System and method to provide a customized problem solving environment for the development of user thinking about an arbitrary problem

• US 8,019,711 B1
• Filed: 02/22/2010
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Zxibix Inc.
• Original Assignee: Zxibix Inc.
• Inventors: Heidenreich, James Ralph, Higgins, Linda Shawn
• Primary Examiner(s): Holmes; Michael B
• Application Number:
  US12/660,259
• Time in Patent Office: 568 Days
• Field of Search: 706/45
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models

Abstract

Preferred embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for facilitating user thinking and developing documentation about an arbitrary problem. Preferred embodiments also provide capabilities to customize or specialize aspects of the facilitation of user thinking and development about a problem or topic. Preferred embodiments of the invention also comprise output to and interface with external or additional computer systems, resources, information sources, agents, and others.

Claims

1. A system for providing a customized or domain-specific problem solving environment for one or more users, comprising:

processor executable instructions embodied in at least one computer readable media, memory, or computer readable device, or any combination thereof, said instructions comprising;

instructions to provide a customized or domain-specific, or both, problem solving environment comprising interactions that comprise a customized or domain-specific, or both, exemplary archetype process for documenting and facilitating thinking about a problem;

instructions to construct a user model related to the problem;

instructions to enable the modification of at least one of the interactions of the archetype process or components available for the user model or output, or a combination thereof;

instructions to display, or output, or both at least a subset of a user model.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising evaluation relative to at least one of an exemplary archetype process, an exemplary archetype structure, a customized or domain-specific archetype process, a customized or domain-specific archetype structure, archived models, archived interactions, archived specifications, rankings, ratings, or comments, or a combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for at least one suggestion, comprising at least one of a 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, automatically created or edited linkage, or automatic entry to an additional target information source or search field, or a combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to modify or customize, or both, at least one suggestion.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to automatically create at least a subset of at least one model component or linkage or both.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to include, preclude or specify priority or an order of interactions of the archetype process, or a combination thereof.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for a project template, model starting point, initial content, customized or specialized component labels, customized or specialized interaction labels, or customized or specialized thinking prompts or guidelines, or a combination thereof.

9. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to use or relate to, or both, at least one external or additional computer system, electronic system, electronic resource, electronic tool, web service, web linkage, electronic device, information resource, information source, search engine, agent, or tool or a combination thereof.

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to accept input from or provide output to, or both, at least one external or additional computer system, electronic system, electronic resource, electronic tool, web service, web linkage, electronic device, information resource, information source, search engine, agent or tool, or a combination thereof.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of ranking, rating, criteria setting, criteria use, commenting, annotating, or notes addition, or a combination thereof.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for at least one preformatted or customizable, or both, at least one of an analysis construct component, information construct component, knowledge component, questions, topics, answers, summary views, meaning statements, model structure characteristics, or linkages, or a combination thereof.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one analysis or analysis tool or both, 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.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one information construct or information construct tool or both, comprising at least one of a person information construct, place information construct, event information construct, thing information construct, group information construct, or customized information construct, or a combination thereof.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one complex or combinatorial or multidimensional analysis or information construct, or a combination thereof, comprising at least one analysis or information construct comprised of or related to, or both, more than one construct.

16. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for an electronic presentation or document or both.

17. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use, monitoring, recording, tracking or output, or a combination thereof, of user interactions, models, specifications, system or user events, linkages, related content, model or stages or specification snapshots, documented stages of understanding, archived models, archived specifications, linked or associated resources or tools, suggestion history, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, workspace or display history, output history, or a combination thereof.

18. 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 linkages, or a combination thereof.

19. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one representation or output, or both, comprising at least one of three dimensional, three dimensional-like, three dimensional combined with two dimensional, outline, tree-type, linkage, two dimensional, or matrix representation or output, or a combination thereof.

20. 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.

21. 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.

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

2. A system for providing a customized or domain-specific problem solving environment for one or more users, comprising:

an interface;

a process manager system executable on one or more processors operable to provide capabilities comprising;

providing a customized or domain-specific, or both, problem solving environment, comprising interactions that comprise a customized or domain-specific, or both, exemplary archetype process for documenting and facilitating thinking about a problem;

constructing a user model related to the problem;

providing the ability to modify at least one of the interactions of the archetype process or components available for the user model or output or a combination thereof;

displaying or outputting, or both, at least a subset of a user model.

23. The system of claim 2 further comprising evaluation relative to at least one of an exemplary archetype process, an exemplary archetype structure, a customized or domain-specific archetype process, a customized or domain-specific archetype structure, archived models, archived interactions, archived specifications, rankings, ratings, or comments, or a combination thereof.

24. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one suggestion, comprising at least one of a 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, automatically created or edited linkage, or automatic entry to an additional target information source or search field, or a combination thereof.

