Patent Grant
9824183
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to the following commonly assigned U.S. patent applications, which provide example methods and apparatus and are all hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties:
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information processing, and more specifically to a system and method for automatically and intelligently augmenting and processing digital information sets, such as electronic documents, using proxy data.
Description of the Related Art
Many businesses, organizations, and other entities allow and often prefer individuals and other entities to submit information electronically using electronic documents, such as electronic forms. Individuals utilize computers to submit electronic documents to order products, request quotes for products, make applications to an organization, and for a myriad of other purposes. Computer software applications themselves can also be utilized to submit electronic documents on behalf of an individual or other entity.
Referring to
Some electronic documents require only information that is readily available to the user, such as name, address, e-mail address, billing information, and an identification of products to be ordered. Completion of such forms by a user is generally very straightforward and easy. Other electronic forms require information to be provided that is much less straightforward and can take 15 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, or longer to complete. The reasons for the long completion times vary from form to form. Sometimes a large quantity of information required to complete the form increases completion times. Sometimes the information needed to accurately complete the form is not readily available to the user. In this case, the user generally either conducts research to obtain the correct information, or the user guesses at the information to be entered.
Completion of forms for underwritten products such as insurance policies (including applications therefore) and financial products, such as mortgages and other financing instruments, provide an example of the time and complexity that can be involved in a form completion and submittal process. Agents complete and submit an electronic form to one or more underwriters to obtain a quote for a particular underwritten product. Given the multitude of available underwritten products and the multitude of underwriters, the number and complexity of forms related to the purchase or obtaining a quote from an underwriter remains a significant obstacle for better efficiency among users that transact business with underwriters. The term “agent” includes agents, customer service representatives (CSRs), agency representatives, and others acting on behalf of others or as intermediaries, an individual acting on behalf of himself/herself, and an entity acting on behalf of itself.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a data processing system for determining and including contextual proxy data in a digital information set includes a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory includes processor executable code embodied therein to cause the processor to identify a field associated with the digital information set whose content is a candidate for proxy data. The memory also includes processor executable code embodied therein to cause the processor to invoke a process to evaluate a context of the field and evaluate at least one other parameter associated with the digital information set to determine appropriate proxy data with which to populate the field and modify the digital information set with proxy data determined by the process.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a computer readable program product having processor executable code embodied therein to cause a processor to identify a field associated with a digital information set whose content is a candidate for proxy data. The computer readable program product also includes processor executable code embodied therein to cause a processor to invoke a process to evaluate a context of the field and evaluate at least one other parameter associated with the digital information set to determine appropriate proxy data with which to populate the field and modify the digital information set with proxy data determined by the process.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for determining and including contextual proxy data in a digital information set includes executing an application in a data processing system for identifying a field associated with the digital information set whose content is a candidate for proxy data, invoking a process to evaluate a context of the field and evaluate at least one other parameter associated with the digital information set to determine appropriate proxy data with which to populate the field, and modifying the digital information set with proxy data determined by the process.
In one embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus method for determining and including contextual proxy data in a digital information set includes means for identifying a field associated with the digital information set whose content is a candidate for proxy data. The apparatus further includes means for invoking a process to evaluate a context of the field and evaluate at least one other parameter associated with the digital information set to determine appropriate proxy data with which to populate the field and means for modifying the digital information set with proxy data determined by the process.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element.
A proxy data augmentation system and method intelligently augments digital information sets with proxy data using analytical processing technology. The proxy data system and method identifies fields in a digital information set that are candidates for modification using proxy data. After identifying a candidate field, a process is invoked to evaluate a context of the candidate field. In one embodiment, once the context and at least one other parameter associated with the digital information set are evaluated, the proxy data augmentation system and method can determine appropriate proxy data to populate the candidate field and modify the digital information set with the determined proxy data. The modified document can then be sent to a recipient data processing system. Additionally, the digital information set submitting and/or recipient data processing system can be notified of the existence and identification of the proxy data. The proxy data augmentation system and method can, for example, be implemented as an application resident on a data processing system that originates the digital information set or implemented on an intermediate data processing system.
The embodiment of proxy data augmentation system 300 depicted in
In one embodiment, the proxy data augmentation system 300 works in conjunction with intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 depicted in
In operation 502, the submitter data processing system 302(2) generates DIS 304(2) and sends the DIS 304(2) to a remotely located data processing system 312. In operation 506, the data processing system 312 receives the submitted digital information set. The data processing system 312 can receive the submitted DIS 304(2) through submitter data processing system 302 sending the DIS 304(2) or by data processing system 312 accessing the data processing system 302 to retrieve the DIS 304(2). The data processing system 312 includes an intelligent proxy data augmentation application that performs the same function as the local version of intelligent proxy data augmentation application 306 installed on submitter data processing system 302(1).
