US20140074843A1 - Systems and methods for dynamic analysis, sorting and active display of semantic-driven reports of communication repositories - Google Patents

Abstract

A collection module, an analysis module, and a report module are each operably coupled to a database. The collection module can receive data associated with a user and can send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the data associated with the user in the database. Based at least in part on a pattern analysis or a semantic analysis of the data associated with the user, the analysis module can analyze the data to define an aggregated data set representing one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the user. The analysis module can send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the aggregated data set in the database. The report module can define a report representing the aggregated data set and can send a signal indicative of an instruction to present data associated with the report on a display of an electronic device.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
• This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/700,133 entitled “Systems and Methods for Aggregation, Correlation, Display and Analysis of Personal Communication Messaging and Event-Based Planning,” filed Sep. 12, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
• This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/700,627 entitled “Systems and Methods for Dynamic Analysis, Sorting and Active Display of Semantic-Driven Reports of Communication Repositories,” filed Sep. 13, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
• Embodiments described herein relate generally to analyzing, sorting, and/or displaying communication records, and, more particularly, to systems and methods for analyzing, sorting, and actively displaying semantic-driven reports of communication repositories.
• A large amount of company business and intellectual property information is contained or “locked away” in message repositories such as, for example, email, Instant Messages (IM), Short Message Service (SMS) messages, internal communication systems, voice communications and/or other voice and digital message vehicles. Some employers devote significant financial and/or human resources to operating and/or purchasing services or systems related to such repositories (e.g., email servers and/or the like) to provide staff members the tools they need to fulfill the responsibilities associated with the job function of each staff member (e.g., email services, address book or contact services, calendar service, instant message (IM) services, short message service (SMS), multimedia message service (MMS), visual media services, voice services and/or other files or archives that can be transcribed/converted into text-based data and analyzed). Such services and/or systems often retain vast call and/or activity logs and electronic archives and/or the like of email messages (e.g., inbox, sent, saved, deleted, etc.), IMs, SMSs, appointments, contacts, voicemail, and/or the like from the beginning of a staff member's employment to a departure of the staff member. In some known systems, contact records of persons or companies are manually defined. For example, a user can input information or manually confirm information within a message to be added to a contact record. In some instances, however, information associated with such relatively large electronic repositories can remain relatively inaccessible. For example, knowledge of relationship attributes (e.g., formality, strength, etc.), conversation tones, and/or other metadata associated with communications between a staff member and, for example, a client may not be readily identifiable in such electronic repositories. In some instances, the staff member may be the only source of such information. Thus, if the staff member leaves the company such information can be substantially lost.
• Therefore, a need exists for improved systems and methods for dynamic analysis, sorting and active display of semantic-driven reports of, for example, archived communication repositories from various communication modes.
SUMMARY
• Systems and methods for analyzing, sorting, and actively displaying semantic-driven reports of communication repositories are described herein. In some embodiments, a collection module, an analysis module, and a report module are each implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device and are each operably coupled to a database. The collection module is configured to receive data associated with a user and send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the data associated with the user in the database. Based at least in part on a pattern analysis or a semantic analysis of the data associated with the user, the analysis module is configured to analyze the data to define an aggregated data set representing one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the user. The analysis module is configured to send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the aggregated data set in the database. The report module is configured to define a report representing the aggregated data set and to send a signal indicative of an instruction to present data associated with the report on a display of an electronic device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a communication system according to an embodiment.
• FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a host device included in the communication system ofFIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the host device ofFIG. 2 collecting, analyzing, and reporting, a semantic-drive report associated with communication repositories.
• FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a display of an electronic device presenting a semantic-driven report associated with communication repositories, according to an embodiment.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of analyzing, sorting, and actively displaying a semantic-driven report associated with communication repositories, according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• In some embodiments, a collection module, an analysis module, and a report module are each implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device and are each operably coupled to a database. The collection module is configured to receive data associated with a user and send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the data associated with the user in the database. Based at least in part on a pattern analysis or a semantic analysis of the data associated with the user, the analysis module is configured to analyze the data to define an aggregated data set representing one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the user. The analysis module is configured to send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the aggregated data set in the database. The report module is configured to define a report representing the aggregated data set and to send a signal indicative of an instruction to present data associated with the report on a display of an electronic device.
• In some embodiments, a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to be executed by a processor includes code to cause the processor to receive a signal representing data associated with a set of interactions between a user and an entity. The code includes code to cause the processor to aggregate the data associated with the set of interactions between the user and the entity to define an aggregated data set. The aggregated data set is analyzed to define a quality of a relationship between the user and the entity. The code includes code to cause the processor to send a signal indicative of an instruction to graphically present data associated with the set of interactions between the user and the entity and the quality of the relationship on a display of an electronic device.
• In some embodiments, a method includes receiving, at a host device, a signal representing data associated with a set of interactions. The set of interactions are associated with a communication between a user and an entity. An aggregated data set is defined that represents one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the set of interactions. An interactive report is defined. The interactive report represents the aggregated data set and is presentable on a display of an electronic device. The method includes sending a signal indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on the display of the electronic device. The interactive report includes portions that are selectable to present data associated with at least one of the one or more relationship attributes or the set of interactions.
• In some embodiments, relatively unusable active or archived email, IM, SMS, calendar, contact, and/or other digital, visual, or voice files and logs are collected, processed, analyzed, compared, and presented in a usable manner. Data and metadata included in the files and/or logs can be presented by generated reports or substantially real-time navigation of a portal that displays personal and/or contact identifiers (e.g., photo, contact information, professional status, etc.) and/or a range of information defined by one or more analysis metrics. In some instances, the analysis metrics can include time, contact, topic, relationship, semantic analyses (e.g., comparisons with known formulae and/or proprietary formulae and proprietary learning), and/or the like. In some instances, the data can also be analyzed and presented based on employer-supplied information or social background (e.g., Internet sourced data) to further define and/or reveal knowledge contained in the data.
• As used in this specification, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, the term “a module” is intended to mean a single module or a combination of modules.
• As used herein, the term “module” refers to any assembly and/or set of operatively-coupled electrical components that can include, for example, a memory, a processor, electrical traces, optical connectors, software (executing in hardware), and/or the like. For example, a module executed in the processor can be any combination of hardware-based module (e.g., a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP)) and/or software-based module (e.g., a module of computer code stored in memory and/or executed at the processor) capable of performing one or more specific functions associated with that module.
