Dynamic Affinity List for Contact Prioritization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in maintaining up-to-date and relevant contact information due to changing communication patterns, requiring a method to identify and prioritize frequently communicated contacts across various communication types.
Innovation Solution
A system that analyzes communication interactions to generate and update a ranked list of relevant contacts, known as an affinity list, based on factors like frequency and recency of communication, allowing users to access the most relevant contacts quickly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If users maintain a complete contact list with all communication information, then contact information coverage is improved, but the time to find relevant contacts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact list is segmented into affinity-based groups rather than a single flat list. Contacts are divided into segments based on communication affinity scores, allowing users to quickly access relevant segments without searching through the entire contact database.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of contact organization from static alphabetical or categorical sorting to dynamic affinity-based ranking. This parameter change allows the contact list to adaptively reorder based on communication patterns, placing most relevant contacts at the top for quick access.
2Reliability
If users manually update contact information regularly, then contact information currency is improved, but the operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically monitoring and analyzing communication patterns between users and their contacts. It dynamically updates affinity scores and reorders contact lists without requiring manual user intervention, thus maintaining current contact information while reducing operational burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where communication interactions are continuously monitored and fed back into the affinity calculation algorithm. This feedback mechanism automatically adjusts contact rankings based on recent communication patterns, ensuring contact information remains current without manual updates.
3Quantity of substance
If users store contact information across multiple communication platforms, then contact information completeness is improved, but the difficulty of accessing unified contact information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The affinity-based contact list system serves as a universal access point that aggregates contact information from multiple communication platforms. It provides a single unified interface that works across different communication types (email, instant messaging, telephony), eliminating the need to access separate contact lists for each platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The system acts as an intermediary layer between users and multiple communication platforms. It consolidates contact information from various sources and presents a unified affinity-based view, mediating between the diversity of platform-specific contact lists and the user's need for unified access.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to analyzing communications involving a given user and determining a ranked list of the most relevant contacts for the user based on the analysis. As subsequent communications are analyzed, the list may be updated in a systematic fashion to provide a dynamic and up-to-date ranking of the most relevant contacts for the user at any given time. By having access to an up-to-date, ranked list of their most relevant contacts, the user can more readily initiate communications with others and avoid searching or sorting through more traditional contact listings.