Abstract:
A method for documenting and viewing human experiences is disclosed. The method may include enabling people to record experiences starting at a decision that needs to be taken (decision point) and providing the relevant data points for the decision followed by the action taken and the consequences. These consequences can then be further linked to a new experience. Further, this method may allow multiple people to enter their experiences for the same decision point creating a per decision point inclusive repository of the various data points, actions and consequences as experienced by multiple people. Last, the method may allow people to view the experiences entered by others applying keyword search criteria, tags and data point filters that fit their desired viewing parameters and to navigate between the experiences using the defined links between consequences and experiences 
     In another embodiment, a method for documenting and viewing human experiences may include providing a per person experience recording such that the system does not merge the experiences and data points of multiple people and may allow viewing these experiences based on similar criteria to the above

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    It is universally known that when it comes to making decisions and taking actions, experience is priceless. Human experience is a valuable resource across all spans of life ranging from the business environment to the personal home environment. This is true when faced with critical issues as well as on a day to day basis. 
         [0002]    A keen observer will also note the repetitive nature of human experiences. We live in environments where people go through very similar experiences making different choices with different consequences. This applies to people in the same physical neighborhood as well to people across the world. 
         [0003]    For example: A new company executive managing an acquisition would benefit from knowing what his predecessors and peers did in the same situation and what were the consequences of their actions. Or, a parent of a teenager would appreciate to discover how other parents in similar circumstances to his own handled the child and what was successful. 
         [0004]    In today&#39;s connected world, there is an opportunity to share human experiences by recording human experiences into a shared repository so that people can view what other people experiences so that they can make more informed decisions based on a global experience repository. People around the world should be able to record experiences that they would like to share with others while other people should be able to search through the experience repository to discover information on the relevant experiences for their situation 
         [0005]    As noted above, it is probable that many people will go through similar experiences with different circumstances, different choices and different consequences. When other people search through the experience repository, it is important that they should be able to group and view all the similar experiences so that they can get a better picture of the different aspects of the same experience as reflected across the different individuals that logged their experiences 
         [0006]    Thus, there is a need for a method to document and record human experiences such that it can be joined into a structured repository in a manner that enables having a thorough recording of these experiences and such that discovering similar groups of experiences can be achieved. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    A method for documenting and viewing human experiences may include enabling people to record experiences starting at a decision that needs to be taken (decision point) and providing the relevant data points for the decision followed by the action taken and the consequences. These consequences can then be further linked to a new experience. 
         [0008]    A method for documenting experiences may further include allowing multiple people to enter their experiences for a decision point creating a per decision point inclusive repository of the various experiences, data points, actions and consequences as experienced by multiple people. 
         [0009]    A method for viewing recorded experiences may allow people to view the experiences recorded by other people. Further, people can apply keyword search criteria, tags and data point filters that fit their desired viewing parameters and navigate between the experiences using the defined links between consequences and experiences 
         [0010]    This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  depicts a system for recording and viewing experiences; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  depicts a flow diagram for recording experiences; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  depicts a flow diagram for viewing experiences; 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]      FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary system for recording and viewing a human experience. The system includes an example of various user interface points  101   a - 101   c  that are used to enter and view experiences, one or more application servers  102   a  to control access to and storage of the experience information and one or more databases  103   a  used to store and index the experience information. The databases  103   a , servers  102   a  and interfaces  101   a - 101   c  may reside in the same location or in different locations. 
         [0015]    People may record their experiences through a web interface  101   c  or through an application interface running on their local computer  101   b  or mobile device  101   a . The recorded experiences will then be transmitted to the application servers  102   a  to be stored in a database  103   a  that contains experiences that were entered by multiple people. These experiences can then be correlated, searched and viewed 
         [0016]      FIG. 2  depicts an exemplary flow for recording a human experience. The flow is composed of a decision point  201  and the various data points  202  followed by actions taken  203  consequences  204  and links to subsequent decision points  205 . The flow is shown in English but can be of any one or a mix of languages. The information recorded in the experience is stored in database  103   a    
         [0017]    Each experience entered by a person is given a system generated unique identifier  201   d  that is stored in the database  103   a  and can be used to retrieve this specific experience for editing purposes. Note that a person might record multiple experiences that start with the same decision point and for each of these experiences, there will be a separate unique identifier  201   d.    