• Various terms are used herein and in the appended claims to describe, for example, various parts, portions, layers, etc. of an interaction between a user of an electronic device and a user of a different electronic device. For example, the terms “communication” and “message” can be used interchangeably and refer generally to data being sent, in substantially one direction, from a user of an electronic device to a user of another electronic device. By way of example, a communication or message from a user of a first electronic device to a user of a second electronic device can be an email, a voice message, an instant message (IM), an SMS, and/or the like, as described herein. A response to the email from the user of the second electronic device to the user of the first electronic device can similarly be referred to as a communication or message. Moreover, the term “conversation” used herein refers generally to a one or more communications or messages between users of different electronic devices. For example, an original email and a response to an email can be considered a conversation. In other instances, a conversation can include a single communication.
• As used herein, the terms “modality,” “communication mode,” and “channel” can be used interchangeably and refer generally to one or more modes of communication using, for example, one or more electronic devices. Such modes of communication can be associated with a specific format (e.g., a data unit format) that, in some instances, can be unique to that mode of communication (e.g., a different protocol, a different data unit structure or arrangement, etc.). For example, a cellular telephone (e.g., a smart phone) can send a communication to another cellular telephone using a short message service (SMS) modality. Thus, when referring to a modality or channel it should be understood that the modality or channel includes, defines, and/or otherwise is associated with a data unit format suitable for transmission of data via that communication mode.
• As used in this specification, a “data unit” refers to any suitable portion of data. For example, data unit can refer to a data packet, a data cell, or a data frame such as, information that is delivered as a unit among peer entities of a network and that may contain control information, such as address information, user data, and/or the like.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of acommunication system100 that can be used to, for example, aggregate, correlate, analyze, and/or display communications included in a conversation, according to an embodiment. The communication system100 (also referred to herein as “system”) includes ahost device120 in communication with an electronic device110 (also referred to herein as “client device”) and adatabase160 via anetwork105. As described in further detail herein, thehost device120 can be configured to send and/or receive signals from theelectronic device110 and/or thedatabase160 via thenetwork105. In some instances, the signals sent and/or received over thenetwork105 can be associated with one or more communications included in a conversation between a user of theelectronic device110 and an entity such as, for example, a customer, a client, a contact, and/or the like. Moreover, in some instances, thehost device120 can be operable in the aggregation, correlation, analysis, and/or display of the communications between the user of theelectronic device110 and the entity regardless of a difference in communication modes (e.g., modalities) associated with the communications.
• Thenetwork105 can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a worldwide interoperability for microwave access network (WiMAX), a telephone network (such as a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN)), an intranet, the Internet, an optical fiber (or fiber optic)-based network, a virtual network (e.g., a virtual local area network (VLAN)), a cellular network, and/or any other suitable network or combination thereof. Moreover, any portion of thenetwork105 can be implemented as a wired and/or wireless network. In some embodiments, thenetwork105 can include one or more networks of any type such as, for example, a LAN or VLAN and the Internet.
• Theelectronic device110 can be any suitable client device. For example, in some embodiments, theelectronic device110 can be, for example, a personal computer (PC), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smart phone, a laptop, a tablet PC, a server device, a workstation, and/or the like. Although not shown inFIG. 1, theelectronic device110 can include at least a memory, a processor, a network interface, and an output device. For example, in some embodiments, the output device can be any suitable display that can provide at least a portion of a user interface for a software application (e.g., a mobile application, a PC application, an internet web browser, etc.) installed on theelectronic device110. In such embodiments, the display can be, for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor, a light emitting diode (LED) monitor, and/or the like. In other embodiments, the output device can be an audio device, a haptic device, and/or any other suitable output device. The network interface can be, for example, a network interface card and/or the like that can include at least an Ethernet port and/or a wireless radio (e.g., a WiFi® radio, a Bluetooth® radio, etc.). The memory can be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), and/or the like. The processor can be any suitable processing device configured to run or execute a set of instructions or code. For example, the processor can be a general purpose processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an accelerated processing unit (APU), and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and/or the like. The processor can be configured to run or execute a set of instructions or code stored in the memory associated with using, for example, a PC application, a mobile application, an internet web browser, a cellular and/or wireless communication (via the network105), and/or the like, as described in further detail herein.
• As described above, thedatabase160 is in communication with theelectronic device110 and thehost device120 via thenetwork105. Although not shown inFIG. 1, thedatabase160 can be included in, for example, a server device and/or the like. For example, in some embodiments, thedatabase160 can be included in and/or operably coupled to a server associated with a company (e.g., an email server, network server, etc.). Thedatabase160 can be, for example, a table, a repository, a relational database, an object-oriented database, an object-relational database, a structured query language (SQL) database, an extensible markup language (XML) database, and/or the like. In some embodiments, thedatabase160 can be configured to store data related to, for example, communications between a user and an entity (e.g., a client, a customer, a coworker, a business partner, and/or the like. More particularly, in some instances, thedatabase160 can store data and/or metadata associated with, for example, server log files (e.g., active log files), archived log files, archived messages, and/or the like.
• As described above, thehost device120 is in communication with theelectronic device110 and thedatabase160 via thenetwork105. Thehost device120 can be in a central location, distributed in multiple locations, and/or a combination thereof. Additionally, some or all components ofhost device120 may be located within theclient device110, or any other device(s) and/or server(s) (not shown). Moreover, while shown separately inFIG. 1, in some embodiments, thehost device120 and thedatabase160 can be collocated. Similarly stated, in some embodiments, thehost device120 can be a server and/or the like that can include and/or that can be operably coupled to thedatabase160. Thehost device120 can execute and/or perform any suitable function or process associated with analyzing, sorting, and/or displaying semantic-driven reports associated with communication records between, for example, a user of theelectronic device110 and an entity such as a client, customer, business partner, etc. regardless of a difference in communication modes associated with the users, as described in further detail herein.
• Thehost device120 of thesystem100 includes aprocessor130, amemory140, adatabase145, and acommunication interface150, as shown inFIG. 2. Thecommunication interface150 of thehost device120 can be, for example, hardware and/or software (e.g., stored in thememory140 and executing in the processor130) configured to allow thehost device120 to communicate with theelectronic device110, thedatabase160, and/or any other electronic device, network, and/or the like (not shown inFIG. 1). In some embodiments, thecommunication interface150 can include one or more wired and/or wireless interfaces, such as, for example, Ethernet interfaces, optical carrier (OC) interfaces, and/or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) interfaces. In some embodiments, the network interface can be, for example, a network interface card and/or the like that can include at least an Ethernet port and/or a wireless radio (e.g., a WiFi® radio, a Bluetooth® radio, etc.). Thecommunication interface150 can include any other suitable component or a combination of components to receive and/or send signals using any suitable communication mode, as described in further detail herein.
• Thememory140 of thehost device120 can be, for example, a random access memory (RAM), a memory buffer, a hard drive, a database, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), a read-only memory (ROM) and/or the like. In some embodiments, thememory140 can store instructions to cause theprocessor130 to execute modules, processes and/or functions associated withsystem100, as described in further detail herein. Although shown inFIG. 2 as being separate (e.g., operably coupled), in some embodiments, thememory140 can include and/or store thedatabase145.
