Cost consultation, communication and interaction system

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of cost consultation, in particular to a cost consultation communication interaction system, which comprises an interaction access module used for receiving and structuring a user consultation request; the consultation engine module is used for analyzing request semantics and generating a retrieval instruction; the knowledge base module is used for storing and providing project data, market prices, specifications and case knowledge; the collaborative management module is used for creating and managing a traceable collaborative work order according to the consultation request; the output support module is used for automatically generating a report and recording an audit log; according to the method, intelligent analysis of the consultation request, structured knowledge matching and collaborative process management are organically integrated, so that the whole process of the consultation process is online, standardized and traceable, the problems of information fragmentation and difficulty in experience precipitation in traditional services are effectively solved, and the efficiency, accuracy and knowledge reuse level of cost consultation are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of cost consulting technology, and in particular to a cost consulting communication and interaction system. Background Technology

[0002] In the engineering cost consulting industry, traditional consulting service models rely heavily on the personal experience of consultants, and communication methods are fragmented. Consultants typically raise complex questions involving quotas, prices, and quantities through email, instant messaging tools, or offline meetings.

[0003] Key information generated during the consultation process, such as the background of the problem, the discussion process, references, and the final conclusions, is scattered and stored across different communication channels, personal documents, and email correspondence. This fragmented state of information and communication records contributes to the problem.

[0004] This makes it difficult to trace the consultation process, and experience and knowledge cannot be effectively accumulated and reused. This not only affects the efficiency and accuracy of solving individual consultation requests, but also restricts the systematic improvement of the overall service capabilities of consulting agencies. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a cost consulting communication and interaction system that solves the problems of difficulty in tracing the process, and difficulty in accumulating and efficiently reusing knowledge caused by information fragmentation in traditional cost consulting services.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a cost consulting communication and interaction system, including an interactive access module, a consulting engine module, a knowledge base module, a collaborative management module, and an output support module. The consulting engine module is connected to the interactive access module, the knowledge base module is connected to the consulting engine module, the collaborative management module is connected to both the interactive access module and the consulting engine module, and the output support module is connected to both the collaborative management module and the knowledge base module. The interactive access module is used to receive consultation requests submitted by users via text, voice or files, and to collect structured question information through templates or Q&A guidance. The consultation engine module is used to perform semantic parsing and intent recognition on the question information, and generate information retrieval instructions based on the parsing results; The knowledge base module is used to store project data, market prices, specifications and cases, and responds to the search command by returning the matching results to the consulting engine module; The collaborative management module is used to create and manage assignable and traceable collaborative work orders based on the problem information and analysis results when the consultation engine module determines that manual intervention or multi-party collaborative processing is required. The output support module is used to generate consultation reports and record audit logs of system operations and interactions.

[0007] The interactive access module includes: The access gateway unit is used to verify and process access requests from different clients; The interactive processing unit is used to receive and preprocess multimedia consultation input submitted by users; The guidance unit is used to present consultation templates or initiate serialized questions and answers to guide users to complete the structured parameters.

[0008] The interactive access module further includes: The communication unit is used to establish audio and video call or real-time text conversation channels between users and experts.

[0009] The consultation engine module includes: The semantic understanding unit is used for word segmentation, entity recognition, and intent classification of textual information. The context management unit is used to maintain the context information of the current consultation session and associate it with historical dialogues and project background; The recommendation unit is used to retrieve and sort matching reference information from the knowledge base module based on the identified intent and entity, combined with the context.

[0010] The knowledge base module includes: The price database unit is used to store and update market price information for materials, equipment, and labor. The case library unit is used to store structured historical consulting cases, which include questions, solutions, and reference data. The knowledge extraction unit, connected to the case library unit, is used to analyze completed consultation sessions, extract key information, and generate new cases to be stored in the case library unit.

[0011] The knowledge base module further includes: The project library unit is used to store and manage related contracts, drawings, lists, and change orders data by project. The quota library unit is used to store pricing specifications and engineering quota items and their calculation rules.

[0012] The collaborative management module includes: The work order management unit is used to create and assign collaborative work orders based on the type of consultation, complexity, or designated experts. Collaboration units are used to provide integrated discussion, file sharing, and opinion signing functions for multiple participants under a single work order.

