Recipient Validation Score for Email Communication Errors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic correspondence often unintentionally disseminates information to unintended recipients within or outside an organization due to incorrect recipient selection, lacking effective validation mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A system that calculates a validation score based on hierarchical information, social networking connections, and prior communication history to determine if a recipient is an intended recipient, notifying the sender if they are not, and updating the graphical user interface to indicate potential unintended recipients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If validation operations are performed to determine whether a recipient is an intended recipient, then the accuracy of recipient identification is improved, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs validation operations before the electronic communication is actually sent. It calculates a recipient distance value using hierarchical information (organizational charts, reporting structures) and social network data in advance, compares this against threshold values, and determines whether the recipient is likely unintended before the message leaves the sender's device. This preliminary validation prevents unintended dissemination without requiring complex real-time intervention during message transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary validation layer between the sender and recipient. Instead of directly connecting sender to recipient, the patent inserts a validation mechanism that uses hierarchical information and social network graphs as intermediaries to assess the legitimacy of the recipient selection. This intermediary layer calculates validation scores based on organizational hierarchy distance and social connection patterns, then uses these scores to flag or block potentially unintended recipients.
2Reliability
If hierarchical information and social networking data are analyzed to calculate validation scores, then the reliability of recipient validation is improved, but the loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial validation by focusing on key discriminating factors rather than analyzing all possible attributes of recipients. It primarily uses hierarchical distance metrics (number of organizational levels between sender and recipient) and basic social network connection counts as validation features. By selecting only the most discriminative features from the available hierarchical and social networking data, the system achieves reliable validation without processing every possible attribute, thus reducing computation time while maintaining accuracy.
3Loss of information
If the system notifies the sender of potential unintended recipients, then the loss of information is reduced, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by notifying the sender when a recipient is identified as potentially unintended. The notification provides feedback about the validation score and the reasons why the recipient flagged (e.g., large hierarchical distance, lack of social connections). This feedback loop allows senders to review the validation results and make informed decisions about whether to proceed with sending to the flagged recipient or to correct the recipient selection. The feedback mechanism balances information control with operational ease by providing actionable insights rather than simple blockages.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method, including receiving information indicative of a request to send an electronic communication to a recipient; executing by one or more computer systems one or more validation operations to determine whether the recipient is an intended recipient of the electronic communication by producing a validation score; determining, based on comparison of the validation score to a threshold value, that the recipient is an unintended recipient of the electronic communication; and when detecting the recipient as an unintended recipient, notifying the sender that the recipient is potentially an unintended recipient of the electronic communication prior to sending.