Email Assistant Options Bar for Workflow Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current email systems require numerous clicks and navigations to perform follow-up actions, leading to inefficiencies and wasted time, especially when repetitive communications or meetings need to be set up.
Innovation Solution
An email assistant options bar is introduced in the graphical user interface, allowing users to select contacts and actions on a single screen with a few clicks, utilizing an assistant engine that identifies frequently interacted contacts and provides action options like forwarding emails, making calls, or setting up meetings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional email client navigation is used to perform follow-up actions, then system reliability is maintained, but the number of steps and time required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The options bar is pre-configured with frequently used actions (forward, call, video call, meeting) and frequently contacted recipients based on interaction history analysis. When an email is selected, these pre-configured options are immediately displayed, eliminating the need to navigate through menus to find common actions and contacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact list and action options are segmented into frequently used items that are immediately accessible on the options bar, separating them from less frequently used contacts and actions that remain in the standard address book and menu structures. This segmentation allows quick access to 80% of common tasks without affecting the complete functionality of the system.
2Ease of operation
If the options bar displays frequently interacted contacts, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases due to the assistant engine
Solution Approach 1:
The assistant engine automatically analyzes email interaction data and self-configures the options bar with frequently contacted recipients and commonly performed actions. The system monitors user behavior patterns and dynamically updates the options bar without requiring manual configuration or complex user setup procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The assistant engine acts as an intermediary layer between the user and the email system's contact management and action execution functions. It analyzes interaction data, determines frequently used contacts and actions, and presents them through the options bar interface, simplifying user interaction while managing the complexity behind the scenes.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described for providing an email assistant options bar. An assistant engine of an email application can identify contacts of a user profile that the user interacts with the most frequently based on a set of rules. When a user interacts with an email in the email application using a predetermined input type, the assistant engine can display the email assistant options bar. The email assistant options bar can include icons representing the identified contacts that the user interacts with the most frequently and a set of actions that can be performed to interact with the contacts. Some examples of actions can include forwarding the selected email, calling a contact, and setting up a meeting. The user can select one or more of the contacts and one of the actions. The assistant engine can perform the selected action with the selected contact as the recipient.