Operations 508, 510, 512, 514, and 516 augment the DIS's 304 with proxy data determined using an analytical process based upon the context of the digital information set. In one embodiment, operations 508, 510, 512, 514, and 516 are performed using proxy data augmentation application 400 and are described in more detail below. In operation 516, after processing a digital information set to augment the document with proxy data, the data processing system 312 sends the proxy data augmented digital information set, for example, either to one or more recipient data processing systems 308 designated by the submitting data processing system 302(i) or to an intermediary data processing system 314.
The intermediary data processing system 314 is generally designated by the intended recipient data processing system 308(i) to process DIS's 304 on behalf of the intended recipient data processing system 308(i), which represents the ith recipient data processing system. The submitter data processing systems 302 can be configured to automatically send DIS's 304 to intermediary data processing system 314. In another embodiment, the intermediary data processing system 314 can be configured to intercept DIS's 304 intended for a recipient data processing system 308(i). In a further embodiment, upon receipt of a digital information set the recipient data processing system 308 can be configured to forward digital information sets to intermediary data processing system 314 for formatting prior to processing by the recipient data processing system 308. The intermediary data processing system 314 generally performs functions such as placing received DIS's 304 into a format acceptable by intended recipient data processing system 308(i). The submitter data processing system 302(1) can also send DIS 304(1) directly to intermediary data processing system 314 if requested to so.
The submitter data processing system 302(N−1) is configured as a group of networked, individual data processing systems. The submitter data processing system 302(N−1) can be linked together into a central system and/or can operate independently of any centralized processing system. As with submitter data processing system 302(2), submitter data processing system 302(N−1) generates a digital information set, DIS 304(N−1), in operation 502 and sends the DIS 304(N−1) to remotely located data processing system 312, which receives the DIS 304(N−1) in operation 506. Operation 504 can also be used to send the DIS 304(N−1) to data processing system 312.
Embodiments of proxy data augmentation system 300 can be configured to include virtually any combination of submitter data processing systems 302, one or more data processing systems 312, and/or one or more intermediary data processing systems 314. In one embodiment, the data processing system 312 receives digital information sets from intermediary data processing system 314, processes the received digital information sets to include proxy data where applicable, and sends the processed digital information sets to the intended recipient data processing system 308(i). In one embodiment, any, some, or all of the submitter data processing systems 302 represent respective insurance industry agent management systems. In one embodiment, any, some, or all of the recipient data processing systems 308 represent data processing systems of insurance carriers or other underwriting type entities. In one embodiment, DIS's 304 are sent, directly or indirectly (e.g. via an intermediary data processing system), to insurance carriers for one or more purposes such as obtaining a non-bindable quote, a bindable quote, an indication if an insurance risk matches the type of risk for which an insurance carrier desires to underwrite (as described in more detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/987,337).
The format and data structure of various DIS's 304 may or may not be different. Proxy data augmentation application 400 can be programmed to recognize various data formats and data structures generated by various submitter data processing systems 302. In one embodiment the data formats and data structures are obtained from the intended recipient(s) of DIS's 304. The proxy data augmentation application 400 includes various functional modules to assist in intelligently augmenting the DIS 304(i) with proxy data. The architecture, programming language, and programming techniques used to implement the functionality of intelligent proxy data augmentation application 306 and proxy data augmentation application 400 are a matter of design choice.
The proxy data candidate identification module 402 performs one embodiment of operation 508. In one embodiment, module 402 evaluates the DIS 304(i) and identifies fields that are candidates for proxy data. Candidate fields are, for example, fields that are incomplete, empty, contain information that does not comply with rules that determine accuracy and/or relevancy, or are otherwise determined to be candidates for inclusion of proxy data. Additionally, in some embodiment, the proxy data candidate identification module 402 is programmed to identify all field candidates for proxy data, in other embodiments, proxy data candidate identification module 402 is programmed to recognize a subset of possible proxy data candidates. The subset could, for example, be limited to fields that, if incomplete or inaccurate, would lead to rejection by one of more recipient data processing system 308.
Once proxy data candidate fields are identified, in operation 510 a proxy data analytical process module 404 evaluates the context of the identified candidate field. The context of the candidate field can be determined, for example, by its placement in the digital information set or by a tag that generically identifies the field. For example, a field for specifying the number of employees of a company may be the fifth field in a document or may be labeled with a tag such as [Number of Employees].
