Contact List Preference Icon Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current contact list systems do not effectively display user preferences and policies, making it difficult for users to manage communication channels instantaneously, as preference settings are not conspicuously displayed and require multiple menu selections to set up and verify.
Innovation Solution
A graphical user interface (GUI) that displays a list of contacts with associated preference and policy categories, including feature icons indicating enabled features, allowing users to quickly view and manage preferences directly within the contact list without needing to access additional menus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If preference settings are stored in the system but not displayed in the contact list, then the contact list remains simple and clean, but users cannot quickly view or manage their preferences without accessing additional menus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the preference display functionality with the contact list by integrating preference icons directly into the contact list entries. This allows users to view preference settings without accessing separate menus, resolving the contradiction by combining two previously separate functions (contact listing and preference display) into a single unified interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the contact list display into distinct visual elements: contact information, presence status, and preference indicators. By segmenting the display into these manageable components with specific icons for different preferences (such as find-me/follow-me, do-not-disturb, custom preferences), the system maintains visual clarity while providing comprehensive preference visibility.
2Productivity
If users must access main menu options to set preferences, then the contact list display remains simple, but users experience multiple menu selections and cannot set preferences instantaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring preference icons and categories within the contact list structure itself. Users can immediately view and modify preferences without needing to navigate through hierarchical menus first. The preference settings are prepared in advance as integral parts of the contact list entries, enabling instant access and modification.
3Reliability
If preference settings are not conspicuously displayed, then the contact list maintains a clean appearance, but users may not realize preferences are not set appropriately and communication channels cannot be managed automatically
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs color changes and distinct visual icons to represent different preference states. Each preference type (such as find-me/follow-me, do-not-disturb, custom preferences) is represented by a specific icon with distinctive visual characteristics. This visual coding system ensures that preference settings are conspicuously displayed and easily distinguishable, preventing information loss while maintaining an organized appearance.
Data Source
AI summary
System and method for representing preference and policy in a contact list are described. One embodiment is a graphical user interface (“GUI”) for displaying a directory of contacts of a user. The GUI comprises a list of contacts displayed in a first window of the GUI; for each contact in the list of contacts, a preference and policy category for the contact, wherein the preference and policy category for the contact is displayed in the first window of the GUI; and for each contact in the list of contacts, a feature icon indicative of whether a feature is enabled for the contact according to the preference and policy category for the contact, wherein the feature icon is displayed in association with the contact in the first window of the GUI.