Computer-implemented system and method for facilitating the development and documentation of user thinking about an arbitrary problem

• US 8,019,710 B1
• Filed: 08/14/2009
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zxibix Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zxibix Inc.
• Inventors: Heidenreich, James Ralph, Higgins, Linda Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Holmes; Michael B
• Application Number:
  US12/583,176
• Time in Patent Office: 760 Days
• Field of Search: 706/45
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/00 Computing arrangements using knowledge-based models
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are for a system and methods for facilitating the development and documentation of user thinking and knowledge about a problem or inquiry based project according to exemplary approaches. Some embodiments may comprise multiple entry or starting points. Some embodiments may include facilitating the user understanding from an initial stage of understanding to further development, and may also comprise an archetype based model of user understanding.

Claims

1. A system for guiding the progressive development and documentation of user thinking and knowledge about an inquiry based project according to exemplary approaches used by experts, comprising:

An interface;

A process manager system executable on at least one processor and operable to execute activities comprising;

receiving user specification of an initial stage of understanding regarding an arbitrary problem or inquiry based project according to at least one of a plurality of entry or starting points;

Providing at least one of an interactive workspace or a suggestion to a user, or both, to facilitate the further development of the understanding regarding an arbitrary problem or inquiry project towards a completion stage;

Providing an integrated archetype based model of user understanding regarding the arbitrary problem or inquiry based project, in display or output or both.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising that the initial stage of understanding comprises at least one problem, question or topic, or that the entry or starting point comprises defining at least one problem, question, or topic, or a combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising that the initial stage of understanding comprises at least one potential answer, conclusion, meaning statement, summary, or viewpoint, or that the entry or starting point comprises defining at least one potential answer, conclusion, meaning statement, summary, or viewpoint, or a combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising that the initial stage of understanding further comprises at least a subset of at least one analysis, knowledge component, information component, data component, model, model project, or project template, or that the entry or starting point further comprises the defining at least a subset of at least one analysis, knowledge component, information component, data component, model, model project or project template, or a combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use of an archetype process or archetype structure, or both, for exemplary thinking about or solving a problem.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising evaluation relative to an archetype process or archetype structure, or both, for exemplary thinking about or solving a problem.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising that the initial stage, starting or entry point, or output, or a combination thereof, comprises at least a subset of at least one model or specification, or both.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one representation comprising at least one of three dimensional representation, three dimensional rotatable representation, three dimensional representation that can be zoomed, three dimensional-like representation, three dimensional combined with two dimensional representation, outline representation, tree-type representation, linkage representation, two dimensional representation, or matrix representation, or a combination thereof.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising the visual distinction of progress of specification, stage of understanding, or model, or a combination thereof.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a suggestion is conveyed through spatial or visual placement, or both, in at least one workspace or display or output, or a combination thereof.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one view that comprises at least one of a view of at least one question related to knowledge and at least one conclusion, a view of at least one set of questions or topics, a view of at least one question or topic related to knowledge, a view of knowledge related to at least one conclusion or meaning statement, a view of at least one meaning statement related to at least one conclusion, a view of at least one meaning statement or conclusion related to at least one answer or summary or both, a view of multiple alternative answers or summary viewpoints, a view of at least one question or topic related to at least one conclusion or meaning statement, a view of at least one question related to at least one answer, or a view of analysis related to data and related to at least one conclusion or meaning statement or answer or summary, or a combination thereof.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising that at least one workspace comprises at least a subset of related system capabilities and a representation of at least a subset of at least one user specification, stage of understanding, or model, or a combination thereof.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a suggestion comprises at least one suggested next step, suggested model or specification component, suggested type of model or specification component, suggested edit, suggested linkage, suggested reclustering or regrouping of components, suggested content, suggested view, suggested workspace, automatically created linkage, automatically created specification or model component, automatically edited specification or model component, or automatic entry to an additional target information source or search field, or a combination thereof.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of ranking, rating, criteria setting, criteria use, commenting, annotating, notes addition, or a combination thereof, relative to at least one source, specification or model component, conclusion, answer, summary, or related content, or a combination thereof.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use of, reference or link to, output to, or association with, or a combination thereof, of at least one of an additional electronic resource, information resource, electronic system, or electronic tool, or a combination thereof.

16. The system of claim 1 further comprising the monitoring, recording, or output, or a combination thereof, of user interactions, actions, specifications, history of specifications, models, history of models, system or user events, system or user event history, linkages, linkage history, model or specification content or both, related content history, documented stages of understanding, model or stages or specification snapshots, history of documented stages of understanding, linked or associated resources or tools, suggestions, response to suggestions, suggestion history, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, workspace or display use, workspace or display history, entry points, completion stages, output, or output history, or a combination thereof.

17. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use of the monitoring or recording, or both, of one or more occurrences of user interactions, actions, specifications, history of specifications, models, history of models, related system or user events, related system or user event histories, linkages, linkage histories, model or specification content or both, related content histories, documented stages of understanding, model or stages or specification snapshots, history of documented stages of understanding, linked or associated resources or tools, suggestions, response to suggestions, suggestion history, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting workspace or display use, workspace or display histories, entry points, completion stages, output, or output history, or a combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use, recording, monitoring, or output, or a combination thereof, of patterns of system or user events or actions showing user thinking or reasoning, comprising patterns or analysis of specifications, models, user events, system events, user actions, system actions, suggestions, response to suggestions, model development, specification development, related content, or linkage development, or a combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a project plan or to do list or both.

20. The system of claim 1 further comprising that the model comprises at least one of a at least one problem, a at least one topic, a at least one conclusion, a at least meaning statement, a at least one answer, a at least one summary view, a at least one knowledge component, a at least one analysis, a at least one portion of data, or a at least one linkage to at least one other model or specification, or a combination thereof.

21. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one analysis or analysis tool or both, that comprises at least one preformatted analysis construct comprising at least one of timeline, sequence, comparison analysis, comparison and contrast analysis, categorization analysis, tree analysis, causation analysis, or customized analyses, or a combination thereof.

22. The system of claim 1 further comprising the automatic entry to an additional information source or search field or both.

23. The system of claim 1 further comprising that the model, workspace, display or output comprises at least one view of meaning, comprising at least one meaning statement or conclusion or answer or summary associated with at least one knowledge, analysis or data component, or a combination thereof.

24. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a specification or model or both, is comprised of more than one specification or model, or is comprised of related, linked, or associated specifications or models, or subsets of specification or models, or a combination thereof.

25. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a specification, suggestion, workspace, display, or output, or a combination thereof, comprises at least one of text, drawing, video, audio, graphics, interactive graphics, or a combination thereof.

26. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a user comprises an individual, multiple individuals, one or more teams or groups, or an electronic system or resource, or a combination thereof.

27. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one local processor, remote processor, web service, client system, server system, client and server system, computer readable medium, memory, computer readable device, or storage device or a combination thereof.

28. The system of claim 1 further comprising that an initial stage of understanding or a starting or entry point, or both, is provided by at least one user for at least one other user.

29. A system for guiding the progressive development and documentation of user thinking and knowledge about an inquiry based project according to exemplary approaches used by experts, comprising:

processor executable instructions embodied on a computer readable media, memory, or processor readable device, or a combination thereof, said instructions comprising;

instructions to receive user specification of an initial stage of understanding regarding an arbitrary problem or inquiry based project according to at least one of a plurality of entry or starting points;

instructions for accomplishing at least one of an interactive workspace or a user suggestion or both, to facilitate the further development of the understanding regarding an arbitrary problem or inquiry project towards a completion stage;

instructions to display or output, or both, an integrated archetype based model of user understanding regarding the arbitrary problem or inquiry based project.

30. The system of claim 29 further comprising that the initial stage of understanding comprises at least one problem, question or topic, or that the entry or starting point comprises defining at least one problem, question, or topic, or a combination thereof.

31. The system of claim 29 further comprising that the initial stage of understanding comprises at least one potential answer, conclusion, meaning statement, summary, or viewpoint, or that the entry or starting point comprises defining at least one potential answer, conclusion, meaning statement, summary, or viewpoint, or a combination thereof.

32. The system of claim 29 further comprising that the initial stage of understanding further comprises at least a subset of at least one analysis, knowledge component, information component, data component, model, model project, or project template, or that the entry or starting point further comprises the defining at least a subset of at least one analysis, knowledge component, information component, data component, model, model project or project template, or a combination thereof.

33. The system of claim 29 further comprising instructions for the use of an archetype process or archetype structure, or both, for exemplary thinking about or solving a problem.

34. The system of claim 29 further comprising instructions for evaluation relative to an archetype process or archetype structure, or both, for exemplary thinking about or solving a problem.

35. The system of claim 29 further comprising that the initial stage, starting or entry point, or output, or a combination thereof, comprises at least a subset of at least one model or specification, or both.

36. The system of claim 29 further comprising at least one representation comprising at least one of three dimensional representation, three dimensional rotatable representation, three dimensional representation that can be zoomed, three dimensional-like representation, three dimensional combined with two dimensional representation, outline representation, tree-type representation, linkage representation, two dimensional representation, or matrix representation, or a combination thereof.

37. The system of claim 29 further comprising the visual distinction of progress of specification, stage of understanding, or model, or a combination thereof.