• Thedatabase145 of thehost device120 can be, for example, a table, a repository, a relational database, an object-oriented database, an object-relational database, a SQL database, an XML database, and/or the like. Thedatabase145 can be configured to store data associated with communication records, analysis of communication records, reports related to the analysis of the communication records, and/or other data associated with thesystem100. For example, thedatabase145 can store data and/or metadata associated with communications between the user of theelectronic device110 and an entity, user preferences (e.g., preferences defined by the user of the electronic device110), contact information of, for example, business contacts associated with the user of theelectronic device110, communication modes (e.g., modalities) and/or rules associated therewith, and/or other data associated with thesystem100.
• Theprocessor130 of thehost device120 can be any suitable processor configured to run and/or execute a set of instructions (e.g., stored in the memory140) associated with thesystem100 and/or a service thereof. In some embodiments, for example, theprocessor130 can be a general purpose processor, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), and accelerated processing unit (APU), a network processor, a front end processor, and/or the like. Theprocessor130 can be configured to execute one or more hardware and/or software modules. For example, as shown inFIG. 2, theprocessor130 includes acollection module132, ananalysis module134, and areport module136. In some embodiments, theprocessor130 can include and/or can be configured to execute any additional module used in thecommunication system100. In other embodiments, theprocessor130 can include only a subset of the modules shown inFIG. 2. Moreover, any of the modules can be combined into, for example, a single module that can be executed to perform any number of functions.
• Thecollection module132 can be configured to receive and/or to retrieve communication records. For example, in some instances, thecollection module132 can receive communication records from thedatabase160, and/or a server operably coupled thereto, via thecommunication interface150 and thenetwork105. In some instances, thecollection module132 can retrieve communication records from the database160 (e.g., query thedatabase160 to retrieve data) using one or more communication protocols such as, for example, post office protocol 3 (POP3), internet message access protocol (IMAP), Microsoft Exchange protocol, web-based application programming interface (API), and/or the like. Moreover, thecollection module132 can receive communications records that include data in one or more communication modes. For example, in some embodiments, the communication records associated with, for example, the user of theelectronic device110 can include, for example, a communication sent or received via a modality associated with SMS, a communication sent or received via a modality associated with email, and/or a communication sent or received via a modality associated with a calendar event. In some instances, the communication records can include messages or the like sent and/or received via any suitable communication mode associated with, for example, email, instant message, SMS, MMS, specific site messenger interfaces, a social application web post, a voice utterance, a voicemail, a video feed, etc. In some instances, the messages can be sent and/or received via any suitable communication mode in a manner substantially similar to those described in U.S. patent application bearing Attorney Docket No. ZUES-001/01US entitled, “Systems and Methods for Aggregation, Correlation, Display and Analysis of Personal Communication Messaging and Event-Based Planning,” filed on the same day as this application, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
• Theanalysis module134 can, for example, aggregate the data associated with the communication records received by thecollection module132. In addition, theanalysis module134 can perform any number of processes and/or functions associated with analyzing the data associated with the communication records. For example, in some embodiments, theanalysis module134 can perform a pattern analysis, a semantic analysis, a speech recognition analysis, a contextual analysis, a video analysis, productivity analysis, natural language processing (NLP) and/or any other suitable analysis to define an aggregated data set (e.g., an aggregated and analyzed data set). In some instances, theanalysis module134 can perform the analysis based on, for example, a weighted analysis in which more recent communications are associated with a higher weighting than less recent communications.
• In other instances, the analysis can be based on a weighted analysis in which one modality is associated with a higher weighting than a different modality. For example, an email can be weighted higher than, for example, an SMS message. In some instances, the weighting of the communications can be associated with a value (e.g., a multiplier or the like) such as, for example, a percentage represented in decimal format between zero and one (e.g., 10% represented as 0.1, 25% represented as 0.25, 50% represented as 0.5, etc.), In other instances, the percentages used in a weighted analysis can be 100% or greater represented in decimal format (e.g., 125% represented as 1.25, 175% represented as 1.75, 200% represented as 2.0, etc.). In still other instances, the weighted analysis can be based on any suitable scoring system or scale such as, for example, 1-10, 1-100, 1-1000, etc. including only whole numbers (e.g., 3, 7, 25, etc.) or including whole numbers and fractions of numbers (e.g., 1.25, 5.6, 22, 108.4, etc.).
• Theanalysis module134 can aggregate and analyze the communication records to define the aggregated data set regardless of a difference in modality associated with the communications included therein. In some instances, theanalysis module134 can associate data included in the communication records with, for example, employer-supplied information or social background such as Internet sourced data, to further define and/or correlate the data included in the communication records. In some embodiments, the aggregated data set defined by analyzing the communication records can be stored, for example, in thedatabase145.
• In some embodiments, communications records can be analyzed and/or sorted using natural language processing (NLP) and/or by identifying text patterns to categorize each message by type (e.g., event-related messages, greetings, file transmissions, assignments of a task, etc.). For example, each communication can be identified and/or categorized based on the purpose of that communication. For example, an email stating “here are those files for reference” can be rated and/or categorized as 100% “File transmission.” For another example, an email stating “Read the attached report, report back. Please also set up meeting with client for next Friday” can be identified and/or weighted strongly for the categories: “Assignment of Task”, “Event-related” and “file transmission.” In other embodiments, a message can be analyzed with respect to and categoriezed based on any other suitable categories and/or functions. Such functionality can allow a user to easily locate and/or identify messages associated with a specific function and/or category.
• Thereport module136 can receive the aggregated data set and can define an interactive report representing the aggregated data set in an organized manner (e.g., based on, for example, a time sequence, a contact, a relationship, a date, a meeting, a project, one or more electronic devices, and/or the like). For example, in some instances, thereport module136 can receive a signal to retrieve an aggregated data set associated with, for example, the user of theelectronic device110. In this manner, thereport module136 can query thedatabase145 for the aggregated data set and can define an interactive report associated with the user. The interactive report can include any suitable data included in the aggregated data set such as, for example, contact information (e.g., profile picture, social network addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, home address, work address, place of employment, job title, etc.); sales information (e.g., status of a deal, formality of the relationship between the seller (the user) and the buyer (the entity or contact); calendar information (e.g., information associated with a meeting such as place, time, formality, etc.); and/or the like.
• After thereport module136 has defined the interactive report, thereport module136 can send a signal to an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device110) that is indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on a display of the electronic device. The interactive report can include, for example, portions that are selectable to present, for example, relationship attributes associated with a relationship between the user of theelectronic device110 and the entity (e.g., a contact or the like). In some instances, the relationship attributes can be associated with a score or the like. For example, strength of a relationship can be associated with a score, for example, between one and ten, in which a lower score is indicative of a weaker relationship than a higher score. Similarly, in some instances, formality of a relationship can be associated with a score, in which a lower score is indicative of a less formal relationship than a higher score. In other embodiments, other relationship attributes (e.g., a level of overlapping interests, tone of relationship, etc.) can be calculated and associated with a score.
• Thereport module136 can define the interactive report representing the aggregated data set regardless of a difference in modality of the communications included therein. For example, in some instances, a user can select a contact from a list of contacts included in the interactive report and, in response, the interactive report can present, on the display, a list of communications between, for example, the user of theelectronic device110 and the contact. In some instances, the messages (e.g., communications) can be organized in a time-based record regardless of a communication mode associated with each message. In other instances, the messages can be organized in a communication-based and time-based record in which the communications are organized in a time-based record for each communication mode. In some instances, the communication modes can be organized based on a user preference stored, for example, in thedatabase145.