[0013] This invention discloses a cost consulting communication and interaction system. After a user submits a consultation request through a unified portal, the system first collects structured question information through guided interaction. Then, an intelligent engine performs semantic analysis and matches relevant evidence from a knowledge base. For complex questions, a collaborative work order is created to organize online collaboration among multiple parties. Finally, a report is automatically generated and the entire process is recorded. The beneficial effect of this invention is that it solves the fundamental drawbacks of traditional cost consulting services, such as the difficulty in tracing processes and the inability to accumulate and reuse experience and knowledge due to the fragmentation of information and communication records. By integrating the entire consultation process into a structured digital work order, it ensures the complete aggregation and automatic recording of all information from question submission, intelligent analysis, multi-party collaboration to conclusion generation, thus achieving process traceability. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the cost consulting communication and interaction system of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of the interactive access module of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the consultation engine module of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the collaborative management module of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the output support module of the present invention.

[0020] In the diagram: 101-Interactive Access Module, 102-Consultation Engine Module, 103-Knowledge Base Module, 104-Collaboration Management Module, 105-Output Support Module, 106-Access Gateway Unit, 107-Interactive Processing Unit, 108-Guidance Unit, 109-Communication Unit, 110-Semantic Understanding Unit, 111-Context Management Unit, 112-Recommendation Unit, 113-Price Library Unit, 114-Case Library Unit, 115-Knowledge Extraction Unit, 116-Project Library Unit, 117-Quota Library Unit, 118-Work Order Management Unit, 119-Collaboration Unit, 120-Progress Kanban Unit, 121-Report Generation Unit, 122-Audit Unit, 123-Access Control Unit. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0022] Please see Figures 1 to 5 ,in Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the cost consulting communication and interaction system. Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of the interactive access module. Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the consultation engine module. Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the collaborative management module. Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the output support module.

[0023] This invention provides a cost consulting communication and interaction system, including an interactive access module 101, a consulting engine module 102, a knowledge base module 103, a collaborative management module 104, and an output support module 105. The consulting engine module 102 is connected to the interactive access module 101, the knowledge base module 103 is connected to the consulting engine module 102, the collaborative management module 104 is connected to both the interactive access module 101 and the consulting engine module 102, and the output support module 105 is connected to both the collaborative management module 104 and the knowledge base module 103. The interactive access module 101 is used to receive consultation requests submitted by users via text, voice or files, and to collect structured question information through templates or Q&A guidance. The consultation engine module 102 is used to perform semantic analysis and intent recognition on the question information, and generate information retrieval instructions based on the analysis results; The knowledge base module 103 is used to store project data, market prices, specifications and cases, and responds to the search command by returning the matching results to the consulting engine module 102; The collaborative management module 104 is used to create and manage assignable and traceable collaborative work orders based on the problem information and analysis results when the consultation engine module 102 determines that manual intervention or multi-party collaborative processing is required. The output support module 105 is used to generate consultation reports and record audit logs of system operations and interactions.

[0024] In this embodiment, the user submits an initial consultation request through the interface provided by the interactive access module 101. This module guides the user to supplement key parameters using a pre-set standardized template or interactive question-and-answer sequence, transforming the vague consultation request into a structured question information containing clear problem points, relevant project background, and specific data indicators. This structured information is then transmitted to the consultation engine module 102. Upon receiving the information, the consultation engine module 102 analyzes the text content to identify the user's core consultation intent and extract key technical and business entities. Based on this analysis result, it constructs a specific information retrieval instruction, which is sent to the knowledge base module 103. Upon receiving the retrieval instruction, the knowledge base module 103 performs concurrent retrieval and matching within its integrated database (including project data, market prices, standards and regulations, and historical cases). The matching result data set is returned. For simple inquiries that can be answered directly, the results can be processed by the engine and directly fed back to the user. For complex inquiries that require further processing, the collaborative management module 104 creates a collaborative work order with a unique identifier, assignable responsibility, and traceable status based on the aforementioned question information or the engine's analysis conclusion, to carry out subsequent professional processing and collaboration processes. After the entire consultation activity is completed, the output support module 105 generates a formal consultation report or result document in a format based on the final conclusions and process data accumulated in the work order in the collaborative management module 104. At the same time, a series of key operations and interaction events from request access, engine processing, knowledge retrieval, work order collaboration to report generation are automatically logged and saved by the output support module 105, thereby realizing the digital management and traceability of this consultation business.

[0025] Specifically, the interactive access module 101 includes: Access gateway unit 106 is used to verify and process access requests from different clients; The interactive processing unit 107 is used to receive and preprocess multimedia consultation input submitted by the user; The guidance unit 108 is used to present a consultation template to the user or initiate a serialized question and answer session to guide the user to complete the structured parameters.

