US 8,788,497 B2 · Automated criterion-based grouping and presenting

Abstract

Interrelated items in a complex item set (such as a set of components in a complex software architecture) may be difficult to present in a manner that facilitates an understanding and evaluation of the item set, due to the amount of information and the difficulty in automatically discerning the organization of the item set. A set of criteria may be utilized to form criterion groups to which items matching respective criteria may be automatically assigned. Further grouping assignments may be achieved by identifying an ungrouped item that is associated with a grouped item. Such techniques may be applied in many variations to yield a representation of the item set, and a presentation of the item set to a user, that aggregates similar items and interrelationships, thereby promoting an understanding and analysis of the structure and organization of the item set while reducing the user involvement in the generation of same.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of grouping associated items in an item set into criterion groups according to at least one criterion on a device having a processor, the method comprising:

executing on the processor instructions that cause the device to:
form a criterion group for respective at least one criterion;
for items that satisfy the criterion of a selected criterion group, assign the items to the selected criterion group;
while an ungrouped item of the item set is not assigned to any of the criterion groups:
identify at least one grouped item that has been assigned to one of the criterion groups with which the ungrouped item is associated;
if the ungrouped item is associated with only one grouped item, assign the ungrouped item to the criterion group of the only one grouped item;
and
if the ungrouped item is associated with at least two grouped items respectively assigned to different of the criterion groups:
among the at least two grouped items, select a selected grouped item;
and
assign the ungrouped item only to the criterion group of the selected grouped item.

8 more elements

A computer-readable memory device storing instructions that, when executed on a processor of a computing device, cause the computing device to group items in an item set into criterion groups according to at least one criterion by:

forming a criterion group for respective at least one criterion;
for items that satisfy the criterion of a selected criterion group, assigning the items to the respective criterion group;
while an ungrouped item of the item set is not assigned to any of the criterion groups:
identifying at least one grouped item that has been assigned to one of the criterion groups with which the ungrouped item is associated;
if the ungrouped item is associated with only one grouped item, assigning the ungrouped item to the criterion group of the only one grouped item;
and
if the ungrouped item is associated with at least two grouped items respectively assigned to different of the criterion groups:
among the at least two grouped items, selecting a selected grouped item;
and
assigning the ungrouped item only to the criterion group of the selected grouped item.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Automated criterion-based grouping and presenting

Life of this patent

Automated criterion-based grouping and presenting

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20