• In some embodiments, theinteractive report136 can define the interactive report to be displayed on multiple electronic devices and/or in multiple formats. For example, thereport module136 can define the interactive report in a first format associated with a desktop computer and a second format associated with a tablet computer. Accordingly, a user can view the interactive report from multiple devices and using a format associated with and/or suitable for each device.
• Although thereport module136 is described above as sending a signal indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on a display of an electronic device, in other instances, thereport module136 can define a report that can be, for example, printed as a paper-based report. For example, thereport module136 can define a report that is organized in such a manner that is suitable for presentation on a paper medium. In some instances, the paper-based report and the interactive report can be arranged in a similar manner. In other instances, the paper-based report can be arranged in a different manner from the interactive report, while including substantially the same information. For example, while the interactive report presented on the display of the electronic device can include links to specific information, the paper-based report can be arranged in such a way as to present substantially the same information in a different format and/or arrangement.
• FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of ahost device220 that can receive data associated with a user (e.g., an employee of a company) and that can generate a report based on that data, according to an embodiment. Thehost device220 can be structurally and functionally similar to thehost device120 described inFIG. 2. For example, thehost device220 includes aprocessor230, amemory240, and adatabase245. Theprocessor230 includes acollection module232, ananalysis module234, and areport module236 that can be similar to or the same as thecollection module132, theanalysis module134, and thereport module136, respectively, included in theprocessor130 described above. As shown inFIG. 3, theanalysis module234 can perform any suitable process and/or sub-module associated with analyzing the data associated with the user such as, for example,analytics240,speech recognition242, andsemantic formulae244.
• As shown, thehost device220 is in communication with a database260 (e.g., via a communication interface and a network not shown inFIG. 3). Thedatabase260 can include, for example,archived files262 and server tog files264. In some instances, the server log files264 can include substantially real-time data associated with the user. Thearchived files262 can include, for example, files that are associated with a date that is before a predetermined date and/or time. For example, in some instances, an administrator or the like can define a preference or setting that can be associated with a predetermined period of time at which to move data from the server log files265 to the archived files262 (e.g., 30 days prior to the current date, 8 hours prior to the current time, etc.). In this manner, data that is associated with and/or that includes a time stamp that exceeds the predetermined time period can be moved from the server log files264 to thearchived files262 for storage.
• Thearchived files262 and the server log files264 (also referred to herein as “log files”) can include data associated with, for example, email messages, IM messages, SMS messages, calendar events, contact information, voicemail messages, telephone records, and/or other digital, visual, or voice records. In some instances, thehost device220 can send a signal to the database260 (and/or a server operably coupled thereto) to, for example, send communication records (e.g., thearchived files262 and the log files264) associated with the user to thehost device220. As shown inFIG. 3, thecollection module232 can receive thearchived files262 and the tog files264. In some instances, thecollection module232 can be configured to collect substantially real-time data from thelog file264. In some instances, the data can be sent to, for example, an external repository or the like prior to being received at thecollection module232. Similarly stated, data can be sent to the external repository and thecollection module232 can retrieve the data from the external repository. In some instances, thecollection module232 can convert and/or translate the data into a common format. In some instances, thecollection module232 can send a signal to thedatabase245 included in thehost device220 to store the data associated with the receivedarchived files262 and the received log files264.
• Once thearchived files262 and the log files264 are received and/or are stored in thedatabase245 of thehost device220, theanalysis module234 can analyze the data associated with the user. For example, in some instances, theanalysis module230 can aggregate the data and perform an analysis based at least partially onanalytics240,speech recognition242, andsemantic formulae244. In some instances, theanalytics240 can include, for example, pattern recognition, contact analysis, topic analysis, productivity analysis, detection of suspicious activity, modality type, frequency of communication, number of different modalities used, statistical analysis, classification analysis, and/or the like. In some instances, thespeech recognition242 can be performed to translate, for example, audio data into text data, which can then be analyzed. In some instances, thesemantic formulae244 can be performed to determine, for example, the context of a communication, a formality of a relationship, and/or the like. In this manner, theanalysis module234 can define an aggregated data set that can include data, related to the user, that is associated with patterns of behavior or communications, semantic patterns, speech and/or utterance patterns and/or attributes, relationships and/or attributes of the relationships among data objects such as contacts, conversations, companies, etc., and/or the like.
• In some instances, theanalysis module234 can be adaptive. For example, in some instances, the analysis of data can be compared with, for example, previously analyzed data to enhance the analysis process (e.g., increase efficiency, accuracy, etc.). In some instances, theanalysis module234 can perform any of the analysis based on, for example, a weighted analysis in which more recent communications are associated with a higher weighting than less recent communications, and/or in which a modality is associated with a higher weighting than a different modality, as described above. Moreover, theanalysis module234 can aggregate and analyze the data received by thecollection module232 to define the aggregated data set regardless of a difference in modality associated with the communications included therein. In some instances, theanalysis module234 can associate data included in the aggregated data set with, for example, employer-supplied information or social background such as Internet sourced data, to further define and/or correlate the data included in the communication records. In some instances, the aggregated data set can be stored, for example, in thedatabase245. In other instances, the aggregated data set can be sent to thereport module236.
• Thereport module236 can define a report related to the aggregated data set in an organized manner (e.g., based on, for example, a time sequence, a contact, a relationship, a date, a meeting, a project, one or more electronic devices, and/or the like). For example, in some instances, thereport module236 can receive a signal to retrieve an aggregated data set associated with the user and can define an interactive report associated with that user. The interactive report can include any suitable data included in the aggregated data set such as, for example, contact information (e.g., profile picture, social network addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, home address, work address, place of employment, job title, etc.); sales information (e.g., status of a deal, formality of the relationship between the seller (the user) and the buyer (the entity or contact); calendar information (e.g., information associated with a meeting such as place, time, formality, etc.); and/or the like.
• After thereport module236 has defined the interactive report, thereport module136 can send a signal to anelectronic device210 that is indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on a display of theelectronic device210. The interactive report can include, for example, portions that are selectable to present, for example, relationship attributes associated with a relationship between the user and an entity (e.g., a contact or the like). In some instances, the relationship attributes can be associated with a score or the like, as described above. For example, in some instances, the interactive report can include contact information such as, for example, a name (e.g., Robert), alias, nickname, picture, email addresses (e.g., bob@company.com, bob.brown@company.com, bob_b22@gmail.com, etc.), IM addresses, telephone numbers, SMS numbers, and/or the like. Moreover, the interactive report can include variations of contact information (e.g., Robert, Rob, Bob). Based at least in part on the analysis by the analysis module234 (e.g., theanalytics240 and/or the semantic formulae244), the report can include, for example, the proper variation of spelling of a contact's name (e.g., Catherine, Katherine, Kathryn). Furthermore, theanalysis module234 can analyze social networking data and/or other online data to verify an identity of a contact. In addition, if a contact record for a person or a company already exists, any new information contained in the aggregated data set can be added to the already existing contact record. In some embodiments, the user can edit the contact information.
• Each field of information associated with the contact can have a reference (e.g., a link) to the message from which the information was extracted to allow the user can quickly refer to that message. In some instances, a profile picture of a contact can be a navigational marker. This can provide a rich user experience when navigating the interactive report. By displaying contact photos as a prominent active link tier in the reports, the user can quickly and intuitively select and navigate information generated for each contact.