[0026] Furthermore, the interactive access module 101 also includes: Communication unit 109 is used to establish an audio / video call or real-time text conversation channel between the user and the expert.

[0027] In this embodiment, when a user attempts to initiate a consultation, the access gateway unit 106 first receives an access request from a web client, mobile application, or third-party system API, verifies the identity and security of the request source, and routes the legitimate request to the subsequent processing unit. Then, the interaction processing unit 107 receives the original consultation input submitted by the user through the front-end interface: for text input, it performs encoding conversion and basic cleaning; for voice input, it calls a speech recognition engine to convert it into text; for uploaded images or document files (such as paper screenshots or contract paragraphs), it activates optical character recognition or document parsing services to extract the text information, thereby uniformly converting multimedia input into processable text data. The preliminarily processed text is then passed to the guidance unit 108. The guidance unit 108, based on the preliminarily identified problem area (e.g., "steel reinforcement price," "roof waterproofing quota"), calls the corresponding structured information collection template from the template library. The form presents required and optional fields; or, it initiates a dynamic, rule-based question-and-answer sequence, engaging the user in multiple rounds of interaction through a series of preset questions. Whether through form filling or question-and-answer interaction, the purpose is to guide the user to clarify and supplement key parameters, such as project stage, specific material specifications, relevant drawing numbers, quantitative descriptions of questions, etc., ultimately integrating discrete information into a structured question information with a unified format and complete elements. For scenarios requiring immediate and in-depth communication, the interaction access module 101 can also call the communication unit 109 to establish a low-latency audio / video call or real-time text conversation channel between the user and the cost expert designated by the system. At this time, the guidance unit 108 can provide the expert with the previously collected structured information as the conversation background, thereby improving the relevance of real-time communication. Finally, the structured question information generated by the guidance unit 108 is encapsulated into standardized data objects and output to the consultation engine module 102 for subsequent processing.

[0028] Specifically, the consultation engine module 102 includes: The semantic understanding unit 110 is used to perform word segmentation, entity recognition, and intent classification on text consultation information; The context management unit 111 is used to maintain the context information of the current consultation session and associate it with historical dialogues and project background. Recommendation unit 112 is used to retrieve and sort matching reference information from the knowledge base module 103 based on the identified intent and entity and in conjunction with the context.

[0029] In this embodiment, the structured question information output by the interactive access module 101 is first transmitted to the semantic understanding unit 110. The semantic understanding unit 110 performs automatic word segmentation on the input text information, and then uses a pre-trained word vector model or professional dictionary to identify and label key business entities in the text, such as specific building material names, model specifications, quota sub-item codes, and engineering quantity calculation units. At the same time, the unit uses an intent classification model (such as a neural network based on an attention mechanism) to determine the user's deeper consultation intent, such as classifying it into categories such as "material price inquiry," "quota applicability confirmation," "engineering quantity calculation rule consultation," or "cost dispute analysis." The context management unit 111 is activated upon session initiation. It creates and maintains a dynamic context session object for the consultation. When new question information is received, the context management unit 111 actively associates the user's or project's previous consultation records and related project basic data (such as contract type and construction phase), and integrates this background information with the current question. This provides rich background dimensions for semantic understanding and subsequent recommendations, ensuring the continuity and relevance of the processing. The recommendation unit 112 receives entities and intent tags from the semantic understanding unit 110 and enhanced context information from the context management unit 111, and constructs a precise multi-dimensional query request by combining these elements. After being formatted, this request is sent to the knowledge base module 103 as an information retrieval instruction. When the knowledge base module 103 returns a set of matching candidate information (such as multiple price items or multiple similar cases), the recommendation unit 112 performs secondary calculations and sorting based on preset weights such as semantic relevance to the current question and context, data timeliness, and source authority, generating a priority-defined list of recommended reference information. For simple inquiries with complete information and readily available conclusions, this recommended list, after formatting, can be directly fed back to the user via the interactive access module 101, completing a quick consultation. If the problem is complex, involves multiple possibilities, or requires professional human judgment, the comprehensive analysis conclusion of the consultation engine module 102 (including clear intent, key entities, enhanced context, and preliminary recommendation knowledge) will be transmitted as key input parameters to the collaborative management module 104, triggering the creation of a collaborative work order to initiate subsequent manual processing and multi-party collaboration, thereby achieving a seamless transition from automated intelligent analysis to in-depth manual processing.

