Concurrent Document Markup System with Locking and Merging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current document management systems face challenges in concurrent markup by multiple reviewers, including the inability for reviewers to see each other's markups, time-consuming manual incorporation of comments, and difficulties in revising documents with anchor characters, leading to errors and impractical collaboration, especially across different time zones.
Innovation Solution
A data processing system and method that allows concurrent markup by locking and unlocking markups associated with individual users and all reviewers, enabling simultaneous review while preventing conflicts, and updating markups separately from the document, ensuring synchronization and accurate incorporation of comments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If reviewers work on separate copies of the document to avoid conflicts, then document integrity is maintained, but reviewers cannot see each other's markups and collaboration efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the markup process by allowing reviewers to work on separate copies of the document while maintaining a centralized repository. Each reviewer's markup is stored separately but can be merged automatically, enabling both independent work and visibility of others' contributions without compromising document integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
Reviewers create and work on copies of the document rather than the master copy. These copies can be merged back into the master document automatically. The system uses copying to enable simultaneous review while maintaining document integrity through automated merge operations that resolve conflicts.
2Manufacturing precision
If reviewers work sequentially on the document to ensure accuracy, then markup precision is maintained, but the review process time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables continuous review by allowing multiple reviewers to work simultaneously on the document. The automated merge process continues to integrate markups from multiple reviewers without interruption, maintaining precision while eliminating the time loss associated with sequential review processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically preparing and organizing markups from multiple reviewers before the final merge. This preliminary organization ensures precision is maintained while the actual review process occurs concurrently, reducing overall time while preserving accuracy.
3Reliability
If manual incorporation of comments is used to ensure thorough review, then review completeness is improved, but the time and effort required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically incorporating and merging markups from multiple reviewers into the master document. This automated process ensures complete review coverage while eliminating the manual effort previously required, thereby improving both completeness and efficiency simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of copying and pasting comments between documents is replaced with an automated electronic merge system. This substitution maintains thorough review completeness while dramatically reducing the time and effort required, as the system automatically handles the incorporation of all markups.
4Measurement precision
If anchor characters are used to link comments to document locations, then markup accuracy is improved, but document revision becomes difficult and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the link between comments and document locations from rigid anchor characters and replaces it with a flexible reference system. This extraction maintains markup accuracy by preserving the association between comments and their intended locations while allowing the document to be revised freely without breaking these associations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces dynamics by replacing static anchor characters with dynamic references that automatically adjust when the document is revised. This allows the markup to remain accurate even as the document structure changes, making revision easier while preserving markup precision through automatic repositioning of comments.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer readable medium are presented for concurrent markup of a document by a plurality of reviewers. A method includes combining a document and markups associated with a plurality of reviewers into a reviewing file for use by a user. Markups associated with the user are locked and a markup associated with the reviewer is updated. Then the markups associated with the user are unlocked. Updating the markup includes receiving a revised reviewing file that includes a change to the markup, extracting the change to the markup from the revised reviewing file, and saving the changed markup separate from the document.