• Thereport module236 can define the interactive report representing the aggregated data set regardless of a difference in modality of the communications included therein. For example, in some instances, a user can select a contact from a list of contacts included in the interactive report and, in response, the interactive report can present, on the display of theelectronic device210, a list of communications between the user and the contact. In some instances, messages (e.g., communications) included in the interactive report can be organized in a time-based record regardless of a communication mode associated with each message. In other instances, the messages can be organized in a communication-based and time-based record in which the communications are organized in a time-based record for each communication mode. In some instances, the communication modes can be organized based on a user preference stored, for example, in thedatabase145.
• Although thereport module236 is described above as sending a signal indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on the display of theelectronic device210, in other instances, thereport module236 can define a report that can be, for example, a paper-basedreport270. For example, thereport module236 can define the paper-basedreport270 that is organized in such a manner that is suitable for presentation on a paper medium. In some instances, the paper-basedreport270 and the interactive report presented on the display of theelectronic device210 can be arranged in a similar manner. In other instances, the paper-basedreport270 can be arranged in a different manner from the interactive report presented on the display of theelectronic device210, while including substantially the same information.
• FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of aninteractive report311 presented on a display of an electronic device (not shown), according to an embodiment. Theinteractive report311 can be generated and/or defined by ahost device320 that can be substantially similar to thehost device120 and/or thehost device220 described above. A range of reports (with varying combinations of tools, metrics, and/or related content) can be generated and presented depending on a given focus of, for example, a company and/or administrator, For example, theinteractive report311 can facilitate on-Boarding or orientation where past activity of a user or a group of users who either left the company or changed positions and/or location is analyzed to help their replacement get up to speed more quickly in the job.
• For another example, theinteractive report311 can facilitate a project activity and/or status report (e.g., a customer activity report, a client activity report, a task status report, and/or the like. In some embodiments, for example, theinteractive report311 can facilitate the status of a company's sales pipeline (e.g.,stage 1, a prospect and/or opportunity;stage 2, a lead and/or interest;stage 3, in diligence and/or negotiations; and stage 4, a closed deal). In some instances, a sales person (e.g., the former employee) can define the current stage of the deal. This sales person's designation, however, may be different from the actual stage, as the salesperson may want to show more progress than has actually been made. In this manner, thehost device320 can use data (e.g., a combination of the data) associated with the past activity of the user, past activity of other users associated with the company, customer data, data associated with industry trends, data from third-party experts, sources and/or databases, etc, to determine if the stage that the user has designated is accurate. In some embodiments, the host device can also analyze the status and/or details of the deal or project using data (e.g., a combination of data) associated with, for example, a past sequence of communications, the content of such communications, the tone pattern of such communications, a length of the message(s) associated with such communications, formality of such communications, numbers of users involved in the communications and/or projects, the user's professional title, with which organization the users are associated (e.g., from the user's company, organization or another organization), time from first contact of that user or another in the company to completed deal, project or like task, the attachments sent in the communications, the type of attachments sent in the communications, meetings associated with the deal, the number and title of the people involved in such meetings, the professional titles and/or job descriptions of people in the meeting, the weather during the meetings, the time of day of the meetings, where messages associated with the communications were sent and received, a time at which messages associated with the communications where read, indications from other users on the team regarding the stage of the deal, and/or the like. If, for example, thehost device320 determines the user's designation of the stage of a sale is substantially the same as the stage of the sale determined through the analysis, thehost device320 can present data, for example, in theinteractive report311 to indicate that the user designated the stage of the sale correctly. If thehost device320 determines that the stage of the sale is different from the user's designation, thehost device320 can present data, for example, in theinteractive report311 to indicate that there appears to be a discrepancy. In some instances, thehost device320 can recommend a time period in which to correct the discrepancy. In other embodiments, any suitable factors can be used to define an activity and/or status report for any other project, activity, task and/or the like.
• As described above, the host device320 (and more particularly an analysis module or the like) can analyze communication records from, for example, an archived files source, log files, and/or the like (e.g., including email, IM, SMS, contact, calendar, and/or other digital, visual or voice files and logs) to present a broad range communications patterns, messaging and meeting activity, and productivity. In other words, thehost device320 can analyze communication records from, for example, an archived file source, log files, or the like, regardless of a difference in modalities, to define a set of relationship attributes associated with a user or an entity. By way of example, the analysis can be used to define and/or determine a set of metrics or a combination of metrics such as, for example, overall activity of the user or a contact such as, frequency of messaging, source of messages (e.g., desktop, mobile, VPN, external ISP, and/or the like), comparators to company targets, peers, and/or industry standards for these activities (e.g., proprietary data that is developed by the company and/or data provided, published, and/or purchased from a variety of industry and/or academic sources); overall productivity of the user or a contact (e.g., response times, time of day/week), comparators to company targets, peers or industry standards for these activities; compliance with corporate communications requirements (e.g., tone and tenor of messages, requirements to include disclaimers, types of documents that can and cannot be sent, participants that must be included in messaging, etc.); a number of and/or patterns found in “conversation threads” (e.g., multiple linked emails sent among participants on a given topic (connected through subject or reply functions)); top contacts of the user internally and or externally either by a total time period or a defined time period; the number of messages and participants (To:, CC:, BCC:) included in individual, group, and/or conversation-linked messages; text-based messages of the user (e.g., including topic, keywords, and/or full messages) during a defined time period or against a particular filter; the best times to communicate with a contact; areas of interest (e.g., professional or otherwise) associated with a contact (e.g., association work, career advancement, sports, vacations, etc.); a level of overlapping interests between the user and the contact; average response time of the user to a contact (or vice versa); semantic analyses of communications to determine formality (e.g., formal communication vs. informal/casual conversation); tenure at the company; summary of documents sent and received; number of meetings and average number of meetings per week by the user, a contact, or a group; last meeting subjects/topics; average number of messages and participants per conversation thread; a propensity of a user to use messaging inappropriately (e.g., personal use, illegal use, use of profanity, etc.); suspected irregular activity such as, for example, unusual email patterns, message types, content, attachments, source of email originating (e.g., external ISP, etc.); suspected recruitment by other employees, company contractors, and/or competitors; suspected misappropriation or theft of company documents or assets such as, for example, sending confidential messages or documents out of the company to themselves or others; and/or the like.
• As shown, for example, inFIG. 4, theinteractive report311 includes acontact portion312, asemantic findings portion313, acontact analytics portion314, acategory portion315, aset portion316, and acommunication portion317. Thecontacts portion312 can include contact information such as the information described above. In some instances, the contacts included in thecontacts portion312 of theinteractive report311 can include contact photographs (photos) associated with each contact that can be linked from or embedded with a person's email, IM, SMS, address book or other communications files. Electronic photos of the contacts can be collected via, for example, company-supplied. sources, social network sites and/or databases, purchased and/or scanned photos, association listings, directories, etc. and linked to each contact's communications stored in, for example, a database of thehost device320. The contact photos can be, in turn, used as navigational markers in theinteractive report311. For example, a user can select a contact318 (e.g., thecontact318 outlined in a black box and selected by the arrow representing, for example, a mouse cursor) and theinteractive report311 can display information associated with the analysis of the relationship in thecontact analytics portion314. In addition, the information can be split into categories based at least in part on a topic of conversation and/or the like. The categories can be presented in, for example, thecategories portion315 of theinteractive report311 and, in some instances, can be further split into, for example, sets (e.g., a set of individual conversation threads associated with a topic) and presented in theset portion316. The information and/or data can be displayed in a number of ways including color (as shown in thecategories portion315 and/or the set portion316), graphical (as shown in the semantic findings portion313), and/or other symbol methods to indicate relative weights and properties of these relationships. In this manner, the user can select a communication included in a conversation in theset portion316 to present the communication in, for example, thecommunication portion317.
