System and method for inferring reporting relationships from a contact database
First Claim
1. A method for inferring reporting relationships in an organization from contact information, the contact information stored as a plurality of contact records in a database system, each contact record having a defined set of entities, including at least a name, a title, and an organization name, comprising:
- selecting, by the database system, an organization name;
identifying, by the database system, a plurality of contact records having the selected organization name;
assigning, by the database system, a rank to each of the identified contact records, the rank corresponding with a title on the corresponding contact record;
inferring, by the database system, a reporting relationship from a first contact associated with a rank to a second contact associated with a different rank, based on a probabilistic analysis calculating a confidence score associated with the reporting relationship between the first contact record and the second contact record of the identified contact records;
determining, by the database system, whether the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds a confidence threshold; and
storing, by the database system, the reporting relationship in at least one of metadata associated with the identified contact records and a field associated with the identified contact records in response to a determination that the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds the confidence threshold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for inferring reporting relationships from contact records. Contact records from a single company are identified, and each record is ranked based on the title. A probabilistic analysis is used to compare the number of contacts on the current level with the number of contacts on a lower level, and make a guess as to reporting relationships between contacts on the different levels. If a confidence score of a guessed reporting relationship is high enough, the reporting relationship is accepted, and contact records updated.
152 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for inferring reporting relationships in an organization from contact information, the contact information stored as a plurality of contact records in a database system, each contact record having a defined set of entities, including at least a name, a title, and an organization name, comprising:
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selecting, by the database system, an organization name; identifying, by the database system, a plurality of contact records having the selected organization name; assigning, by the database system, a rank to each of the identified contact records, the rank corresponding with a title on the corresponding contact record; inferring, by the database system, a reporting relationship from a first contact associated with a rank to a second contact associated with a different rank, based on a probabilistic analysis calculating a confidence score associated with the reporting relationship between the first contact record and the second contact record of the identified contact records; determining, by the database system, whether the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds a confidence threshold; and storing, by the database system, the reporting relationship in at least one of metadata associated with the identified contact records and a field associated with the identified contact records in response to a determination that the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds the confidence threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with instructions for inferring reporting relationships in an organization from contact information, the contact information stored as a plurality of contact records in a database system, each contact record having a defined set of entities, including at least a name, a title, and an organization name, the instructions when executed by a processor cause the processor to carry out the steps of:
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selecting, with the database system, an organization name; identifying a plurality of contact records in the database system having the selected organization name; assigning, by the database system, a rank to each of the identified contact records, the rank corresponding with a title on the corresponding contact record; and inferring, by the database system, a reporting relationship from a first contact associated with a rank to a second contact associated with a different rank, based on a probabilistic analysis calculating a confidence score associated with the reporting relationship between the first contact record and the second contact record of the identified contact records; determining whether the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds a confidence threshold; and storing the reporting relationship in at least one of metadata associated with the identified contact records and a field associated with the identified contact records in response to a determination that the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds the confidence threshold. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for inferring reporting relationships in an organization from contact information, the contact information stored as a plurality of contact records in a database system, each contact record having a defined set of entities, including at least a name, a title, and an organization name, comprising:
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a processor; and one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of; selecting, with the database system, an organization name; identifying a plurality of contact records in the database system having the selected organization name; assigning, by the database system, a rank to each of the identified contact records, the rank corresponding with a title on the corresponding contact record; and inferring, by the database system, a reporting relationship from a first contact associated with a rank to a second contact associated with a different rank, based on a probabilistic analysis calculating a confidence score associated with the reporting relationship between the first contact record and the second contact record of the identified contact records; determining whether the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds a confidence threshold; and storing the reporting relationship in at least one of metadata associated with the identified contact records and a field associated with the identified contact records in response to a determination that the confidence score associated with the reporting relationship exceeds the confidence threshold.
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Specification