System and method for facilitating collaboration and multiple user thinking or cooperation regarding an arbitrary problem

• US 8,027,944 B1
• Filed: 07/09/2010
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• 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:
  US12/803,916
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 706/46
• US Class Current: 706/46
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation

Abstract

The invention includes systems and methods for facilitating collaborative or cooperative problem solving and inquiry based projects.

Claims

1. A system for facilitating collaborative or cooperative user thinking and publishing about an arbitrary problem for groups or multiple users, comprising:

At least one computer readable media, computer readable device, or memory, or a combination thereof, having processor executable instructions comprising;

instructions to facilitate user specification of at least one user model regarding an arbitrary problem using an archetype process or archetype structure for exemplary problem solving, or both;

instructions to identify at least one other at least one component of a user model or specification regarding a problem;

instructions to composite or compare or both, at least a subset of a first user model and at least a subset of a second at least one component of a user model or specification;

instructions to display or output or both, results of said composite or compare, or both.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one processor, client processor, server processor, web service, memory, electronic device, or a combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for subdividing or partitioning, or both, at least one user model, user model component, specification, compositing result, or comparing result, or a combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to identify at least one related user, additional related user model, related specification, or related content or a combination thereof.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to evaluate relative to an archetype structure or archetype process for exemplary problem solving, or both.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for at least one suggestion, comprising at least one suggested next step, suggested model or specification component, suggested edit, suggested linkage, suggested reclustering or regrouping of components, suggested content, suggested view, suggested workspace, suggested source, automatically created linkage, automatically created model or specification component, automatically edited specification or model component, or communication to additional target information source or search engine or agent, or a combination thereof.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions to composite or compare, or both, the results of a suggestion, or to composite or compare, or both, at least a subset of at least one user model, user model component, related content or specification related to at least one identified related user, or a combination thereof.

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

10. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a compositing or comparing, or both, is related to at least one of an archetype structure for exemplary problem solving, an archetype process for exemplary problem solving, user models, user specifications, linkages, content relationships, user profiles, user event history, archetype process history, archetype structure history, sources history, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, or suggestions, or a combination thereof.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use, monitoring, tracking, recording, or output of, or a combination thereof, of user event history, user models, specifications, archetype process history, archetype structure history, linkages, user profiles, related content history, sources, sources history, suggestion history, model or specification snapshots, model or specification stages, references to or requests from external resources or tools, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, workspace or display histories, output, or output history, or a combination thereof.

12. 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 models, specifications, user events, system events, suggestions history, related content history, sources history, user ratings, user rankings, user commenting, user profiles, or linkages, or a combination thereof.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a project plan, to do list, assignment, or project template, or a combination thereof.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for multi-user dialogue or communication, or both, or the use of additional tools for user dialogue or communication, or a combination thereof.

15. The system of claim 1 further comprising instructions for facilitating workspaces for formal, informal, collaborating, collaborative authoring, social networking, or cooperating teams or groups.

16. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a user model comprises at least one problem, topic, question, answer, conclusion, summary view, meaning statement, knowledge component, analysis, linkages, or information component, or a combination thereof.

17. The system of claim 1 further comprising the use of, reference or association or link to, output to, or acceptance of request or input from, or a combination thereof, of at least one additional electronic resource, information resource, electronic system, electronic tool, search engine, search agent, collaboration system, or social networking system, or a combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a composite or comparison result, or both, comprises at least one of composited questions, compared questions, composited topics, compared topics, composited analyses, compared analyses, composited knowledge components, compared knowledge components, composited information components, compared information components, composited answers, compared answers, composited meaning statements, compared meaning statements, composited summary views, compared summary views, composited content, compared content, composited sources, compared sources, composited rankings, compared rankings, composited ratings, compared ratings, composited comments, compared comments, composited user profiles, compared user profiles, composited linkages, or compared linkages, or a combination thereof.

19. 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.

20. The system of claim 1 further comprising that a model component, specification, composite result, comparison result, 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.

3. A system for facilitating collaborative or cooperative user thinking and publishing about an arbitrary problem for groups or multiple users, comprising:

an interface;

a processor manager system operable to execute on one or more processors to accomplish activities comprising;

facilitating user specification of at least one user model regarding an arbitrary problem using an archetype process or archetype structure for exemplary problem solving, or both;

identifying at least one other at least one component of a user model or specification regarding a problem;

compositing or comparing or both, at least a subset of a first user model and at least a subset of a second at least one component of a user model or specification;

displaying or outputting or both, results of said compositing or comparing, or both.

22. The system of claim 3 further comprising the enabling of subdividing or partitioning, or both, at least one user model, user model component, specification, compositing result, or comparing result, or a combination thereof.

23. The system of claim 3 further comprising identifying at least one related user, additional related user model, related specification, or related content or a combination thereof.

24. The system of claim 3 further comprising evaluation relative to an archetype structure or archetype process for exemplary problem solving, or both.

25. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one suggestion, comprising at least one suggested next step, suggested model or specification component, suggested edit, suggested linkage, suggested reclustering or regrouping of components, suggested content, suggested view, suggested workspace, suggested source, automatically created linkage, automatically created model or specification component, automatically edited specification or model component, or communication to additional target information source or search engine or agent, or a combination thereof.