• Although not shown inFIG. 4, theinteractive report311 can also include a. portion associated with an attachment or the like. For example, in some instances, thehost device320 can aggregate attachments included in communications between the user and an entity (e.g., a coworker, client, etc.) or group of entities. In such instances, selecting the contact as described above can link to an attachment portion or the like that include one or more attachments associated with that contact. Moreover, the aggregation of attachments can be such that only one copy of the attachment is present unless otherwise dictated by, for example, a user preference. This can allow a user to quickly and easily search for and locate specific attachments related to a conversation, a user/group and/or a project.
• In some instances, for example, thehost device320 can use telephone records, voice records, and/or any other records associated with voice data, from the past and/or in substantially real-time to measure strength of relationships between people, groups and/or companies. In some instances, thehost device320 can analyze the format and/or context of email records to define and/or measure, for example, a formality of a relationship between people, groups, and/or companies. The analysis results can be used alone or in concert with other relationship data derived and analyzed by thehost device320. The analysis results can be used for providing a social network showing relationships among people and/or companies that includes relationship attributes such as, strengths, formality, status, etc. Thehost device320 can present, for example, a chart, a text, a nodal map, or any other form of data to reflect the analysis in theinteractive report311. For example, as shown inFIG. 4, thesemantic findings portion313 of theinteractive report311 can include a nodal map that can graphically represent, for example, strength of relationships between a user and one or more entities. Although shown inFIG. 4 as a nodal map, in other instances, thesemantic findings portion313 can include data associated with relationship attributes in any suitable format. For example, in some instances, the relationship attributes can be associated with a score (e.g., 1-10 and/or the like) in which a higher score can indicate, for example, a stronger relationship than a lower score. Similarly, in some instances, a higher score can indicate, for example, a more formal relationship than a lower score.
• The relationship and/or nodal maps in thesemantic findings portion313 can present relationship attributes such as, for example, strong or weak communication relationships (and drawn from this, actual professional relationships) between two or more contacts. The semantic information (e.g., tone/emotion, relationships, topics) generated through the analysis can find any suitable relationship attributes such as, for example, one or combination of a level of formality (e.g., formal vs. informal) in communications with a contact; the level of contriteness (e.g., apology, remorse, interest in remedying mistakes) in communications with a contact; patterns of potentially negative communications with a contact (e.g., incidences of anger, frustration, criticism, complaint, etc.); trending patterns in communications that reveal increasing or decreasing person-to-contact formality, cooperation, collegiality, professionalism, collaboration, and/or antagonism; trending patterns in communications that reveal contact or a “client company's” propensity to enter into or exit from financial or other business agreements with the user as agent of the company; professional relationships (e.g., corporate or association) such as employment status, trade association memberships, event participation, etc. of a contact (e.g., as revealed through cross-reference with social media data and/or the like), professional association listings, directories, etc.; trending corporate or product category topics of discussions in communications with a contact; trending business negotiations, contracts, human resources, and/or other business activities in the communications with a contact; trending informal topics in communications (e.g., current affairs, sports, leisure activities, hobbies, interests, and/or the like) in communications with a contact; and/or the like.
• In some instances, thehost device320 can present in the interactive report311 a suggestion of a person, contact, group, and/or company that a user can contact, based on a current task or project of the user. For example, in some instances, thehost device320 can provide a suggestion using analysis results from, for example, an analysis module or the like. By way of example, if user A is working on a project P, thehost device320 can suggest people, groups, and/or companies that are involved or that can have information regarding the topic of project P. Additionally, in some embodiments, thehost device320 can suggest people, groups, and/or companies that might be discussing the topic of project P in other locations, branches, or departments of the company of user A. For example, thehost device320 can identify individuals with whom user A is not currently communicating and/or individuals with whom user A previously has not communicated. In this manner, user A can be provided with more visibility into the individuals, groups, and/or companies that can help and/or people that have worked on project P or on the topic associated with project P in the past. In other instances, for example, if user A is meeting with user B from company C, thehost device320, based on the analysis results, can alert user A that users A₁, A₂, and A₃from his or her company have previously met, conversed on the phone, exchanged emails, SMSs, etc., with user B or with other users from the company C. Thehost device320 can provide information about the meetings and/or conversations such as, for example, dates, contents, minutes, topic(s), location of meetings, participants' names, links to additional available information, etc., to user A and present them in, for example, theinteractive report311.
• Although particularly shown inFIG. 4, theinteractive report311 can include any suitable data display method to increase and/or maximize user ease and/or to facilitate information access. This can include, for example, photo-as-navigation icons for key contacts; descriptive symbols-as-navigation icons; interactive statistics (e.g., shown as an interactive statistic representation such as in text, charts, neural/nodal maps or infographics); relationships (e.g., in text, charts, neural/nodal maps or infographics); hyperlinked sets and subsets that follow defined relationships between contacts and data (e.g., displayed by a logic tree or cascading folders or windows); real-time generated charts, graphs, neural/nodal maps and infographics allowing user-activated commands and navigation; search navigation features; dynamic and customized report generation, saving, printing and sharing abilities; etc.
• Theinteractive report311 can present substantially real-time data associated with a user, a company, a client, a contact, a project, a meeting, and/or the like. For example, as described above, thehost device320 can include a module such as, for example, thecollection module132 that can receive and/or collect data in substantially real-time. In this manner, thehost device320 can analyze, update, and/or report information associated with the collected data in substantially real-time to present theinteractive report311 to the user including substantially real-time information associated with, for example, a contact, a project, a meeting, a discussion, a sales process and/or status, and/or any suitable relationship attribute associated therewith. For example, a representation of a relationship attribute, such a formality (e.g., a score, a color, etc.), associated with a contact can be presented in thesemantic findings portion313. In some instances, the user associated with theinteractive report311 might receive an email from the contact that is less formal than previous emails. In this manner, thehost device320 can analyze the email (e.g., using a semantic analysis as described above) to determine the formality of the email. Therefore, based on the analysis, thehost device320, in some instances, might define a new score associated with the formality (e.g., a lower score associated with a less formal relationship) and present data associated with the updated formality attribute in thesemantic findings portion313 of theinteractive report311. Thus, theinteractive report311 can be used by individuals (e.g., employees, contractors, members etc.) currently associated with a company and/or organization to organize and view their own information as well as another user's information (e.g., an individual who is no longer associated with the company and/or organization).