[0030] Specifically, the knowledge base module 103 includes: Price database unit 113 is used to store and update market price information for materials, equipment, and labor; Case Library Unit 114 is used to store structured historical consulting cases, which include problems, solutions and reference data. The knowledge extraction unit 115 is connected to the case library unit 114 and is used to analyze completed consultation sessions, extract key information, generate new cases, and store them in the case library unit 114.

[0031] Furthermore, the knowledge base module 103 also includes: Project Library Unit 116 is used to store and manage related contracts, drawings, lists, and change orders data by project. Unit 117 is used to store pricing specifications and engineering quota items and their calculation rules.

[0032] In this embodiment, after receiving a retrieval instruction from the consulting engine module 102, the knowledge base module 103's internal price database unit 113, case database unit 114, project database unit 116, and quota database unit 117 are invoked in parallel to perform the retrieval. The price database unit 113 matches the latest market price data based on the entity information in the instruction; the case database unit 114 performs similarity calculations based on intent and entities to retrieve the most relevant historical cases; the project database unit 116 extracts structured data of relevant projects; and the quota database unit 117 retrieves applicable pricing specifications and quota sub-items. The results returned by each unit are summarized and integrated into a multi-dimensional knowledge reference package and returned to the consulting engine module 102. Simultaneously, the knowledge extraction unit 115 in the knowledge base module 103 runs independently in the background. When a consulting work order closure is detected, it automatically retrieves the complete record of the work order, extracts the core issues, solutions, and key evidence using natural language processing technology, generates structured summaries and tags, and constructs a new case record, storing it in the case database unit 114.

[0033] Specifically, the collaborative management module 104 includes: Work order management unit 118 is used to create and assign collaborative work orders based on consultation type, complexity, or designated experts; Collaboration Unit 119 is used to provide integrated discussion, file sharing, and opinion signing functions for multiple participants under a single work order.

[0034] Furthermore, the collaborative management module 104 also includes: The progress dashboard unit 120 is used to display a list of work orders in different statuses, the person in charge, and the progress in a visual view.

[0035] In this embodiment, when the consultation engine module 102 determines that the current consultation problem is complex and requires manual intervention or multi-party collaboration, its output comprehensive analysis conclusion (including intent, entities, context, and recommended knowledge) will be used as a trigger signal and core data input to the collaboration management module 104. The work order management unit 118 receives this input and automatically extracts key information (such as problem summary, involved projects, and urgency) to generate an initial collaboration work order with a unique number. This work order is automatically assigned to one or more designated cost experts according to a preset rule base (e.g., matching expert expertise by consultation type, associating responsible consultants by project, or specifying review processes by complexity), and the work order status is updated to "pending processing" simultaneously. The relevant responsible persons are also notified through system notification channels. Subsequently, the collaboration unit 119 provides a dedicated, closed collaborative workspace for the newly created work order. Assigned experts and other authorized or subsequently invited participants (such as representatives of the construction unit and contractor) can use this space for all subsequent interactions: they can initiate or participate in record-keeping discussions on work order issues, with discussion records automatically linked to speakers and timestamps; they can upload, download, preview online, or annotate drawings, documents, price source certificates, and other files related to the consultation issues; for key conclusions or points of contention, they can initiate formal countersigning processes, collecting written opinions or electronic signatures from all parties, with all countersigning statuses and results recorded. During this process, the progress dashboard unit 120 runs continuously. It obtains the status data of all work orders (such as pending, processing, countersigning, and completed) from the system backend in real time, and dynamically displays the list of work orders that the user is responsible for or is concerned about, the current handler, the time spent in each stage, and the final deadline on the visualization dashboard in the form of lists, cards, or Gantt charts, according to the user's role and permissions. This provides a global progress view for all participants and ensures that the processing process is transparent and controllable. When all collaborative tasks in the work order are completed, the problem is solved, and the conclusion is confirmed, the work order management unit 118 updates the work order status to "closed loop". This status signal, along with all the structured process data and final conclusion accumulated in the work order, is synchronized to the output support module 105 to trigger report generation and final archiving.

[0036] Specifically, the output support module 105 includes: The report generation unit 121 is used to generate consultation reports or letters by calling templates based on the parameters and conclusions confirmed in the work order. Audit unit 122 is used to record the login, operation and data access behavior logs of users in the system in chronological order; The access control unit 123 is used to control a user's access and operation permissions to data, functions, and work orders based on the user's role, affiliated unit, and project association.