26. The system of claim 3 further comprising compositing or comparing, or both, the results of a suggestion, or compositing or comparing, or both, at least a subset of at least one user model, user model component, related content or specification related to at least one identified related user, or a combination thereof.

27. The system of claim 3 further comprising enabling at least one of ranking, rating, criteria setting, criteria use, commenting, annotating, or notes addition, or a combination thereof, relative to at least one source, model or specification, model or specification component, conclusion, answer, knowledge component, or related content, or a combination thereof.

28. The system of claim 3 further comprising that a compositing or comparing, or both, is related to at least one of an archetype structure for exemplary problem solving, an archetype process for exemplary problem solving, user models, user specifications, linkages, content relationships, user profiles, user event history, archetype process history, archetype structure history, sources history, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, or suggestions, or a combination thereof.

29. The system of claim 3 further comprising the use, monitoring, tracking, recording, or output of, or a combination thereof, of user event history, user models, specifications, archetype process history, archetype structure history, linkages, user profiles, related content history, sources, sources history, suggestion history, model or specification snapshots, model or specification stages, references to or requests from external resources or tools, user criteria use, user ranking, user rating, user commenting, workspace or display histories, output, or output history, or a combination thereof.

30. The system of claim 3 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 models, specifications, user events, system events, suggestions history, related content history, sources history, user ratings, user rankings, user commenting, user profiles, or linkages, or a combination thereof.

31. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one of a project plan, to do list, assignment, or project template, or a combination thereof.

32. The system of claim 3 further comprising enabling multi-user dialogue or communication, or both, or the use of additional tools for user dialogue or communication, or a combination thereof.

33. The system of claim 3 further comprising instructions for facilitating workspaces for formal, informal, collaborating, collaborative authoring, social networking, or cooperating teams or groups.

34. The system of claim 3 further comprising that a user model comprises at least one problem, topic, question, answer, conclusion, summary view, meaning statement, knowledge component, analysis, linkages, or information component, or a combination thereof.

35. The system of claim 3 further comprising the use of, reference or association or link to, output to, or acceptance of request or input from, or a combination thereof, of at least one additional electronic resource, information resource, electronic system, electronic tool, search engine, search agent, collaboration system, or social networking system, or a combination thereof.

36. The system of claim 3 further comprising that a composite or comparison result, or both, comprises at least one of composited questions, compared questions, composited topics, compared topics, composited analyses, compared analyses, composited knowledge components, compared knowledge components, composited information components, compared information components, composited answers, compared answers, composited meaning statements, compared meaning statements, composited summary views, compared summary views, composited content, compared content, composited sources, compared sources, composited rankings, compared rankings, composited ratings, compared ratings, composited comments, compared comments, composited user profiles, compared user profiles, composited linkages, or compared linkages, or a combination thereof.

37. The system of claim 3 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.

38. The system of claim 3 further comprising that a model component, specification, composite result, comparison result, 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.

39. The system of claim 3 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.

40. The system of claim 3 further comprising at least one computer readable medium, computer readable device, memory, processor, web service, or electronic device, or a combination thereof.

41. A system for facilitating collaborative or cooperative user thinking and publishing about an arbitrary problem for groups or multiple users, comprising:

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

instructions to identify at least one user model regarding a problem;

instructions to identify at least one other at least one component of a user model or specification, or both, regarding a problem;

instructions to evaluate at least one of the identified user model or the identified at least one component of a user model or specification, or a combination thereof, relative to an archetype process or archetype structure for exemplary problem solving, or both;

instructions to composite or compare, or both, at least a subset of a first user model and at least a subset of a second at least one component of a user model or specification, or both;

instructions to display or output or both, results of said composite or compare, or both.

42. The system of claim 41 further comprising at least one processor, client processor, server processor, web service, memory, electronic device, or storage device, or a combination thereof.

43. The system of claim 41 further comprising instructions to identify at least one related user, related user model, related content or specification, or instructions to identify a user model, related content or specification related to an identified related user, or a combination thereof.

44. A system for facilitating collaborative or cooperative user thinking and publishing about an arbitrary problem for groups or multiple users, comprising:

an interface;

a processor manager system operable to execute on one or more processors to accomplish activities comprising;

identifying at least one user model regarding a problem;

identifying at least one other at least one component of a user model or specification, or both, regarding a problem;

evaluating at least one of the identified user model or identified at least one component of a user model or specification, or combination thereof, relative to an archetype process or archetype structure for exemplary problem solving, or both;

compositing or comparing, or both, at least a subset of a first user model and at least a subset of a second at least one component of a user model or specification, or both;

displaying or outputting or both, results of said compositing or comparing, or both.

45. The system of claim 44 further comprising at least one processor, client processor, server processor, web service, memory, electronic device, or storage device, or a combination thereof.

46. The system of claim 44 further comprising identifying at least one related user, related user model, related content or specification, or identifying a user model, related content or specification related to an additionally related user, or a combination thereof.