User Matching System for Collaborative Document Editing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern software applications often fail to efficiently assist users in discovering and utilizing available features for document creation tasks, leading to inefficiencies and data privacy concerns when requesting external help, as users must leave the application and transmit data to unknown experts.
Innovation Solution
A user matching system within the application that allows users to request help without leaving the app, matches them with expert users for collaborative document editing, ensuring data privacy by maintaining access within the application and using AI to determine document intents and expert qualifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users request help from external experts by leaving the application, then they can receive expert assistance, but data privacy is compromised and users must transmit data externally
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary matching system that operates within the application boundaries. This system matches users with expert users who can provide assistance without leaving the application environment, thus maintaining data privacy while enabling help-seeking functionality. The intermediary matching system acts as a mediator between users needing help and expert users who can provide it.
2Loss of information
If users leave the application to request external help, then they can access expert knowledge, but productivity is reduced due to context switching
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables a self-service mechanism where users can request and receive help within the application without external intervention. The matching system automatically connects users with appropriate expert users based on their needs and expertise profiles, allowing users to obtain expert knowledge while remaining in the application context, thus maintaining productivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the application includes comprehensive help functionality, then users can get assistance, but the application complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal matching system that handles multiple types of help requests through a single interface and process. The system can match users with experts for various document editing tasks, questions, and problems using the same underlying mechanism, thus providing comprehensive help functionality without proportionally increasing application complexity.
4Ease of operation
If users transmit data externally to request help, then they can receive expert assistance, but data security is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the help-seeking process into distinct components: a help request interface within the application, a matching system that operates on metadata and profiles rather than sensitive data, and a connection mechanism that maintains data boundaries. This segmentation allows users to receive assistance while keeping sensitive document data within secure application boundaries.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include identifying a first set of objects that are part of a document, the document created by an application, and the first set of objects placed in the document by a first user; based on the first set of objects, determining an intent of the first user for the document; automatically adding, by the application, a second set of objects to the document according to the intent; and configuring permissions of the document to allow collaborative editing within the application between the first user and a second user to add a third set of objects to the document.