IP Library Granted Patent US 11,093,510
Granted Patent B2
US 11,093,510 · App. 16/169,648 · Granted Aug 17, 2021

Relevance ranking of productivity features for determined context

Inventors: Patricia Hendricks Balik (Seattle, WA); Anav Silverman (Sammamish, WA); Alyssa Rachel Mayo (Seattle, WA); Shikha Devesh Desai (Bellevue, WA); Gwenyth Alanna Vabalis Hardiman (Seattle, WA); Penelope Ann Collisson (Edmonds, WA); Yu Been Lee (Bellevue, WA); Susan Michele Hendrich (Redmond, WA)
Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
G06F16/24575G06F16/24578G06F16/93G06F40/103
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,093,510
App. No.
16/169,648
Granted
Aug 17, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure relates to processing operations configured to identify and present productivity features that are contextually relevant for user access to an electronic document. In doing so, signal data is evaluated to determine a context associated with user access to an electronic document and insights, from the determined context, are utilized to rank productivity features for relevance to a user workflow. As an example, an intelligent learning model is trained and implemented to identify what productivity features are most relevant to a current task of a user. Productivity features are identified and ranked for contextual relevance. A notification comprising one or more ranked productivity features is presented to a user. In one example, the notification is presented through a user interface of an application/service. For instance, a user interface pane is surfaced to present suggestions. However, in alternative examples, notification of ranked productivity features is presented through different modalities.

Claims (47)

1. A method comprising:

detecting user access by a first user account to an electronic document that is collaboratively accessible by a group of users;

applying a trained machine learning model that generates productivity feature notifications for the first user account from a contextual analysis of signal data, wherein the applying of the trained machine learning model executes processing operations that comprise:

determining a context, associated with the user access to the electronic document, that collectively comprises a plurality of contextual determinations derived based on the contextual analysis of signal data, wherein the plurality of contextual determinations comprise:

a classification of a type of the user access to the electronic document by the first user account,

an identification of a collaborative comment, directed to the first user account from one or more other user accounts of the group of users, regarding content of the electronic document, and

a determination of a reference point in a lifecycle of the electronic document that identifies a state of document creation of the electronic document based on an evaluation of timestamp data for creation of the electronic document and user actions of the group of users with respect to modification of the electronic document, and

ranking relevance of productivity features, that each provide task completion assistance through a service that presents the electronic document, based on an evaluation of the context determined in the determining of the context; and

presenting, through a user interface, a notification of one or more of the productivity features that provide a suggestion for resolving the collaborative comment based on a result of evaluating the ranking of the relevance.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal data, used to determine the context, further comprises signal data identifying a level of user engagement with one or more productivity features based on past actions taken by the first user account.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the collaborative comments, from one or more other user accounts of the group of users, comprise one or more of tasks or reminders posted for the first user account by one or more other users of the group of users, and wherein the one or more tasks or reminders are associated with content of the electronic document.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: selecting, based on determinations of the context and the reference point, one or more of the productivity features for user assistance.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving, through the user interface, a request for provision of productivity features associated with a productivity application or service; and wherein the presenting presents, based on the request received, the notification of the one or more of the productivity features in a user assistance pane of the user interface.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the notification of the one or more of the productivity features comprises a selectable graphical user interface element that, upon selection, is configured to apply an automatic action to resolve the collaborative comment.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ranking of relevance of the productivity features comprises generating, by the trained machine learning model for each of the plurality of productivity features, a relevance scoring metric that indicates a relevance of a specific productivity feature to the context, and wherein the result of evaluating the ranking of the relevance is a comparative evaluation of respective relevance scoring metrics.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the applying of the trained machine learning model further executes processing operations that comprise generating a timing prediction as to a level of urgency for interrupting the first user account based on evaluation of the context, and wherein the notification of the one or more productivity features is generated based on a result of collectively analyzing of relevance scoring metrics and the timing prediction as to the level of urgency for interrupting the first user account.

9. A system comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory, operatively connected with the at least one processor, storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to execute a method that comprises:

detecting user access by a first user account to an electronic document that is collaboratively accessible by a group of users;

applying a trained machine learning model that generates productivity feature notifications for the first user account from a contextual analysis of signal data, wherein the applying of the trained machine learning model executes processing operations that comprise:

determining a context, associated with the user access to the electronic document, that collectively comprises a plurality of contextual determinations derived based on the contextual analysis of signal data, wherein the plurality of contextual determinations comprise:

a classification of a type of the user access to the electronic document by the first user account,

an identification of a collaborative comment, directed to the first user account from one or more other user accounts of the group of users, regarding content of the electronic document, and

a determination of a reference point in a lifecycle of the electronic document that identifies a state of document creation of the electronic document based on an evaluation of timestamp data for creation of the electronic document and user actions of the group of users with respect to modification of the electronic document, and

ranking relevance of productivity features, that each provide task completion assistance through a service that presents the electronic document, based on an evaluation of the context determined in the determining of the context; and

