 including allocating a specific descriptive term to the public portion of the first profile upon the submission of the specific descriptive term to the first profile a predetermined minimum number of times.