In operation 512, once the context of the candidate field is known, proxy data analytical process module 404 can apply appropriate analytical processes to determine the appropriate proxy data with which to populate the candidate field. The proxy data analytical process module 404 generally uses at least one parameter associated with the DIS 304(i) to determine the appropriate proxy data. For example, by reviewing the intended recipient of the DIS 304(i), the proxy data analytical process module 404 can determine appropriate neutral values for the intended recipient data processing system(s) 308. For example, if the DIS 304(i) is an insurance risk application and is missing an “experience modification (e-mod) value” and a “years in business” value, the proxy data analytical process module 404 could modify the e-mod and years in business data fields with proxy data e-mod=1.0 and years in business=9, respectively, if 1.0 and 9 represent neutral values for the intended recipient data processing system(s) 308.
The proxy data analytical process module 404 can also use other parameters in the DIS 304(i) to apply rules which calculate proxy data based on known or estimated relationships between parameters. Referring also to
The proxy data analytical process module 404 can also include rules such as insurance related rules to determine appropriate proxy data. For example, an insurance related rule can be: if a class_code=X, then e-mod<1.3, where X represents a class code value or other representation of the class.
Additionally, the proxy data analytical process module 404 may detect data that is inaccurate based on an evaluation of the data content contained in a field. For example, the data content of a field may be misspelled or clearly misplaced. For example, if the DIS 304(i) detects a field labeled by a user of submitter data processing system 302(i) with “mreit rating”, proxy data analytical process module 404 can using logic to deduce that given the context of the digital information set based upon, for example, the intended recipient of the DIS 304(i) or based upon an identification of the context included in the DIS 304(i), that “mreit rating” should be replaced with “merit rating”.
In another embodiment, proxy data analytical process module 404 can detect when content of a data field is inconsistent with an expected value. For example, proxy data analytical process module 404 can, in one embodiment, detect the format, size, or other characteristic of a data field and determine whether the characteristic matches an expected characteristic. For example, data in a business code data field may clearly be in a date format and data in an adjacent date field may be in a business code format. The proxy data analytical process module 404 could detect the data type errors and apply a rule to swap the date and business code data. The proxy data analytical process module 404 could also apply an artificial intelligence processes based on feedback from, for example, recipient data processing systems 308 and or submitter data processing systems 302 to improve determination of appropriate proxy data. Additionally, the proxy data analytical process module 404 can use a heuristic evaluation, such as mapping technology, to provide proxy data when content inconsistent with an expected value is detected or when missing data is detected. For example, in an employee occupation field, a user may have inserted “clerical”. However, the intended recipient may expect a code value. The proxy data analytical process module 404, in one embodiment, includes an occupation description-to-occupation code mapping and can insert the appropriate proxy data value for “clerical”. If the occupation field is empty, i.e. contains a null value, the proxy data analytical process module 404 could determine a value for the field by searching other parameters in the digital information set, such as a description field that might contain the occupation of a subject of the digital information set.
The proxy data analytical process module 404 can also determine if data fields expected by a recipient data processing system 308(i) are missing, insert missing data fields, and include determined, appropriate proxy data. The proxy data sent to the recipient data processing system 308(i) can be tailored to the specific recipient data processing system, i.e. one system might need an X data field and another system might not need the X data field but might need a Y data field, and so on.
Once proxy data analytical process module 404 determines the appropriate proxy data for a candidate field, in operation 514 proxy data analytical process module 404 modifies the data field to include the determined proxy data. The proxy data analytical process module 404 can be programmed to adapt to virtually any type of DIS 304(i) and apply virtually any rule or other logic to determine appropriate proxy data.
The electronic form handler 406 is a module that performs one embodiment of operation 516 and sends the proxy data augmented DIS 304(i) to its intended recipient using the appropriate transmission protocols. The identification of proxy data used module 406 can, for example, insert information into the DIS 304(i) to identify data fields that include proxy data. The identification of proxy data used module 406 can also, for example, inform the submitter data processing system 302(i) and/or intended recipient data processing system(s) 308 that proxy data was included in the DIS 304(i) and identify the proxy data used. Other processes can be associated with the identification process such as a process to prevent a submitter data processing system 302 from accepting a quote from a recipient data processing system 308 until the proxy data is replaced with actual data. In some embodiments, the process can also delete information provided to a recipient data processing system 308(i) once the recipient data processing system 308(i) reviews the information to prevent the information from permanently residing on the intended recipient data processing system 308(i).
Operation 518 identifies proxy data used to augment a digital information set, and prompts the originator of the digital information set to replace the proxy data with actual data or indicate that the proxy data represents actual data.