• While discussed with respect toFIG. 4 as displaying theinteractive report311, in some embodiments, a user can send and/or receive a message via a communication mode associated with theinteractive report311. In such a manner, theinteractive report311 can read and display the message based on the communication mode associated with theinteractive report311. Moreover, thehost device320 can update theinteractive report311 with the message. In some embodiments, thehost device320 can provide an indication to theinteractive report311 regarding the new message.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating amethod490 of analyzing, sorting, and actively displaying a semantic-driven report of communication repositories, according to an embodiment. In some instances, the semantic-driven report can be based on interactions associated with a former employee and can be used, for example, in on-boarding and/or for orientation of a new employee. Themethod490 includes receiving, at a host device, a signal representing data associated with a set of interactions, with each interaction being associated with a communication between a user and an entity, at491. The communications between the user and the entity can be sent and/or received via any suitable communication mode (modality) associated with, for example, an email, an IM, an SMS, an MMS, a specific site messenger interface, a voice message, a chat, a video, a calendar event, a contact listing, a dashboard, an interactive report, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the host device can be a host device such as, for example, thehost devices120 and/or220 described above with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3, respectively. As described above, the host device can be in communication with, for example, a database (e.g., including archived files and/or a server log files) or the like that can include and/or define a repository of the communications. In this manner, the host device can receive data associated with the set of interactions from the database (at or via a collection module and/or the like).
• An aggregated data set is defined that represents one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the set of interactions, at492. For example, the host device can receive data associated with the set of interactions and, for example, a module such as theanalysis module234 can perform, one or more of an analytic analysis, a speech recognition analysis, a semantic analysis and/or the like. In some instances, the analysis can include a weighted analysis in which more recent communications are weighed more heavily than less recent communications. An interactive report is defined that represents the aggregated data set, at493. For example, in some instances, the host device can include a module such as thereport module236. In such instances, the report module can define the interactive report that can include data defined and/or determined through the analysis of the set of interactions.
• Themethod490 includes sending a signal indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on a display of an electronic device, at494. In some instances, the interactive report can include portions that are selectable to present data associated with at least one of the one or more relationship attributes or the set of interactions. Moreover, the interactive report can be organized in a usable manner. For example, in some embodiments, the interactive report can be substantially similar to theinteractive report311 ofFIG. 4. In this manner, the interactive report can include, for example, a contacts portion that can include a set of photos each associated with a different contact. In such instances, the user can select a contact and the interactive report can present, on the display of the electronic device, data associated with the interactions between the user and the contact that can include specific communications, indications of the strength of the relationship between the user and the contact, indications of a formality in communications between the user and the contact, and/or the like. Thus, the interactive report can present data associated with the interactions between the user and an entity that would not otherwise be available.
• In some embodiments, the system allows a user to save a message and/or a portion of a message to a data repository. For example, in some embodiments, the user can select messages to specifically save and/or associate with a specific contact, project, organization, etc. In some embodiments, a user can also select only a portion of a message (e.g., a text portion, an attachment, file, etc.) to save and/or associate with a specific contact, project, organization, etc. For example, a user can select (e.g., highlight) a portion of a message to be saved. The user can then indicate that they would like to save that portion of the message. That piece of data (text, file, attachment etc.) is then saved. The portion of data can also be associated with the original author, the original message, a project, an organization and/or the like. In some embodiments, the portion of the data can also be combined with data added by the author (e.g., an annotation regarding the data), data added by other users (e.g., annotations from other users), data defined, captured and/or inferred by the system through other available data. In some embodiments, such information collection and association can exist as an add-on (e.g., using an application programming interface (API), etc.) in a communication mode specific system (e.g., an email system) and/or using the communication mode aggregation system shown and described herein.
• Some embodiments described herein relate to devices (e.g., access points, mobile network interfaces) with a non-transitory computer-readable medium (also can be referred to as a non-transitory processor-readable medium) having instructions or computer code thereon for performing various computer-implemented operations. The computer-readable medium (or processor-readable medium) is non-transitory in the sense that it does not include transitory propagating signals per se (e.g., a propagating electromagnetic wave carrying information on a transmission medium such as space or a cable). The media and computer code (also can be referred to as code) may be those designed and constructed for the specific purpose or purposes. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include, but are not limited to: magnetic storage media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical storage media such as Compact Disc/Digital Video Discs (CD/DVDs), Compact Disc-Read Only Memories (CD-ROMs), and holographic devices; magneto-optical storage media such as optical disks; carrier wave signal processing modules; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and execute program code, such as Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), Read-Only Memory (ROM) and Random-Access Memory (RAM) devices. Other embodiments described herein relate to a computer program product, which can include, for example, the instructions and/or computer code discussed herein.
• Examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, micro-code or micro-instructions, machine instructions, such as produced by a compiler, code used to produce a web service, and files containing higher-level instructions that are executed by a computer using an interpreter. For example, embodiments may be implemented using Java, C++, or other programming languages (e.g., object-oriented programming languages) and development tools. Additional examples of computer code include, but are not limited to, control signals, encrypted code, and compressed code.
• Although the interactions (e.g., communications) are described above as being between a user (e.g., an employee) and an entity (e.g., a client, customer, coworker, company, business partner, etc.), in some instances, the interactions can be between two users, two entities, and/or any combination thereof. For example, an interactive report (e.g., defined by a report module of a host device) can include data associated with interactions between a first company and a second company. In other instances, an interactive report can include data associated with interactions between a company and a client or customer.
• While specific relationship attributes are described above, in some instances, an interactive report can include information associated with any suitable relationship attribute. Similarly, while the relationship attributes are described above as being determined from, for example, archived file and/or server log files of communications, in some instances, a host device can receive and/or retrieve data from any suitable source (e.g., online repositories, social networking information, public and/or private databases, etc.) to facilitate the defining of the relationship attributes. Additionally, information received from the Internet, web pages, databases (public and/or private) relating to a user's performance, ranking, ratings (e.g., on productivity measures), and/or the like, can be used to define a relationship attribute and/or other attribute presentable in the interactive report.
• Although theinteractive report311 is described with reference toFIG. 4 as displaying information generated by, for example, thehost device320, in some instances, theinteractive report311 can also include user defined information such as, for example, bookmarks, hyperlinks, notes, reminders, and/or the like that can be represented in, for example, an independent portion of theinteractive report311 and/or tied to and/or linked to other information such as a contact or the like. Moreover, in some instances, a user can select information from a message (e.g., select information included in a received email using an email application or web browser) to be saved by thehost device320 and presented in theinteractive report311. In some instances, thehost device320 can link the information to other data associated with the communication, the contact, and/or the like.
• In some embodiments, the system can compare any suitable relationship attribute to one or more thresholds to determine a pattern. For example, the system can flag behavior (e.g., formality) that is below a predictable and/or desirable threshold. Data such as user/group behavior factors (e.g., derived from metadata), past patters of behavior, indicators of key information, certain words and/or phrases can be used in such an analysis.
• While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Where schematics and/or embodiments described above indicate certain components arranged in certain orientations or positions, the arrangement of components may be modified. While the embodiments have been particularly shown and described, it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made. Although various embodiments have been described as having particular features and/or combinations of components, other embodiments are possible having a combination of any features and/or components from any of embodiments as discussed above.
• Where methods and/or events described above indicate certain events and/or procedures occurring in certain order, the ordering of certain events and/or procedures may be modified. Additionally, certain of the events may be performed concurrently in a parallel process when possible, as well as performed sequentially as described above.

