Ranked Timeline Visualization for Event Prioritization

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Solution Overview

Problem

Organizations face challenges in efficiently tracking and managing updates to tasks across multiple sources, leading to difficulties in determining which updates require more attention, especially as the number of events increases over time.

Innovation Solution

A timeline visualization system that represents events as areas on a timeline, allowing users to filter and prioritize events based on timeline parameters such as dimensions, ranking criteria, and severity, enabling users to quickly identify patterns and status of tasks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If all events are displayed on the timeline visualization, then complete information is provided, but information overload occurs and user efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecompleteness of event informationVSAvoiduser efficiency in managing records

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and displays only the most relevant events on the timeline visualization by applying ranking criteria and filters. High-severity events are prioritized and displayed prominently, while less important events are either excluded or displayed with lower visual prominence. This selective extraction approach maintains information completeness for critical events while eliminating information overload from less important events.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies different visual qualities and ranking treatments to different regions of the timeline based on event severity and relevance. High-severity events receive prominent display with larger visual weight, while low-severity events are displayed with reduced prominence or excluded entirely. This local differentiation allows users to quickly identify important events without being overwhelmed by all events equally.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple events from multiple sources are tracked, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but difficulty in determining priority increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomprehensive monitoring capabilityVSAvoiddifficulty in determining event priority

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameter of event display from uniform treatment to variable treatment based on severity ranking. Events are assigned different visual parameters (size, color, position) according to their severity level and relevance. This parameter transformation automatically highlights high-priority events while suppressing low-priority ones, making priority determination intuitive and immediate without requiring manual analysis of multiple sources.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Loss of information

If detailed event information is displayed, then thorough analysis is enabled, but time to parse and understand events increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedetail level of event informationVSAvoidtime to parse and understand events

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments event information into hierarchical levels of detail and priority. High-severity events are displayed with full detail and prominence, while lower-severity events are either summarized or excluded. This segmentation allows users to quickly grasp critical information without parsing through all detailed event data, significantly reducing the time required to understand the current state of records.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentUS11777792B2Systems and methods for ranked visualization of events

Publication Date: 2023.10.03 SERVICENOW INC

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to a timeline visualization to enable users to more quickly find information and limit the amount of displayed information associated with one or more records. The timeline visualization displays events associated with a record as areas that are positioned along the timeline visualization. In some embodiments, the events displayed on the timeline visualization may be selected based on properties of the events and timeline parameters, such as dimensions of the timeline visualization and the areas to be displayed using the timeline visualization.