38. The system of claim 29 further comprising that a suggestion is conveyed through spatial or visual placement, or both, in at least one workspace or display or output, or a combination thereof.

39. The system of claim 29 further comprising instructions for at least one view that comprises at least one of a view of at least one question related to knowledge and at least one conclusion, a view of at least one set of questions or topics, a view of at least one question or topic related to knowledge, a view of knowledge related to at least one conclusion or meaning statement, a view of at least one meaning statement related to at least one conclusion, a view of at least one meaning statement or conclusion related to at least one answer or summary or both, a view of multiple alternative answers or summary viewpoints, a view of at least one question or topic related to at least one conclusion or meaning statement, a view of at least one question related to at least one answer, or a view of analysis related to data and related to at least one conclusion or meaning statement or answer or summary, or a combination thereof.

40. The system of claim 29 further comprising that at least one workspace comprises at least a subset of related system capabilities and a representation of at least a subset of at least one user specification, stage of understanding, or model, or a combination thereof.

41. The system of claim 29 further comprising that a suggestion comprises at least one suggested next step, suggested model or specification component, suggested type of model or specification component, suggested edit, suggested linkage, suggested reclustering or regrouping of components, suggested content, suggested view, suggested workspace, automatically created linkage, automatically created specification or model component, automatically edited specification or model component, or automatic entry to an additional target information source or search field, or a combination thereof.

42. The system of claim 29 further comprising at least one of ranking, rating, criteria setting, criteria use, commenting, annotating, notes addition, or a combination thereof, relative to at least one source, specification or model component, conclusion, answer, summary, or related content, or a combination thereof.

43. The system of claim 29 further comprising instructions for the use of, reference or link to, output to, or association with, or a combination thereof, of at least one of an additional electronic resource, information resource, electronic system, or electronic tool, or a combination thereof.

44. The system of claim 29 further comprising the monitoring, recording, or output, or a combination thereof, of user interactions, actions, specifications, history of specifications, models, history of models, system or user events, system or user event history, linkages, linkage history, model or specification content or both, related content history, documented stages of understanding, model or stages or specification snapshots, history of documented stages of understanding, linked or associated resources or tools, suggestions, response to suggestions, suggestion history, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, workspace or display use, workspace or display history, entry points, completion stages, output, or output history, or a combination thereof.

45. The system of claim 29 further comprising the use of the monitoring or recording, or both, of one or more occurrences of user interactions, actions, specifications, history of specifications, models, history of models, related system or user events, related system or user event histories, linkages, linkage histories, model or specification content or both, related content histories, documented stages of understanding, model or stages or specification snapshots, history of documented stages of understanding, linked or associated resources or tools, suggestions, response to suggestions, suggestion history, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting workspace or display use, workspace or display histories, entry points, completion stages, output, or output history, or a combination thereof.

46. The system of claim 29 further comprising the use, recording, monitoring, or output, or a combination thereof, of patterns of system or user events or actions showing user thinking or reasoning, comprising patterns or analysis of specifications, models, user events, system events, user actions, system actions, suggestions, response to suggestions, model development, specification development, related content, or linkage development, or a combination thereof.

47. The system of claim 29 further comprising instructions for at least one of a project plan or to do list or both.

48. The system of claim 29 further comprising that the model comprises at least one of a at least one problem, a at least one topic, a at least one conclusion, a at least meaning statement, a at least one answer, a at least one summary view, a at least one knowledge component, a at least one analysis, a at least one portion of data, or a at least one linkage to at least one other model or specification, or a combination thereof.

49. The system of claim 29 further comprising at least one analysis or analysis tool or both, that comprises at least one preformatted analysis construct comprising at least one of timeline, sequence, comparison analysis, comparison and contrast analysis, categorization analysis, tree analysis, causation analysis, or customized analyses, or a combination thereof.

50. The system of claim 29 further comprising the automatic entry to an additional information source or search field or both.

51. The system of claim 29 further comprising that the model, workspace, display or output comprises at least one view of meaning, comprising at least one meaning statement or conclusion or answer or summary associated with at least one knowledge, analysis or data component, or a combination thereof.

52. The system of claim 29 further comprising that a specification or model or both, is comprised of more than one specification or model, or is comprised of related, linked, or associated specifications or models, or subsets of specification or models, or a combination thereof.

53. The system of claim 29 further comprising that a specification, suggestion, workspace, display, or output, or a combination thereof, comprises at least one of text, drawing, video, audio, graphics, interactive graphics, or a combination thereof.

54. The system of claim 29 further comprising that a user comprises an individual, multiple individuals, one or more teams or groups, or an electronic system or resource, or a combination thereof.

55. The system of claim 29 further comprising at least one processor, local processor, remote processor, web service, client system, server system, client and server system, or storage device or a combination thereof.