[0037] In this embodiment, when the work order management unit 118 in the collaborative management module 104 updates the work order status to "closed loop", the report generation unit 121 receives all structured data of the closed loop work order from the collaborative management module 104, including but not limited to the confirmed problem description, the adopted market price data, the referenced quota specification clauses, the key conclusions in multiple rounds of discussion, the signing results, and the final review opinion; the unit calls the pre-set corresponding report template that conforms to the industry standard format according to the consultation type (such as inquiry, quantity verification, dispute resolution), automatically fills the received structured data into the corresponding fields of the template, performs logical verification and typesetting, and finally generates a formal consultation report or letter with a standard format and complete content with one click, which can be previewed online, downloaded or sent directly.

[0038] During system operation, the audit unit 122 automatically captures and encrypts all key events occurring within the system in chronological order: including every user login and logout, access to any functional module, every consultation request submission in the interactive access module 101, every parsing and retrieval in the consultation engine module 102, every data access in the knowledge base module 103, every work order status change and operation in the collaborative management module 104, and every report generation in the output support module 105. All these events are recorded for their operation time, executor identity, operation object, and operation result, forming a complete and tamper-proof audit trail chain.

[0039] The access control unit 123 operates on predefined or administrator-configured access policies. These policies are dynamically calculated based on the user's role (e.g., ordinary user, consultant, project manager, system administrator), organizational unit, and association with a specific project. Whenever a user attempts to perform an operation (e.g., viewing project data, accessing a work order, retrieving price information, or generating a report), this unit performs real-time access verification. Only when the user's permissions meet the minimum set required for the operation is the operation request allowed and forwarded to the appropriate module. Otherwise, the request is blocked and recorded as an illegal access attempt, sent to the audit unit 122. This achieves fine-grained access control at both the data and functional layers, ensuring system information security and business process compliance.

[0040] The above-disclosed embodiments are merely one or more preferred embodiments of this application and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this application. Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the processes for implementing the above embodiments and equivalent changes made in accordance with the claims of this application still fall within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A cost consulting communication and interactive system, characterized in that, It includes an interactive access module, a consultation engine module, a knowledge base module, a collaborative management module, and an output support module. The consultation engine module is connected to the interactive access module, the knowledge base module is connected to the consultation engine module, the collaborative management module is connected to both the interactive access module and the consultation engine module, and the output support module is connected to both the collaborative management module and the knowledge base module. The interactive access module is used to receive consultation requests submitted by users via text, voice or files, and to collect structured question information through templates or Q&A guidance. The consultation engine module is used to perform semantic parsing and intent recognition on the question information, and generate information retrieval instructions based on the parsing results; The knowledge base module is used to store project data, market prices, specifications and cases, and responds to the search command by returning the matching results to the consulting engine module; The collaborative management module is used to create and manage assignable and traceable collaborative work orders based on the problem information and analysis results when the consultation engine module determines that manual intervention or multi-party collaborative processing is required. The output support module is used to generate consultation reports and record audit logs of system operations and interactions.

2. The cost consulting communication and interaction system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The interactive access module includes: The access gateway unit is used to verify and process access requests from different clients; The interactive processing unit is used to receive and preprocess multimedia consultation input submitted by users; The guidance unit is used to present consultation templates or initiate serialized questions and answers to guide users to complete the structured parameters.

3. The cost consulting communication and interaction system as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The interactive access module also includes: The communication unit is used to establish audio and video call or real-time text conversation channels between users and experts.

4. The cost consulting communication and interaction system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The consultation engine module includes: The semantic understanding unit is used for word segmentation, entity recognition, and intent classification of textual information. The context management unit is used to maintain the context information of the current consultation session and associate it with historical dialogues and project background; The recommendation unit is used to retrieve and sort matching reference information from the knowledge base module based on the identified intent and entity, combined with the context.

5. The cost consulting communication and interaction system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The knowledge base module includes: The price database unit is used to store and update market price information for materials, equipment, and labor. The case library unit is used to store structured historical consulting cases, which include questions, solutions, and reference data. The knowledge extraction unit, connected to the case library unit, is used to analyze completed consultation sessions, extract key information, and generate new cases to be stored in the case library unit.

6. The cost consulting communication and interaction system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The knowledge base module also includes: The project library unit is used to store and manage related contracts, drawings, lists, and change orders data by project. The quota library unit is used to store pricing specifications and engineering quota items and their calculation rules.

7. The cost consulting communication and interaction system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The collaborative management module includes: The work order management unit is used to create and assign collaborative work orders based on the type of consultation, complexity, or designated experts. Collaboration units are used to provide integrated discussion, file sharing, and opinion signing functions for multiple participants under a single work order.

Images