System and method for defining, refining, and personalizing communications policies in a notification platform

• US 7,603,427 B1
• Filed: 12/12/2005
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Horvitz, Eric J., Kadie, Carl M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lin; Kenny S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chang; Julian
• Application Number:
  US11/299,512
• Time in Patent Office: 1,401 Days
• Field of Search: 709/207
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/922 Communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

A system and method is provided for personalizing and refining policies within a general notification platform. The system includes a profile definition and selection system that receives contextual information relating to a user state. The profile definition and selection system generates and/or relays a set of control parameters based at least partially upon the contextual information, and a notification manager selectively sends a user notification and/or communication based upon the set of control parameters. Methods are provided for tuning the notification platform. This may include defining one or more context profiles, assigning values to parameters employed in one or more context profiles, determining a current user context, determining which of the one or more user profiles is consistent with the current user context, and utilizing the parameter value associated with the one or more context profiles consistent with the current user context to adjust the notification system.

Claims

1. A tunable system to deliver communications, comprising;

a processor configured to execute computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions including instructions for;

storing a policy relating to delivering a series of communications to a user, the policy including a set of parameters initialized to facilitate delivering the series of communications at a default frequency;

tuning the policy according to a contextual profile selected from a plurality of contextual profiles, each of the plurality of contextual profiles associated with a scalar; and

matching a state of the user to a contextual profile that does not contradict the state, wherein the tunable system is configured to throttle the default frequency as a function of the scalar associated with the matched contextual profile.

2. The tunable system of claim 1, wherein the default frequency is throttled based at least in part on a net expected value of each communication.

3. The tunable system of claim 2, wherein the net expected value is determined according to at least one of a transmission reliability of an available sink, an attentional cost of disturbing the user, a novelty of the communication to the user, a time until the user will review the communication, a context-sensitive value of the communication, or a value over time of the communication.

4. The tunable system of claim 1, wherein the default frequency is throttled based at least in part on a cost of deferring each communication.

5. The tunable system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions for inferring uncertainties about the state to determine the state.

6. The tunable system of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to execute instructions for inferring the uncertainties using a statistical model.

7. The tunable system of claim 1, wherein the default frequency is throttled based at least in part on feedback received from the user.

8. A method for transmitting notifications, comprising;

employing a processor to execute computer executable instructions stored on a computer readable storage medium to implement the following acts;

specifying a set of rules, the rules initialized to facilitate transmitting a series of notifications at an initial frequency;

tuning the set of rules according to a contextual profile selected from a plurality of contextual profiles, each of the plurality of contextual profiles having a corresponding scalar;

determining a current user context; and

selectively transmitting the series of notifications to the user at a throttled frequency based at least in part on the current user context and at least one contextual profile consistent with the current user context, the throttled frequency being a function of the initial frequency and the scalar corresponding to the at least one contextual profile consistent with the current user context.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the determining the current user context act further comprises inferring uncertainties about the current user context.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising providing a set of predetermined profiles to the user, the specifying act comprising initializing the set of rules according to a predetermined profile selected by the user.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising providing a survey of questions to the user, the specifying act comprising initializing the set of rules according to a set of answers to the survey provided by the user.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising receiving an assessment from the user regarding the throttled frequency, the tuning act comprising adjusting at least one corresponding scalar according to the assessment.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising generating an estimated frequency of notifications, the estimated frequency of notifications corresponding to a particular contextual profile having a particular corresponding scalar.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising logging a history of notifications for the user, the generating act comprising ascertaining the estimated frequency of notifications based at least in part on the history.

15. A computer readable storage medium for personalizing a notification system, comprising:

a memory component configured to store computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions including instructions for performing the following acts;

maintaining a user profile including a set of rules for transmitting a series of notifications to a user under any of a plurality of user contexts at a desired frequency;

assigning a scalar to each of a plurality of contextual profiles, each of the plurality of contextual profiles corresponding to a particular user context; and

throttling the desired frequency according to a selected contextual profile, the selected contextual profile consistent with a current user context, the desired frequency adjusted as a function of the scalar corresponding to the selected contextual profile.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions for inferring the current user context.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the throttling instructions further comprising instructions for receiving an input from the user regarding performance of the desired frequency, the desired frequency further adjusted according to the input.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the throttling instructions further comprising instructions for ascertaining the selected contextual profile when a plurality of contextual profiles are consistent with the current user context.

19. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the selected contextual profile ascertained according to a level of specificity corresponding to each contextual profile.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 18, the selected contextual profile ascertained according to a temporal order for identifying the plurality of contextual profiles consistent with the current user context.