System and method for ontology-based location of expertise

US8255380B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• James E. Christensen · Somers, US
• Daniel M. Gruen · Newton, US
• Susanne Hupfer · Lexington, US
• Stephen Levy · Saskatoon, CA
• John F. Patterson · Richland, US
• Jamie C. Rasmussen · Mountain View, US
• Steven I. Ross · Hamilton, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 18, 2009
• Grant date: Aug 28, 2012
• Expiry date: Aug 4, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q30/08
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

An expertise locator enables user defined correspondences between experts and respective certain objects. Each object inherits from classes in a hierarchy. Using the correspondences, a locator processor routine finds a candidate expert about a particular subject area. The candidate expert may be in a correspondence with a certain object whose class is a subclass of the particular subject area. Output may display an indication of the candidate expert, relevant expertise per candidate and/or a list of experts per certain object. In the case of the certain objects being topics, the hierarchy is an ontology of the topics.