Intelligently identifying collaborators for a document

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11328116-B2
Application number	US-202016917655-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2020
Priority date	Jun 30, 2020
Publication date	May 10, 2022
Grant date	May 10, 2022

Abstract

A method and system for identifying potential collaborators for a document may include determining a lifecycle stage of a document, determining a subject matter of the document based at least in part on content of the document. The method and system identify one or more potential collaborators to contribute to the document based at least in part on the subject matter of the document, a lifecycle stage of the document, or collaborator-specific information associated with each of the one or more potential collaborators. The method and system may also include providing data relating to the one or more potential collaborators for display.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A data processing system comprising:
a processor; and
a memory in communication with the processor, the memory comprising executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform functions of:
determining a lifecycle stage of a document;
determining a subject matter of the document based at least in part on content of the document;
identifying one or more potential collaborators to contribute to the document based at least in part on the subject matter of the document, a lifecycle stage of the document, or collaborator-specific information associated with each of the one or more potential collaborators, wherein potential collaborators have not yet contributed to the document and have not yet been invited to contribute to the document but have an appropriate skill set for contributing to one or more lifecycle stages of the document; and
providing for display data relating to the one or more potential collaborators.

2. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform functions of:
analyzing the subject matter of the document, the lifecycle stage of the document, and the collaborator-specific information associated with each of the one or more potential collaborators using a machine learning model trained to identify potential collaborators; and
obtaining, from the machine learning model, information identifying the one or more potential collaborators.

3. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a function of analyzing the document using a machine learning model trained to identify subject matter of the document.

4. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform functions of:
retrieving usage signal data associated with the document, the usage signal data including information about types of activities performed on the document by one or more users over a given time period; and
determining the lifecycle stage of the document based on the usage signal data.

5. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform functions of:
receiving a selection of a collaborator from among the one or more potential collaborators; and
transmitting an electronic message to the selected collaborator to invite the selected collaborator to contribute to the document.

6. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the collaborator-specific information includes information indicative of lifecycle stages of documents during which a respective collaborator typically contributes to documents.

7. The data processing system of claim 6 , wherein the collaborator-specific information includes information indicative of subject matters for which the respective collaborator typically contributes, user-provided information indicative of the respective collaborator being a subject matter expert in one or more of the subject matters, or both.

8. The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a function of ranking the one or more potential collaborators based on lifecycle stages of documents during which the respective collaborator typically contributes, the subject matters for which the respective collaborator typically contributes, and the lifecycle stage of the document.

9. The data processing system of claim 8 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by, the processor, cause the processor to perform a function of ranking the one or more potential collaborators based on social distance information indicative of how close a personal relationship a respective collaborator has with at least one author of the document, professional distance information indicative of how close a professional relationship the respective collaborator has with at least one author of the document, or both.

10. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by, the processor, cause the processor to automatically identify the one or more potential collaborators and provide the display data relating to the one or more potential collaborators in response to a user editing the document.

11. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the memory further includes executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive a request to:
search for potential collaborators;
identify the one or more potential collaborators; and

provide the display data relating to the one or more potential collaborators responsive to the request.

12. A method for intelligently identifying potential collaborators to a document comprising:
determining a lifecycle stage of the document;
determining a subject matter of the document based at least in part on content of the document;
identifying one or more potential collaborators to contribute to the document based at least in part on the subject matter of the document, a lifecycle stage of the document, or collaborator-specific information associated with each of the one or more potential collaborators, wherein potential collaborators have not yet contributed to the document and have not yet been invited to contribute to the document but have an appropriate skill set for contributing to one or more lifecycle stages of the document; and
providing for display data relating to the one or more potential collaborators.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
analyzing the subject matter of the document, the lifecycle stage of the document, and the collaborator-specific information associated with each of the one or more potential collaborators using a machine learning model trained to identify potential collaborators; and
obtaining, from the machine learning model, information identifying the one or more potential collaborators.

14. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
analyzing the document using a machine learning model trained to identify subject matter of the document.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
retrieving usage signal data associated with the document, the usage signal data including information about types of activities performed on the document by one or more users over a given time period; and
determining the lifecycle stage of the document based on the usage signal data.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
receiving a selection of a collaborator from among the one or more potential collaborators; and
transmitting an electronic message to the selected collaborator to invite the selected collaborator to contribute to the document.

17. A computer readable storage media on which are stored instructions that when executed cause a programmable device to perform functions of:
retrieving usage signal data associated with a document, the usage signal data including information about types of activities performed on the document by one or more users over a given time period;
determining a subject matter of the document based at least in part on content of the document;
identifying one or more potential collaborators to contribu

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Meling Jon
• Johansen Jan Heier
• Wang Vegar Skjærven
• Kohlmeier Bernhard
• Kleiner Madeline Schuster

Classifications

• G06N5/04

  Inference or reasoning models · CPC title

• G06F16/93

  Document management systems · CPC title

• G06Q10/101 Primary

  Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services · CPC title

• G06F40/166 Primary

  Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting · CPC title

• G06F40/30

  Semantic analysis · CPC title