presenting, through a user interface, a notification of one or more of the productivity features that provide a suggestion for resolving the collaborative comment based on a result of evaluating the ranking of the relevance.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the signal data, used to determine the context, further comprises signal data identifying a level of user engagement with one or more productivity features based on past actions taken by the first user account.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the collaborative comments, from one or more other user accounts of the group of users, comprise one or more of tasks or reminders posted for the first user account by one or more other users of the group of users, and wherein the one or more tasks or reminders are associated with content of the electronic document.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the method, executed by the at least one processor, further comprises: selecting, based on determinations of the context and the reference point, one or more of the productivity features for user assistance.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the notification of the one or more of the productivity features comprises a selectable graphical user interface element that, upon selection, is configured to apply an automatic action to resolve the collaborative comment.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the ranking of relevance of the productivity features comprises generating, by the trained machine learning model for each of the plurality of productivity features, a relevance scoring metric that indicates a relevance of a specific productivity feature to the determined context, and wherein the result of evaluating the ranking of the relevance is a comparative evaluation of respective relevance scoring metrics.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the applying of the trained machine learning model further executes processing operations that comprise generating a timing prediction as to a level of urgency for interrupting the first user account based on evaluation of the context, and wherein the notification of the one or more productivity features is generated based on a result of collectively analyzing of relevance scoring metrics and the timing prediction as to the level of urgency for interrupting the first user account.

16. A computer-readable storage media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to execute a method comprising:

detecting user access by a first user account to an electronic document that is collaboratively accessible by a group of users;

applying a trained machine learning model that generates productivity feature notifications for the first user account from a contextual analysis of signal data, wherein the applying of the trained machine learning model executes processing operations that comprise:

determining a context, associated with the user access to the electronic document, that collectively comprises a plurality of contextual determinations derived based on the contextual analysis of signal data, wherein the plurality of contextual determinations comprise:

a classification of a type of the user access to the electronic document by the first user account,

an identification of a collaborative comment, directed to the first user account from one or more other user accounts of the group of users, regarding content of the electronic document, and

a determination of a reference point in a lifecycle of the electronic document that identifies a state of document creation of the electronic document based on an evaluation of timestamp data for creation of the electronic document and user actions of the group of users with respect to modification of the electronic document,

ranking relevance of productivity features, that each provide task completion assistance through a service that presents the electronic document, based on an evaluation of the context determined in the determining of the context, and

generating a notification of one or more of the productivity features that provide a suggestion for resolving the collaborative comment based on a result of evaluating the ranking of the relevance; and

transmitting, to an application or service, data for rendering the notification of one or more of the productivity features.

17. The computer-readable storage media of claim 16 , wherein the collaborative comments, from one or more other user accounts of the group of users, comprise one or more of tasks or reminders posted for the first user account by one or more other users of the group of users, and wherein the one or more tasks or reminders are associated with content of the electronic document.

18. The computer-readable storage media of claim 16 , wherein the generating of the notification of the one or more of the productivity features comprises including data for rendering a selectable graphical user interface element that, upon selection, is configured to apply an automatic action to resolve the collaborative comment.

19. The computer-readable storage media of claim 16 , wherein the ranking of relevance of the productivity features comprises generating, by the trained machine learning model for each of the plurality of productivity features, a relevance scoring metric that indicates a relevance of a specific productivity feature to the context, and wherein the result of evaluating the ranking of the relevance is a comparative evaluation of respective relevance scoring metrics.

20. The computer-readable storage media of claim 19 , wherein the applying of the trained machine learning model further executes processing operations that comprise generating a timing prediction as to a level of urgency for interrupting the first user account based on evaluation of the context, and wherein the notification of the one or more productivity features is generated based on a result of collectively analyzing of relevance scoring metrics and the timing prediction as to the level of urgency for interrupting the first user account.

Assignments (4)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 26, 2019
From: DESAI, SHIKHA DEVESH; HARDIMAN, GWENYTH ALANNA VABALIS; COLLISSON, PENELOPE ANN; LEE, YU BEEN; HENDRICH, SUSAN MICHELE
To: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Reel/Frame 048706/0394 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 26, 2019
From: DESAI, SHIKHA DEVESH; HARDIMAN, GWENYTH ALANNA VABALIS; COLLISSON, PENELOPE ANN; LEE, YU BEEN; HENDRICH, SUSAN MICHELE
To: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Reel/Frame 048706/0415 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 24, 2018
From: BALIK, PATRICIA HENDRICKS; SILVERMAN, ANAV; MAYO, ALYSSA RACHEL
To: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Reel/Frame 047299/0367 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 24, 2018
From: BALIK, PATRICIA HENDRICKS; SILVERMAN, ANAV; MAYO, ALYSSA RACHEL
To: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
Reel/Frame 047299/0452 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 62734659 · Sep 21, 2018
Related Publication 20200097586A1 · Mar 26, 2020