How Software Predicts What You Need Based on Your Coworkers

A system that uses the browsing history and work habits of your colleagues to automatically build a personalized dashboard of links and content you are likely to need next.

What it covers

This system tracks how people in an organization access data, such as which websites they visit or what files they open. It uses this information to build a predictive model that anticipates what a new or existing user needs to see based on their current context, like the time of day or their specific project. It then generates a montage, which is a single page displaying relevant clippings or links, effectively acting as a personalized portal. For example, if you join a project team, the system analyzes the habits of your teammates—based on their tenure and expertise—to automatically suggest the documents and tools you will likely need to start your work.

What it doesn't cover

• —Does not cover systems that rely solely on an individual's own history without comparing it to a broader group of users.
• —Does not cover manual customization where a user must select their own links or dashboard widgets.
• —Does not cover general search engines that do not use collaborative filtering based on organizational roles or expertise levels.
• —Does not cover systems that lack a context-aware component, such as time, date, or project-specific triggers.

The clever bit

The system doesn't just look at what you do; it segments users by their expertise and tenure, then uses that specific subset of 'peers' to predict your needs, rather than just averaging everyone's behavior.

Why it matters

This patent reflects the early 2000s push by Microsoft to move beyond static intranets toward intelligent, adaptive workspaces. It represents a foundational approach to enterprise search and productivity, attempting to solve the information overload problem by using the collective intelligence of a workforce to guide individual productivity.

Real-world examples

• 1.Enterprise intranet dashboards
• 2.Microsoft SharePoint personalized landing pages
• 3.Internal company knowledge management portals