Systems and methods for interactively analyzing communication chains based on messages
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer implemented method of analyzing messages, the method comprising:
- receiving a first user input, the first user input specifying a pool of messages to be analyzed, each message having metadata associated therewith, the metadata for each message identifying at least one sender and at least one recipient of that message;
receiving a second user input, the second user input identifying a sender of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a source and identifying a recipient of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a target;
in response to the first and second user input, directing an analysis module to identify one or more communication chains from the source to the target based on the pool of messages, wherein at least one of the communication chains is an indirect chain that includes at least one sender or recipient identified as an intermediary between the source and the target and wherein the analysis module identifies the communication chains by successively detecting communication chains with an increasing number of intermediaries up to a maximum number of intermediaries;
receiving, from the analysis module, a report indicating the communication chains that were identified; and
displaying the report.
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Abstract
A pool of messages, e.g., e-mails and/or other electronic documents that each correspond to a communication from a sender to a recipient, is analyzed to identify communication chains between a source and a target. Sender and recipient identifiers extracted from the messages are used to detect direct and indirect communication links between pairs of entities. Information related to the identified communication chains can be presented to a user via an interactive network graph that supports iterative analysis of the communication-chain data.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A computer implemented method of analyzing messages, the method comprising:
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receiving a first user input, the first user input specifying a pool of messages to be analyzed, each message having metadata associated therewith, the metadata for each message identifying at least one sender and at least one recipient of that message; receiving a second user input, the second user input identifying a sender of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a source and identifying a recipient of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a target; in response to the first and second user input, directing an analysis module to identify one or more communication chains from the source to the target based on the pool of messages, wherein at least one of the communication chains is an indirect chain that includes at least one sender or recipient identified as an intermediary between the source and the target and wherein the analysis module identifies the communication chains by successively detecting communication chains with an increasing number of intermediaries up to a maximum number of intermediaries; receiving, from the analysis module, a report indicating the communication chains that were identified; and displaying the report. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for analyzing messages, the system comprising:
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a user input device; a display subsystem; and a processor communicatively coupled to the user input device and the display subsystem, the processor including a user input module, a communication module, and an output module, the user input module being configured to receive user input from the user input device, the user input including a first user input specifying a pool of messages to be analyzed, wherein each message has metadata associated therewith, the metadata for each message identifying at least one sender and at least one recipient of that message; the user input module being further configured to receive a second user input identifying a sender of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a source and identifying a recipient of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a target; the communication module being configured to communicate first and second input data corresponding to the first and second user input to an analysis module, to direct the analysis module to identify one or more communication chains from the source to the target based on the pool of messages, wherein at least one of the communication chains is an indirect chain that includes at least one sender or recipient identified as an intermediary between the source and the target and wherein the analysis module identifies the communication chains by successively detecting communication chains with an increasing number of intermediaries up to a maximum number of intermediaries, and to receive from the analysis module a report indicating the communication chains that were identified; and the output module being configured to display the report to a user via the display subsystem. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A computer implemented method of analyzing messages, the method comprising:
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receiving a first user input, the first user input specifying a pool of messages to be analyzed, each message having metadata associated therewith, the metadata for each message identifying at least one sender and at least one recipient of that message; receiving a second user input, the second user input identifying a sender of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a source and identifying a recipient of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a target; in response to the first and second user input, directing an analysis module to identify one or more communication chains from the source to the target based on the pool of messages, wherein at least one of the communication chains is an indirect chain that includes at least one sender or recipient identified as an intermediary between the source and the target and wherein the analysis module identifies the communication chains by; extending a first possible message path one link forward from the sender, thereby defining an intermediate sender set, or extending a second possible message path one link backward from the recipient, thereby defining an intermediate recipient set; after extending one of the first or second possible message paths, detecting an overlap between one or more entities in the intermediate sender set and one or more entities in the intermediate recipient set, wherein a communication chain is completed in the event that the overlap is found; and repeating the extending and detecting until a maximum communication chain length is reached; receiving, from the analysis module, a report indicating the communication chains that were identified; and displaying the report.
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24. A system for analyzing messages, the system comprising:
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a user input device; a display subsystem; and a processor communicatively coupled to the user input device and the display subsystem, the processor including a user input module, a communication module, and an output module, the user input module being configured to receive user input from the user input device, the user input including a first user input specifying a pool of messages to be analyzed, wherein each message has metadata associated therewith, the metadata for each message identifying at least one sender and at least one recipient of that message; the user input module being further configured to receive a second user input identifying a sender of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a source and identifying a recipient of at least one of the messages in the pool of messages as a target; the communication module being configured to communicate first and second input data corresponding to the first and second user input to an analysis module, to direct the analysis module to identify one or more communication chains from the source to the target based on the pool of messages, wherein at least one of the communication chains is an indirect chain that includes at least one sender or recipient identified as an intermediary between the source and the target and wherein the analysis module identifies the communication chains by; extending a first possible message path one link forward from the sender, thereby defining an intermediate sender set, or extending a second possible message path one link backward from the recipient, thereby defining an intermediate recipient set; after extending one of the first or second possible message paths, detecting an overlap between one or more entities in the intermediate sender set and one or more entities in the intermediate recipient set, wherein a communication chain is completed in the event that the overlap is found; and repeating the extending and detecting until a maximum communication chain length is reached; and the output module being configured to display the report to a user via the display subsystem.
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Specification