Predictive Fact Generation for E-commerce Query Optimization

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Solution Overview

Problem

E-commerce websites face slow product detail page loading due to slow response times from back-end systems, leading to user frustration and potential loss of customers.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a predictive fact generation mechanism within the merchant system to speculatively generate product facts before receiving requests, storing them in a cache for quick retrieval, thereby reducing the time needed to respond to fact requests.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If facts are generated in real-time from back-end systems, then data accuracy is maintained, but response time increases causing slow page loading

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata accuracyVSAvoidresponse time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system speculatively generates facts about products before receiving actual requests for them. When a user views a product page, the system proactively queries back-end systems for related facts (such as product specifications, inventory status, or related products) and stores them in cache memory. This preliminary action ensures that when subsequent requests for the same facts arrive, they can be served immediately from cache rather than waiting for back-end processing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a cache memory as an intermediary layer between the back-end systems and the front-end application. This cache stores pre-generated facts and acts as a buffer, allowing the system to serve frequently requested information without repeatedly querying the slow back-end systems. The intermediary cache resolves the contradiction by providing fast access to accurate data without requiring real-time back-end connectivity for every request.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Speed

If speculative fact generation is implemented, then response speed improves, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresponse speedVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system determines which facts to generate speculatively based on analysis of historical request patterns. By examining what facts are frequently requested together or in sequence, the system proactively generates and caches these facts before they are needed, reducing wait times for common operations.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system monitors actual fact request patterns and uses this feedback to refine its speculative generation strategy. By tracking which speculative facts are actually used and which are not, the system can adjust its predictions to improve cache hit rates while avoiding unnecessary computational overhead for low-probability facts.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Loss of time

If all possible facts are pre-generated, then all future requests can be served quickly, but unnecessary computational resources are wasted

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverequest fulfillment timeVSAvoidcomputational resource usage
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Rather than generating all possible facts about every product, the system applies partial action by selectively generating only those facts that are most likely to be requested based on historical patterns. This approach generates enough facts to significantly improve response times for common requests while avoiding the excessive computational cost of pre-generating every possible fact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the parameters of speculative generation based on contextual factors such as product category, user behavior patterns, and current system load. By changing these parameters adaptively, the system optimizes the balance between generating sufficient facts to improve response times and avoiding wasteful computation on unlikely requests.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS9619805B1Predictive fact generation for query optimization
Publication Date: 2017.04.11 AMAZON TECH INC
  • US9619805B1 patent drawing
  • US9619805B1 patent drawing
  • US9619805B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A fact generation engine generates facts in response to fact requests submitted by clients. The fact generation engine also predictively generates additional facts prior to receiving a request for the additional facts from a client. The fact generation engine might determine whether to predictively generate additional facts based upon a determined probability that a client will request the additional facts. The estimated cost of predictively generating additional facts might also be utilized to determine whether to predictively generate the facts.