Software Application Customization via User Attribute Signatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Software applications for small businesses often lack customizable configurations to accommodate diverse industry segments, geographic locations, languages, and cultural differences, limiting their effectiveness in meeting specific business needs.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses machine learning and platform configurability to automatically customize software applications by analyzing user profiles and configuration settings, generating statistical measures, and matching new users to appropriate configurations based on attribute signatures and user subsets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If limited pre-configured SKUs are offered for user selection, then the software application structure remains simple and manageable, but the application cannot accommodate diverse small business practices across different industry segments, geographic locations, languages, and cultures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the software configuration into multiple independent dimensions including industry segment, geographic location, language, and cultural business processes. Each dimension can be configured separately, allowing the system to handle diversity without overwhelming complexity. The configuration is divided into attribute signatures that represent different business practice profiles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal configuration framework that can serve multiple different business practices through a single software application. By defining a comprehensive set of configurable attributes and dimensions, the system achieves multi-functionality across diverse industry segments, geographic locations, and cultural contexts without requiring separate software instances.
2Adaptability or versatility
If numerous configuration options are provided to accommodate different industry segments, geographic locations, languages, and cultures, then the software can meet diverse business needs, but the complexity of managing and configuring these options increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-defining attribute signatures and configuration templates that represent common business practice profiles. When a user needs customization, the system presents pre-configured options based on these signatures rather than requiring users to build configurations from scratch. This reduces the operational burden while maintaining high adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service configuration by allowing users to select from predefined attribute signatures and templates that automatically apply appropriate configurations. The software autonomously handles the complex configuration details based on the selected signature, eliminating the need for users to manually manage numerous individual configuration options.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual configuration is used to tailor software to specific business needs, then configurations can be precisely customized, but the time and effort required for setup increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by creating and storing attribute signatures that represent proven configuration patterns from existing successful implementations. When a new user needs configuration, the system copies the appropriate attribute signature and applies it automatically, achieving precise customization without requiring time-consuming manual configuration. The copied signatures can be further adjusted if needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for configuring a software application. The method includes obtaining user profiles each containing attribute values corresponding to a portion of an attribute list, identifying a user subset having same attribute values for a particular portion of the attribute list and forming an attribute signature, analyzing the configuration setting used by each user in the user subset to generate a statistical measure representing the user subset configuring the software application, matching a new user profile to the attribute signature of the user subset, presenting, to the new user and in response to the matching, the statistical measure representing the user subset configuring the software application, and receiving, in response to presenting the statistical measure, an approval from the new user to customize the software application, where the software application is automatically customized based on the statistical measure representing the user subset configuring the software application.