In one embodiment, operation 518 notifies the originator of the digital information sets that proxy data was used and identifies the proxy data used to augment the modified digital information sets. For example, in document 802, proxy data augmentation application 400 determined that the experience modifier and total number of employees at the relevant location were missing and inserted proxy data of 1.0 and 10, respectively. In document 812, proxy data augmentation application 400 determined that the experience modifier and total number of employees at the relevant location were missing and inserted proxy data of 1.0 and 1, respectively. In document 812, proxy data augmentation application 400 determined that the experience modifier, total number of employees, and years in business were missing and inserted proxy data of 1.0, 2, and 5, respectively. Additionally, digital information set 808 was submitted with missing Experience Modifier, Risk Number of Employees, and Risk Remuneration data. The proxy data augmentation application 400 did not insert proxy data for the missing data in digital information set 800 because the proxy data analytical process module 404 did not determine appropriate data to be entered. The remaining digital information sets were submitted with sufficient actual data so that augmentation with proxy data was unnecessary.
In operation 520, once the proxy data is replaced with actual data or confirmed as actual data, the submitter data processing system 302(i) can resubmit the document to the recipient data processing system 308(i). Additionally, if a proxy data augmented digital information set is rejected by an intended recipient, proxy data augmentation application 400 can iterate over the proxy data until the intended recipient accepts the digital information set or until it is determined that any further iterations of the proxy data would be undesirable (e.g. the proxy data would be outside of a set of predetermined boundary values and/or it is determined that the digital information set is being rejected for reasons other than the content of proxy data). The increments of iterated proxy data is a matter of design choice.
Thus, the proxy data augmentation system 300 and intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 can significantly improve digital information set generation and review efficiency by automatically determining proxy data for candidate fields using analytical processes that utilize contextual information and one or more parameters associated with the digital information set. Digital information sets can, therefore, be submitted without conducting manual research and without guessing by individuals. The submitted digital information sets can be evaluated in a timelier manner without rejection, and, if the actual data closely matches the proxy data, the evaluation of the document recipient will be validated.
Client data processing systems 906(1)-(N) and/or server data processing systems 904(1)-(N) may be, for example, data processing systems of any appropriate design, including a mainframe, a mini-computer, a personal data processing system including notebook computers, a wireless, mobile computing device (including personal digital assistants). These data processing systems are typically information handling systems, which are designed to provide computing power to one or more users, either locally or remotely. Such a data processing system may also include one or a plurality of input/output (“I/O”) devices coupled to the system processor to perform specialized functions. Mass storage devices such as hard disks, compact disk (“CD”) drives, digital versatile disk (“DVD”) drives, and magneto-optical drives may also be provided, either as an integrated or peripheral device. One such example data processing system is shown in detail in
Embodiments of the proxy data augmentation system 300 and intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 can be implemented on a data processing system such as a general-purpose computer 1000 illustrated in
I/O device(s) 1019 may provide connections to peripheral devices, such as a printer, and may also provide a direct connection to remote server data processing systems via a telephone link or to the Internet via an ISP. I/O device(s) 1019 may also include a network interface device to provide a direct connection to remote server data processing systems via a direct network link to the Internet via a POP (point of presence). Such connection may be made using, for example, wireless techniques, including digital cellular telephone connection, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) connection, digital satellite data connection or the like. Examples of I/O devices include modems, sound and video devices, and specialized communication devices such as the aforementioned network interface.
Computer programs and data are generally stored as instructions and data in mass storage 1009 until loaded into main memory 1015 for execution. Computer programs may also be in the form of electronic signals modulated in accordance with the computer program and data communication technology when transferred via a network.
The processor 1013, in one embodiment, is a microprocessor manufactured by Intel Corporation of California or Advanced Micro Devices of California. However, any other suitable single or multiple microprocessors or microcomputers may be utilized. Main memory 1015 is, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Video memory 1014 is a dual-ported video random access memory. One port of the video memory 1014 is coupled to video amplifier 1016. The video amplifier 1016 is used to drive the display 1017. Video amplifier 1016 is well known in the art and may be implemented by any suitable means. This circuitry converts pixel DATA stored in video memory 1014 to a raster signal suitable for use by display 1017. Display 1017 is a type of monitor suitable for displaying graphic images.
The data processing system described above is for purposes of example only. The proxy data augmentation system 300 and intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 may be implemented in any type of data processing system or programming or processing environment. It is contemplated that the proxy data augmentation system 300 and intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 might be run on a stand-alone data processing system, such as the one described above. The proxy data augmentation system 300 and intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 might also be run from a server data processing systems system that can be accessed by a plurality of client data processing systems interconnected over an intranet network. Finally, the proxy data augmentation system 300 and intelligent proxy augmentation process 500 may be run from a server data processing system that is accessible to clients over the Internet.
Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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