Method and apparatus for document planning

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016232152-A1
Application number	US-201415022420-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 18, 2014
Priority date	Apr 18, 2014
Publication date	Aug 11, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products are described herein that are configured to be embodied as and/or performed by a document planner. In some examples, a method is provided for generating a document plan. The method may include receiving a document plan template and a message store. The document plan template may include program code defining the structure and content of a document plan. The method may also include processing, by a processor, the document plan template to determine one or more messages from the message store for inclusion in the document plan. The method may also include generating the document plan. A structure and a content of the document plan may be determined at least based on the determined one or more messages and the document plan template. Apparatuses and computer readable media are also provided.

First claim

1 . A method for generating a document plan for use in a natural language generation process, the method comprising:
receiving a document plan template and a message store, wherein the document plan template comprises program code defining the structure and content of a document plan; processing, by a processor, the document plan template to determine one or more messages from the message store for inclusion in the document plan; and generating the document plan, wherein a structure and a content of the document plan is determined at least based on the determined one or more messages and the document plan template.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the program code is encoded in a markup language.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one portion of the document plan is identified with a particular tag of the markup language.

4 . The method claim 1 , wherein the program code indicates the presence of at least one message within a document plan tree structure, and wherein processing the document plan comprises:
generating at least one query to retrieve the at least one message based on the program code; and executing the at least one query against the message store.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the program code defines at least a message type of the at least one message, and wherein the query returns at least one message of the message type.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the document plan comprises a document tree with a plurality of nodes, wherein one or more relationships among the nodes are defined by processing the document plan template, and wherein one or more messages from the message store are assigned to at least one of the plurality of nodes based on processing the document plan template.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the document plan defines one or more rhetorical relationships among messages included in the document plan.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the program code comprises at least one of a single message query executed by the processor against the message store, a multiple message query executed by the processor against the message store, or a conditional statement evaluated by the processor.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the document plan template is associated with a particular domain model, and wherein the processing of the document plan template is based at least in part on the domain model.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a planner schema; and validating the document plan template using the planner schema.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a natural language document based on the document plan.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the program code comprises at least one conditional statement that, based on an evaluation of the conditional statement during processing of the document plan, determines whether to include a particular sentence in the document plan.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the condition of the conditional statement is the presence of a particular message with a particular message type is present within the message store.

14 . An apparatus for generating a document plan for use in a natural language generation process, the apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to implement a document planner by at least:
receiving a document plan template and a message store, wherein the document plan template comprises program code defining the structure and content of a document plan; processing the document plan template to determine one or more messages from the message store for inclusion in the document plan; and generating the document plan, wherein a structure and a content of the document plan are determined at least based on the determined one or more messages and the document plan template.

15 .- 16 . (canceled)

17 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein
the program code indicates the presence of at least one message within a document plan tree structure, and the processing circuitry is configured to process the document plan by at least: generating at least one query to retrieve the at least one message based on the program code; and executing the at least one query against the message store.

18 . The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the program code defines at least a message type of the at least one message, and wherein the query returns at least one message of the message type.

19 .- 22 . (canceled)

23 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to implement the document planner by at least:
receiving a planner schema; and validating the document plan template using the planner schema.

24 . (canceled)

25 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the program code comprises at least one conditional statement that, based on an evaluation of the conditional statement during processing of the document plan, determines whether to include a particular sentence in the document plan.

26 . The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the condition of the conditional statement is the presence of a particular message with a particular message type is present within the message store.

27 . A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions for generating a document plan for use in a natural language generation process, the program instructions comprising:
program instructions for receiving a document plan template and a message store, wherein the document plan template comprises program code defining the structure and content of a document plan; program instructions for processing the document plan template to determine one or more messages from the message store for inclusion in the document plan; and program instructions for generating the document plan, wherein a structure and a content of the document plan is determined at least based on the determined one or more messages and the document plan template.

28 .- 48 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Arria Data2Text Ltd

Inventors

• Mahamood Saad

Classifications

• G06F40/56

  Natural language generation · CPC title

• G06F40/186 Primary

  Templates · CPC title

• G06F17/248 Primary

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F17/2247

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06F40/143

  Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD] · CPC title