Claims (20)

What is claimed:

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a collection module implemented in at least one of a memory or a processing device and operatively coupled to a database, the collection module configured to (1) receive data associated with a user and (2) send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the data associated with the user in the database;

an analysis module operatively coupled to the database, the analysis module configured to analyze the data associated with the user, based at least in part on a pattern analysis or a semantic analysis of the data associated with the user, to define an aggregated data set representing one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the user, the analysis module configured to send a signal indicative of an instruction to store the aggregated data set in the database; and

a report module operatively coupled to the database, the report module configured to define a report representing the aggregated data set and configured to send a signal indicative of an instruction to present data associated with the report on a display of an electronic device.

2. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the data associated with the user includes data from at least one of an email, an email archive, a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia message service (MMS) message, an instant message (IM), a chat, an audio message, a video, a calendar event, or a contact listing.

3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the relationship attributes are based on at least one of a communication history, a keyword search, a project status, productivity data, a social networking activity, a location, a calendar, a task list, an indication of a frequency of communication, a communication response time, a tone of a communication, a mode of communication, a number of different communication modes used to communicate, or a formality of a communication.

4. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the aggregated data set representing one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the user is defined by a weighted analysis, the weighted analysis includes weighting data based at least in part on a time period associated with each data unit included in the data associated with the user.

5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the report presented on the display of the electronic device is an interactive report, the interactive report including portions that are selectable to allow a user of the electronic device to view at least one relationship attribute.

6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more relationship attributes is indicative of a quality of a relationship between an employee of a first company and at least one of a contact, a second company, or a project.

7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the collection module is configured to receive the data associated with the user from at least one of an archive file or a server log file.

8. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to be executed by a processor, the code comprising code to cause the processor to:

receive a signal representing data associated with a set of interactions between a user and an entity;

aggregate the data associated with the set of interactions between the user and the entity to define an aggregated data set;

analyze the aggregated data set to define a quality of a relationship between the user and the entity; and

send a signal indicative of an instruction to graphically present data associated with the set of interactions between the user and the entity and the quality of the relationship on a display of an electronic device.

9. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the user is a former employee of a company, the set of interactions being associated with the company.

10. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the code to cause the processor to receive the signal representing data associated with the interactions between the user and the entity includes code to cause the processor to receive data from at least one of an email, an email archive, a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia message service (MMS) message, an instant message (IM), a chat, an audio message, a video, a calendar event, or a contact listing.

11. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the code to cause the processor to analyze the aggregated data set includes code to cause the processor to analyze using a weighted analysis, the weighted analysis includes weighting data associated with an interaction based at least in part on a time period associated with that interaction.

12. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the data graphically presented on the display of the electronic device includes at least one of a photo-as-navigation icon, a symbol-as-navigation icon, a hyperlink, or an interactive statistic representation.

13. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the entity is at least one of a contact or a company.

14. The non-transitory processor-readable medium ofclaim 8, wherein the quality of the relationship is based at least in part on a pattern recognition analysis and a semantic analysis of the aggregated data set.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving, at a host device, a signal representing data associated with a set of interactions, the set of interactions being associated with a communication between a user and an entity;

defining an aggregated data set, the aggregated data set representing one or more relationship attributes in the data associated with the set of interactions;

defining an interactive report representing the aggregated data set, the interactive report being presentable on a display of an electronic device; and

sending a signal indicative of an instruction to present the interactive report on the display of the electronic device, the interactive report including portions that are selectable to present data associated with at least one of the one or more relationship attributes or the set of interactions.

16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the receiving the signal includes receiving the signal from an archive storage device or a server log file.

17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the defining the aggregated data set is based at least in part on a weighted analysis of the data associated with the set of interactions, the weighted analysis includes weighting data based at least in part on a time period associated with each interaction from the set of interactions.

18. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the user is a former employee of a company, the report configured to at least partially train a new employee replacing the former employee.

19. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the data associated with the interactions between the user and the entity includes data from at least one of an email, an email archive, a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia message service (MMS) message, an instant message (IM), a chat, a voice message, a video, a calendar event, or a contact listing.

20. The method ofclaim 15, wherein, the entity is at least one of a contact or a company.

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