How Software Automatically Filters Employee Survey Results Based on Management Roles
A system that automatically restricts who can see specific employee survey results by mapping organizational reporting lines through a digital object graph.
Original patent title: “Systems and methods facilitating survey completion and review”
A system that automatically restricts who can see specific employee survey results by mapping organizational reporting lines through a digital object graph. Granted to People Center Inc in 2024 with 23 claims.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
This patent describes a system for managing employee surveys in large organizations where managers need to see feedback from their direct reports without seeing everyone else's data. It uses an object graph—a database structure that maps relationships between employees—to automatically determine which survey responses a manager (the delegate) is allowed to view. When a manager requests survey data, the system traverses this graph to identify their specific constituents and filters out all other responses. It also includes an automated trigger that can initiate workflows, such as sending an alert, if a specific type of survey response is detected.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover manual filtering of survey data by human administrators.
- Does not cover systems that lack a defined object graph for mapping organizational roles.
- Does not cover survey systems that provide raw, unfiltered data to all authorized users.
- Does not cover non-organizational survey contexts like public opinion polling.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The system treats the organizational hierarchy as a dynamic object graph, allowing the survey access rules to update automatically whenever an employee's role or status changes in the company database.
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Enterprise HR software platforms
Employee engagement and pulse survey tools
Internal corporate performance management systems
Why it matters
The bigger picture
In large corporations, maintaining survey anonymity while providing actionable insights to managers is a massive operational challenge. This technology automates the complex permission logic required to ensure managers only see data relevant to their specific teams, preventing data leaks and maintaining employee trust in feedback processes.
Filed
May 13, 2022
Granted
October 8, 2024
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
People Center Inc is the primary assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →. This technology is highly relevant to major HR tech providers like Workday, Qualtrics, and Culture Amp, who manage similar complex permission structures for enterprise-wide feedback loops.
Market impact
This patent formalizes the logic for automated, role-based data access in HR tech. It helps standardize how enterprise software handles the tension between providing managers with data-driven insights and protecting individual employee privacy through automated, policy-driven filtering.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
This patent describes a system for managing employee surveys in large organizations where managers need to see feedback from their direct reports without seeing everyone else's data. It uses an object graph—a database structure that maps relationships between employees—to automatically determine which survey responses a manager (the delegate) is allowed to view. When a manager requests survey data, the system traverses this graph to identify their specific constituents and filters out all other responses. It also includes an automated trigger that can initiate workflows, such as sending an alert, if a specific type of survey response is detected.
The clever bit
The system treats the organizational hierarchy as a dynamic object graph, allowing the survey access rules to update automatically whenever an employee's role or status changes in the company database.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover manual filtering of survey data by human administrators.
- Does not cover systems that lack a defined object graph for mapping organizational roles.
- Does not cover survey systems that provide raw, unfiltered data to all authorized users.
- Does not cover non-organizational survey contexts like public opinion polling.
Patent timeline
Application submitted to the patent office
Application published, typically 18 months after filing
Patent officially issued
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
0/40
No citations yet
Claim breadth
15/20
Broad claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
20/20
Granted within 5 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$31K – $100K
Midpoint $62K · 15.9 yr remaining · industry ×1.6
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
The original legal language
Original claims
23 claims as filed with the patent office.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Fazel-Rezai, V., Bheda, P. R., Lim, C. J. H., & Okpara, K. I. (2024). How Software Automatically Filters Employee Survey Results Based on Management Roles (U.S. Patent No. 12,112,345). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12112345/starship-production-line
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Software Automatically Filters Employee Survey Results Based on Management Roles cover?
A system that automatically restricts who can see specific employee survey results by mapping organizational reporting lines through a digital object graph.
Who owns patent US 12112345?
People Center Inc owns this patent, granted in 2024.
When does this patent expire?
This patent is expected to expire on October 8, 2044, when the invention enters the public domain.
What problem does this patent solve?
In large corporations, maintaining survey anonymity while providing actionable insights to managers is a massive operational challenge. This technology automates the complex permission logic required to ensure managers only see data relevant to their specific teams, preventing data leaks and maintaining employee trust in feedback processes.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover manual filtering of survey data by human administrators.
Patent monitoring