Question Table for Reducing Requirements Generation Load

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Solution Overview

Problem

In large project settings with multiple team members, the requirements generation process becomes time-consuming and prone to inconsistency due to the need for lengthy questionnaires, leading to increased power consumption and processing load.

Innovation Solution

A computer system and method that builds a questions table with first and second questions corresponding to potential requirements, determines the question with the highest number of associated requirements, displays it to users, receives answers, and updates tables to reduce the number of questions needed, thereby decreasing the duration and load of the requirements generation process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a large number of questions are asked to all team members to determine project requirements, then comprehensive requirement coverage is achieved, but the time consumption and processing load increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverequirement determination accuracyVSAvoidrequirements generation time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the requirement determination process by dividing questions into two categories: first questions that correspond to single requirements and second questions that correspond to multiple requirements. This segmentation allows the system to prioritize questions that can determine multiple requirements simultaneously, reducing the total number of questions needed while maintaining comprehensive coverage.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent performs preliminary analysis to build a questions table that maps each question to its corresponding requirements before the actual requirement determination process. This preliminary structuring enables the system to efficiently select and present questions in an optimal sequence, avoiding the need to ask all possible questions to all team members.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If comprehensive questions are asked to ensure consistent requirement identification, then requirement consistency improves, but the complexity of the questioning process increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverequirement consistencyVSAvoidquestioning process complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary analysis to construct a questions table that pre-establishes the relationships between questions and requirements. This table includes first questions for individual requirements and second questions for multiple requirements, allowing the system to manage complexity through structured data organization rather than complex processing logic during execution.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The questions table serves as an intermediary data structure that simplifies the relationship between questions and requirements. By using this intermediate representation, the system can efficiently query and select appropriate questions without directly managing complex many-to-many relationships between questions and requirements during the interaction process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Loss of information

If all questions are presented to team members, then complete requirement information is gathered, but the processing load and power consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverequirement information completenessVSAvoidsystem power consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the question set into first questions (single requirement) and second questions (multiple requirements). The system prioritizes presenting second questions first, as they can determine multiple requirements simultaneously. This segmentation strategy reduces the total number of questions that need to be processed while ensuring complete requirement information is gathered.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs partial action by selectively presenting only the necessary subset of questions to team members rather than all possible questions. By using the questions table to identify and prioritize high-value questions (particularly second questions that cover multiple requirements), the system achieves complete requirement information with fewer questions, reducing processing load and power consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS11568149B2Method and device for facilitating efficient traversal of natural language sequences

Publication Date: 2023.01.31 CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC

AI summary

A computer system includes memory storing computer-executable instructions and a processor configured to execute the computer-executable instructions. The computer-executable instructions include building a questions table including multiple first questions and multiple potential requirements to which the first questions correspond, respectively. The computer-executable instructions include adding, to the questions table, one or more second questions, each of which correspond to at least two requirements from among the potential requirements. The computer-executable instructions include adding, to the questions table, for each second question among the one or more second questions, the at least two requirements to which the second question corresponds. The computer-executable instructions include determining a question, from among the first questions and the second questions, that corresponds to a highest number of potential requirements, and displaying the determined question to a user.