Task Management Feature Using User-Specific Models for List Prediction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulties in organizing tasks effectively within task management applications, often resulting in long, unorganized lists where it's hard to remember why each task was added or where it belongs, leading to inefficiencies in task management.

Innovation Solution

An enhanced task management feature that uses user-specific models to suggest likely task list names and properties for new tasks, providing real-time suggestions based on user input and context, allowing users to easily assign tasks to appropriate lists and set relevant properties.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If users manually organize tasks in lists, then tasks can be categorized, but users spend excessive time and effort remembering where each task belongs and end up with long unorganized lists

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of task organizationVSAvoidtime to organize tasks
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically categorizes tasks by analyzing task input and using user-specific models to identify likely task list names, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring manual user intervention for organization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary categorization actions by suggesting task list names before the user finalizes task entry, preparing the organization structure in advance to save user time

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If users capture multiple tasks in a general to-do list, then tasks can be quickly added, but the list becomes long and unorganized making it difficult to recall task context

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvespeed of task entryVSAvoidtask context memory
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments tasks into different categorized lists based on automatic analysis, dividing the general to-do list into organized sub-categories that preserve task context and meaning

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to users by suggesting task list names and categories, giving users information about where tasks belong to maintain context while enabling quick entry

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of operation

If the system provides detailed suggestions for task lists and properties, then task organization improves, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of task categorizationVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes parameters by using user-specific models that adapt to individual user patterns, adjusting the complexity and nature of suggestions based on learned user behavior rather than applying fixed complex rules

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3942490B1Enhanced task management feature for electronic applications
Publication Date: 2024.02.14 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3942490B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3942490B1 patent drawingFigure 2A
  • EP3942490B1 patent drawingFigure 2B

AI summary

An enhanced task management feature can provide enhanced task management capabilities including making the entering of new tasks in an electronic application easier for the user, such as having the user see suggestions of where to put the new task and, in some cases, providing suggestions for details associated with the task. The enhanced task management feature can receive task input associated with a task item from an application; use the task input and at least a user-specific model to identify at least one likely task list name for the task item; and provide a suggested task list name from the at least one likely task list name to the application for display. The enhanced task management feature can receive from user input a task list name and the task item and the task item can then be assigned to a task list associated with the task list name.