Task Graph Construction for Automated Communication Extraction

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

In networked environments, tracking and managing tasks across multiple communication sources and forms (e.g., emails, instant messages, audio communications) is challenging due to the complexity and diversity of communications, making it difficult to efficiently extract and prioritize tasks for project management.

Innovation Solution

A task management application automatically generates nodes based on communication properties, constructs a graph to organize tasks, prioritizes them, and provides a user interface for task management, allowing for historical trend analysis and input-driven task execution or dismissal, thereby optimizing task presentation and prioritization.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If tasks are manually extracted and tracked from multiple communication sources, then task management completeness is improved, but time consumption and operational complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetask management completenessVSAvoidtime consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables automatic task extraction from communications without requiring manual intervention. The task extraction engine autonomously processes communications, identifies tasks, creates task records, and updates task status based on communication content, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual task management

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical task extraction processes with automated computational processing. The task extraction engine uses text analysis and pattern recognition to automatically identify and extract tasks from communications, substituting human manual work with automated software processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Reliability

If tasks are manually extracted and tracked from multiple communication sources, then task management completeness is improved, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetask management completenessVSAvoidoperational complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system autonomously manages the complexity of processing multiple communication sources by implementing self-service mechanisms. The task extraction engine automatically adapts to different communication formats and sources without requiring manual configuration, and the system self-regulates task tracking across diverse communication channels

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The task management system is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple types of communications (emails, instant messages, audio communications) through a single integrated platform. The task extraction engine can process various communication formats using the same core extraction logic, eliminating the need for separate manual processes for each communication type

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Productivity

If tasks are prioritized and organized in a graph structure, then task management efficiency is improved, but computational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetask management efficiencyVSAvoidcomputational complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the task management process into distinct functional components: communication processing, task extraction, task creation, graph construction, and prioritization. This segmentation allows each component to handle specific aspects independently, reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing communications to extract relevant task information before full task creation. The task extraction engine identifies and extracts task elements in advance, preparing data structures that facilitate efficient graph construction and prioritization operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS10366359B2Automatic extraction and completion of tasks associated with communications

Publication Date: 2019.07.30 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Automatically extracting and completing tasks associated with a communication is provided. In some examples, an application, such as a task management application, may generate nodes based on properties extracted from a communication, generate tasks based on the nodes, and construct a graph based on the nodes and the tasks. The task management application may also perform a prioritization of the tasks within the graph based on the properties of the nodes, order the tasks within the graph based on the prioritization of the tasks, and provide a task management interface to present the tasks within the graph. The task management application may also transmit the tasks within the graph to a task extraction engine of the task management application in response to a modification input executed on the graph.