Organization Directory Tenure Display Using Colored Icons
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing organization directories face challenges in effectively displaying personnel information on handheld devices with small screens, particularly in representing an individual's tenure within the organization in a clear and concise manner, especially for large and complex organizational structures.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using two types of icons, such as stars and circles, to represent different periods of tenure, with stars representing five years and circles representing one year, along with the option to display partial years using hollow or partially filled circles, and different colors to distinguish tenures from acquired companies, allowing users to quickly identify tenure without overwhelming the profile page.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If detailed tenure information is displayed textually, then information completeness is improved, but screen space consumption increases and readability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses different colors to represent different tenure periods (e.g., green for 0-2 years, yellow for 2-5 years, orange for 5-10 years, red for 10+ years). This visual encoding allows users to quickly comprehend tenure information without consuming excessive screen space, resolving the contradiction between information completeness and screen space efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the one-dimensional textual tenure display into a two-dimensional visual representation using colored icons arranged in a grid pattern. The tenure is represented by the number of icons and their color coding, allowing comprehensive tenure information to be displayed compactly while maintaining readability on small screens.
2Ease of operation
If tenure is represented by multiple icon types for different periods, then visual differentiation is improved, but display complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a consistent set of colored icons where the color indicates the tenure period range. This approach provides clear visual differentiation between different tenure periods while maintaining a relatively simple icon system, as the same icon shape is reused with different colors rather than introducing multiple complex icon types.
3Loss of information
If full tenure details are always displayed, then information accessibility is improved, but visual clutter increases on small screens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential tenure information and displays it visually using colored icons, while the detailed numerical tenure data is available on demand through user interaction (hover or click). This separates the visual representation from the detailed data, reducing visual clutter while maintaining information accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary interaction mechanism (hover or click event) that triggers the display of detailed tenure information. This mediator allows users to access full tenure details without permanently displaying them, thus avoiding visual clutter on the profile page while maintaining information accessibility when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for displaying an individual profile page in an organization directory. The method comprises storing the individual's name and start date with the organization in a database; receiving a request for displaying the individual profile page; comparing the individual's start date with the current date to determine the individual's tenure with the organization; and determining using a first type of icon to represent a first period of time and a second type of icon to represent a second period of time.