Recommending data based on user and data attributes

• US 8,996,549 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2011
• Issued: 03/31/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Finnigan, James, Sivaramakrishnan, Hariharan, Bice, Anthony Nino
• Primary Examiner(s): Arjomandi, Noosha
• Application Number:
  US13/332,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20130091164A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: 707/769, 707/758
• US Class Current: 707/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation

Abstract

The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for recommending data based on user and data attributes. User information and accessed data sets are periodically (and possibly automatically) accessed and updated. Source attributes are derived from user information and accessed data sets. Target attributes are derived from data directories and data services. Source attributes for an accessed data set are used along target attributes for a data directory or data service to determine the desirability of data directory or data service as a source of data relevant to the accessed data set. The data directory and/or data service can be recommended as able to provide relevant data. Accordingly, recommend relevant data can be recommended to a user without the user having to expressly search for the relevant data or even know that the relevant data exists.

Claims

1. At a computer system including one or more processors, a method for recommending data related to a dataset used within a data processing application, the method comprising:

detecting that a user has accessed a dataset within the data processing application as part of performing a specified task;

deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset, the source attributes derived from one or more of user information for the user, and data information for the dataset;

identifying one or more target attributes relevant to one or more sets of target data directories or one or more target data services, the one or more sets of target data directories and the one or more target data services being separate from the accessed dataset;

matching the one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset with the one or more target attributes relevant to the one or more sets of target data directories or the one or more target data services, to determine the desirability of at least one of the one or more sets of target data directories or at least one of the one or more target data services as a source of relevant data for being incorporated into the accessed dataset, wherein matching the one or more source attributes with the one or more target attributes comprises submitting the one or more source attributes to a statistical system based on translation from a high-dimensional attribute space to a lower dimensional space; and

recommending the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service to the user, as able to be incorporated into the accessed dataset.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset comprises deriving source attributes from raw data included in the accessed dataset.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset comprises deriving source attributes from a set of aggregations of the accessed dataset.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset comprises deriving source attributes from one or more columns of the accessed dataset.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset comprises deriving source attributes from expressly entered user information.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset comprises deriving source attributes from extrapolated user information.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset comprises deriving source attributes from one or more of the user interface being used and the task being performed.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein matching the one or more source attributes with the one or more target attributes also comprises:

learning the expected rating of each combination in the lower dimensional space.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

submitting the expected rating of each combination in the lower dimensional space to a rule-based system; and

the rule based system operating over the one or more source attributes and the one or more target attributes to fix recommendations proposed by the statistical system, including one or more of adding recommendations, removing recommendations, and adjusting recommendations.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the rule based system operating over the one or more source attributes and the one or more target attributes to fix recommendations proposed by the statistical system comprises adding editorial recommendations to recommendations from the statistical system.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein matching the one or more source attributes with the one or more target attributes comprises identifying the at least one of the one or more sets of target data directories or the at least one of the one or more data services based on one or more of:

data type, semantic meaning, format, and domain coverage.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising indicating to the user how the recommended at least one set of target data directories or the recommended at least one data service can be used to integrate data into the accessed dataset.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein indicating to the user how the recommended at least one set of target data directories or the at least one data service can be used to integrate data into the accessed dataset comprises indicating that two columns of data provided by the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one data service are to be joined for inclusion in the accessed dataset.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein recommending the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service to the user comprises indicating how the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service is relevant to the dataset.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein recommending the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service to the user comprises indicating how the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service can be used to integrate data into the dataset.

16. A computer program product for use at a computer system, the computer system including a display device, the computer program product for implementing a method for recommending data related to a dataset used within a data processing application, the computer program product comprising one or more hardware storage devices having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the computer system to perform the method, including the following:

detect that a user has accessed a dataset within the data processing application as part of performing a specified task;

derive one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset, the source attributes derived from one or more of user information for the user and data information for the dataset;

identify one or more target attributes relevant to one or more sets of target data directories or one or more target data services, the one or more sets of target data directories and the one or more target data services being separate from the accessed dataset;

matching the one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset with the one or more target attributes relevant to the one or more sets of target data directories or the one or more target data services, to determine the desirability of at least one of the one or more sets of target data directories or at least one of the one or more target data services as a source of relevant data for being incorporated into the accessed dataset, wherein matching the one or more source attributes with the one or more target attributes comprises submitting the one or more source attributes to a statistical system based on translation from a high-dimensional attribute space to a lower dimensional space; and

recommend the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service to the user, as able to be incorporated into the accessed dataset.

17. The computer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to match the one or more source attributes with the one or more target attributes comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, also cause the computer system to:

learn the expected rating of each combination in the lower dimensional space.

18. The computer program product as recited in claim 17, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to:

submit the expected rating of each combination in the lower dimensional space to a rule-based system; and

operate over the one or more source attributes and the one or more target attributes to fix recommendations proposed by the statistical system, including one or more of adding recommendations, removing recommendations, and adjusting recommendations.

19. The computer program product as recited in claim 18, wherein computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to operate over the one or more source attributes and the one or more target attributes to fix recommendations proposed by the statistical system comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to add editorial recommendations to recommendations from the statistical system.

20. The computer program product as recited in claim 16, further comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to indicate to the user how the recommended at least one set of target data directories or the recommended at least one data service can be used to integrate data into the accessed dataset.

21. The computer program product as recited in claim 20, wherein computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to indicate to the user how the recommended at least one set of target data directories or the at least one data service can be used to integrate data into the accessed dataset comprise computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the computer system to indicate that two columns of data provided by the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one data service are to be joined for inclusion in the accessed dataset.

22. A computer system including:

one or more hardware processors; and

one or more computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the computer system to recommend data related to a dataset used within a data processing application, including the following;

detecting that the user has accessed a dataset within a data processing application as part of performing a specified task;

deriving one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset, the source attributes derived from one or more of the accessed user information, the accessed dataset, and environmental conditions associated with the data processing application;

identifying one or more target attributes relevant to one or more sets of target data directories or one or more target data services, the one or more sets of target data directories and the one or more target data services being separate from the accessed dataset;

matching the one or more source attributes relevant to the accessed dataset with the one or more target attributes relevant to one or more sets of target data directories or at least one of the one or more target data services, to determine the desirability of at least one of the one or more sets of target data directories or at least one of the one or more target data services as a source of relevant data for being incorporated into the accessed dataset, wherein matching the one or more source attributes with the one or more target attributes comprises submitting the one or more source attributes to a statistical system based on translation from a high-dimensional attribute space to a lower dimensional space; and

recommending the at least one set of target data directories or the at least one target data service to the user, as able to be incorporated into the accessed dataset.