Collaborative Problem Investigation System with Visual Timeline
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for collaborative problem investigation in complex systems are inefficient due to lack of real-time coordination and knowledge reuse, particularly in distributed teams, leading to delayed resolutions and ineffective handovers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for collaborative evidence-based problem investigation using a symptoms table, cause-effect UI, and cause-tree/fishbone diagrams that allow concurrent updates and visualization, facilitating real-time collaboration and prescriptive recommendations for future issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If text-based emails and chats are used for coordination amongst distributed teams, then communication can be maintained, but the linear text-based updates become very long and convoluted, requiring much time and effort to read and interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms linear text-based communication into a two-dimensional visual timeline that displays events, actions, and updates in a chronological sequence with graphical representations. This dimensional change allows team members to perceive the entire investigation narrative at a glance without reading through lengthy text messages, thereby resolving the contradiction between maintaining communication and reducing time to understand updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs color-coded indicators to represent different types of events, actions, and updates on the visual timeline. Different colors signify different categories of information (e.g., system events, human actions, status changes), enabling rapid visual parsing and understanding of the investigation progress without requiring detailed text reading, thus addressing the time loss issue while maintaining comprehensive communication.
2Adaptability or versatility
If distributed teams use various online mechanisms for communication, then collaboration can occur, but there is often an overload of text-based information making it difficult to understand
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the overwhelming text-based information into discrete, visually distinct units on the timeline, with each segment representing a specific event or action. This segmentation allows the brain to process information in manageable chunks rather than facing a wall of text, while still maintaining the complete narrative context. The visual timeline structure preserves all information while making it digestible, resolving the contradiction between collaboration capability and information understandability.
Solution Approach 2:
The visual timeline serves as an intermediary representation that translates complex text-based communications into an intuitive graphical format. This intermediary layer filters and organizes the raw text information into a structured visual narrative, making the information accessible and understandable without losing any details. The timeline acts as a mediator between the distributed team members and the complex information, resolving the contradiction between maintaining versatile collaboration and preventing information overload.
3Ease of operation
If traditional brain-storming or war room sessions are used, then team members can agree on investigation strategy, but they require physical co-location which is not feasible for distributed teams
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical requirement of physical co-location with a digital visual timeline system that operates independently of physical presence. The timeline provides a shared visual context that distributed team members can access simultaneously through electronic devices, enabling effective collaboration without the mechanical constraints of physical space. This substitution resolves the contradiction by maintaining collaboration effectiveness while eliminating the need for physical coordination.
4Reliability
If multiple text-based updates are exchanged in issue tracking systems, then problem tracking is maintained, but the updates are not efficient for real-time coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from linear text-based updates to a two-dimensional visual timeline that displays multiple updates simultaneously in chronological order. This dimensional change enables real-time coordination by allowing all team members to see the current state of the investigation at a glance, eliminating the need to read through sequential text messages. The visual timeline maintains complete problem tracking accuracy while dramatically improving real-time coordination efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for collaborative evidence-based problem investigation and resolution are described. The method includes receiving data related with fault that has occurred in faulty system. The data includes symptoms and details associated with each symptom. The method includes arranging data in symptoms table. The symptoms table includes rows for describing symptoms and columns for defining details associated with each symptom. The method includes facilitating concurrent update of symptoms table by users in order to indicate clues or update details, and causing provisioning of cause-effect UI to facilitate creation of cause-effect graph using clues. The method includes creating cause-tree/fishbone diagram based in part on at least one of: causes defined by users, symptoms and clues defined in symptoms table, components of faulty system, and historical data from prior problem investigations. The method further includes displaying cause-tree/fishbone diagram for facilitating determination of potential causes and solutions of new faults.