Contextually Aware Schedule Services for Event Conflict Resolution

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional digital calendar applications are not responsive to real-life changes in users' circumstances, leading to frustration when events like flight delays impact other scheduled activities, as they lack the ability to automatically detect and manage affected events across multiple related plans.

Innovation Solution

A computer-performed schedule technology that monitors user-related activities to detect changes, identifies affected future events, and provides contextually aware event-conflict detection and resolution services, enabling automatic modification or rescheduling of related events through a virtual assistant program.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional digital calendar applications are used to manage events, then users can schedule and organize their activities, but the applications cannot automatically detect or respond to real-life changes in user circumstances such as flight delays

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresponsiveness to real-life changesVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors user-related activity information (flights, meetings, reservations) and uses this feedback to automatically detect changes in user circumstances. When a change is detected (e.g., flight delay), the system evaluates the impact on related events and automatically notifies users or performs resolutions, creating a closed-loop feedback system that adapts to real-life changes without requiring manual user intervention

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs self-service by automatically detecting event changes, identifying affected events, and resolving conflicts without requiring user action. The virtual assistant program autonomously monitors multiple data sources, evaluates relationships between events, and executes resolution actions (notifications, rescheduling) based on predefined rules and user preferences, enabling the system to manage itself rather than requiring constant user management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of operation

If users manually identify and modify affected events when circumstances change, then event schedules can be updated, but users experience frustration and burden from the effort required

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of event managementVSAvoidtime spent managing schedule changes

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing relationships between events and pre-defining resolution strategies. When events are initially scheduled, the system identifies potential dependencies and conflict scenarios. When a change occurs, these pre-established relationships enable immediate automatic resolution without requiring users to manually analyze which events are affected or how to resolve conflicts, significantly reducing user effort and time investment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The virtual assistant program acts as an intermediary between the user's schedule and real-life changes. Instead of users directly managing complex event relationships and conflicts, the intermediary system automatically detects changes, evaluates impacts across multiple events, and executes resolutions. This intermediary layer shields users from the complexity of schedule management while maintaining accurate event coordination

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Extent of automation

If the system monitors user-related activity to detect changes and identify affected events, then automatic resolution can be provided, but the system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomation of conflict resolutionVSAvoidsystem architecture complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the complex task of schedule management into distinct modular components: event detection module (monitoring user activity), event relationship evaluation module (identifying affected events), and resolution execution module (performing automatic resolutions). Each module handles a specific aspect of the automation process independently, making the overall complex system manageable through functional segmentation and reducing the burden on any single component

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11544675B2Contextually aware schedule services

Publication Date: 2023.01.03 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Technologies described herein offer a contextually aware schedule service technology. User-related activity is monitored to detect a future event related to the user. Information is extracted from the monitored user-related activity information. The extracted information about the future event can be evaluated to determine whether it is related to another future event associated with the user. When a particular future event for the user changes, a set of related events may be utilized to determine a related event is affected by the change. For example, a user may be notified to cancel or modify the future event. Additionally, service providers associated with the affected event(s) may be notified, or a personal assistant service may facilitate automatically rescheduling the affected events.