25. The system of claim 2 further comprising modifying or customizing, or both, at least one suggestion.

26. The system of claim 2 further comprising automatically creating at least a subset of at least one model component or linkage or both.

27. The system of claim 2 further comprising including the ability to include, preclude or specify priority or an order of interactions of the archetype process, or a combination thereof.

28. The system of claim 2 further comprising a project template, model starting point, initial content, customized or specialized component labels, customized or specialized interaction labels, or customized or specialized thinking prompts or guidelines, or a combination thereof.

29. The system of claim 2 further comprising the use of or relation to, or both, at least one external or additional computer system, electronic system, electronic resource, electronic tool, web service, web linkage, electronic device, information resource, information source, search engine, agent, or tool or a combination thereof.

30. The system of claim 2 further comprising the ability to accept input from or provide output to, or both, at least one external or additional computer system, electronic system, electronic resource, electronic tool, web service, web linkage, electronic device, information resource, information source, search engine, agent or tool, or a combination thereof.

31. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one of ranking, rating, criteria setting, criteria use, commenting, annotating, or notes addition, or a combination thereof.

32. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one preformatted or customizable, or both, at least one analysis construct component, information construct component, knowledge components, questions, topics, answers, summary views, meaning statements, model structure characteristics, or linkages, or a combination thereof.

33. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one analysis or analysis tool or both, 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.

34. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one information construct or information construct tool or both, comprising at least one of a person information construct, place information construct, event information construct, thing information construct, group information construct, or a customized information construct, or a combination thereof.

35. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one complex or combinatorial or multidimensional analysis or information construct, or a combination thereof, comprising at least one analysis or information construct comprised of or related to, or both, more than one construct.

36. The system of claim 2 further comprising enabling of an electronic presentation or document, or both.

37. The system of claim 2 further comprising the use, monitoring, recording, tracking or output, or a combination thereof, of user interactions, models, specifications, system or user events, linkages, related content, model or stages or specification snapshots, documented stages of understanding, archived models, archived specifications, linked or associated resources or tools, suggestion history, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, workspace or display history, output history, or a combination thereof.

38. The system of claim 2 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 linkages, or a combination thereof.

39. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one representation or output, or both, comprising at least one of three dimensional, three dimensional-like, three dimensional combined with two dimensional, outline, tree-type, linkage, two dimensional, or matrix representation or output, or a combination thereof.

40. The system of claim 2 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.

41. The system of claim 2 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.

42. The system of claim 2 further comprising at least one computer readable media, processor, local processor, remote processor, web service, web linkage, client system, server system, client and server system, memory, computer readable device, electronic device, or storage device or a combination thereof.

43. A system for providing a customized or domain-specific problem solving environment for one or more users, comprising:

processor executable instructions embodied in at least one computer readable media, memory, or computer readable device, or a combination thereof, said instructions comprising;

instructions to provide a problem solving environment comprising interactions that comprise an exemplary archetype process for documenting and facilitating thinking about a problem;

instructions for a customized or domain-specific, or both, exemplary archetype structure for documenting and facilitating thinking about a problem;

instructions to construct a user model related to a problem;

instructions to enable the modification of at least one of the interactions of the archetype process, archetype structure, components available for the user model, or output, or a combination thereof;

instructions to display, or output, or both at least a subset of a user model.

44. The system of claim 43 further comprising instructions for the use of or relation to, or both, at least one external or additional computer system, electronic system, electronic resource, electronic tool, web service, web linkage, electronic device, information resource, information source, search engine, agent, or tool or a combination thereof.

45. The system of claim 43 further comprising at least one processor, local processor, remote processor, web service, web linkage, client system, server system, client and server system, memory, computer readable device, electronic device, or storage device or a combination thereof.

46. A system for providing a customized or domain-specific problem solving environment for one or more users, comprising:

an interface;

a process manager system executable on one or more processors operable to provide capabilities comprising;

providing a problem solving environment, comprising interactions that comprise an exemplary archetype process for documenting and facilitating thinking about a problem;

constructing a user model related to a problem;

using a customized or domain-specific, or both, exemplary archetype structure for documenting and facilitating thinking about a problem;

providing the ability to modify at least one of the interactions of the archetype process, archetype structure, components available for the user model, or output, or a combination thereof;

displaying or outputting, or both, at least a subset of a user model.

47. The system of claim 46 further comprising the use of or relation to, or both, at least one external or additional computer system, electronic system, electronic resource, electronic tool, web service, web linkage, electronic device, information resource, information source, search engine, agent, or tool or a combination thereof.

48. The system of claim 46 further comprising at least one computer readable medium, processor, local processor, remote processor, web service, web linkage, client system, server system, client and server system, memory, computer readable device, electronic device, or storage device or a combination thereof.