         [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 2  the various parts of the experience can be entered and edited in different times. For example, a person might enter a decision point  201 , data points  202  and action  203  at one point in time and then a few months later enter the consequence  204  and even later enter the a link to the subsequent decision points  205 . Another example is when a person would like to add a data point  202   c  to an experience, in which case he will update the data points  202  of the experience. In both cases, the person editing the experience will be able access the experience using the experience unique identifier  201   d    
         [0019]    In this implementation, the decision point  201  includes a defined list of decision points  201 -L that the user can choose from when entering an experience. If the user cannot find an adequate entry in the list, he can define a new decision point entry that meets his needs. The reason to maintain a list  201 -L is so that the system can later correlate multiple experiences entered by multiple people that used the same decision point. Each of the items in the decision points list  201 -L can be translated to different languages while retaining its original meaning such that when people enter experiences in different languages for the same decision point item, the system will still be able to correlate between these experiences. For example, if a user in New York entered an experience that starts from the decision point item: “How do I help my kid get more friends in school” and a user in Israel entered an experience that starts from the decision point:                                                            which is a translation to Hebrew of the same decision point item then the system will be able to correlate both experiences as originating from the same decision point. 
         [0020]    In addition to the decision point item list  201 -L, the person entering a decision point can also optionally add a description  201   a , the date for the decision point  201   c  and choose multiple choices from a list of tags  201   b  that are relevant for this experience. All these fields will be used as search and sorting criteria for people viewing the experiences. 
         [0021]    Data points  202  are the next part of the information provided by the person entering the experience. There might be none or multiple data points  202  for the decision point. For example, for a decision point on “How to help my kid get more friends in school”, the person entering the experience might want to provide the country  202   a , number of kids in the family  202   c , school grade  202   b  and the related decision points that represent related experiences  202   d.    
         [0022]    The data points list can be pre-populated based on the popular data points used by other people that recorded an experience for the same decision point. Each recorded experience might have a different set of data points even if the experience is for the same decision point, since each person might consider different data points important for his own experience. The person recording the current experience can fill in the data points, delete from the list of the data points for the experience he is recording or add additional data points for this experience record. For each data point in the experience, if needs be, the person can add additional values for the data point. For example—if the “kids in family”  202   c  data point is a list of 1-7 and the person recording the experience has 8 kids, he can change the data point to include up to 8 kids 
         [0023]    When adding additional data points to an experience, a person can choose from a list of existing data points or define a new data point and its values. There can be various types of data points such as a date, number, free text, a multiple choice data point where a user can choose multiple values, a single choice data point where a user can choose one value only and other common types. 
         [0024]    Much like the decision points, having a defined data point list enables viewing, searching and correlating between experiences based on data points much easier. Like decision points, data points can also be translated to various languages and maintain the same identity across different languages. 
         [0025]    The next step is for the person to record the actions  203  that were taken as a result of this decision point. In some scenarios, the actions  203  information will be entered or further edited some time after the decision point  201  has been entered. In this case, the person will locate the experience using the ID  201   d  that is determined by the system when entering the decision point  201 . Until the person explicitly records an action for this decision point, the system assumes the state of: “no action taken”. 
         [0026]    In this implementation, the actions  203  includes a defined list of action items  203 -L that the user can choose one or more actions from. If the user cannot find an adequate entry in the list  203 -L, he can define a new action item that meets his needs. The reason to maintain a list  203 -L is so that the system can later correlate multiple actions entered by multiple people for a specific decision point or for multiple decision points. Much like decision points  201 -L each of the items in the actions item list  203 -L can be translated to different languages while retaining its original meaning such that when people enter actions in different languages the system will still be able to correlate between these actions. 
         [0027]    In addition to the actions item list  203 -L, the person entering actions can also optionally add a description  203   a  and the date for the actions  203   b . All these fields will be used as search and sorting criteria for people viewing the experiences. 
         [0028]    Whether actions were recorded or not the person can record the consequence  204  for this specific instance of the decision point. In some scenarios, the consequence information  204  will be entered or further edited some time after the decision point  201  has been entered. In this case, the person will locate the experience using the ID  201   d  that is determined by the system when entering the decision point  201 . 
         [0029]    In this implementation, the consequence  204  includes a defined list of results  204 -L that the user can choose one from. If the user cannot find an adequate entry in the list  204 -L, he can define a new result that meets his needs. The reason to maintain a list  204 -L is so that the system can later correlate multiple results entered by multiple people for a specific decision point or for multiple decision points. Much like decision points  201 -L, each of the items in the consequence result list  204 -L can be translated to different languages while retaining its original meaning such that when people enter consequence results in different languages the system will still be able to correlate between these actions. 
         [0030]    In addition to the consequence result list  204 -L, the person entering the consequence can also optionally add a description  204   a  and the date for the realizing the consequence  204   b . All these fields will be used as search and sorting criteria for people viewing the experiences. 
         [0031]    Another important piece of information that the person can record is what other experiences resulted as a consequence of this experience. This is done by entering information about the subsequent decision points  205 . In some scenarios, the information about the subsequent decision points  205  will be entered or further edited some time after the decision point  201  has been entered. In this case, the person will locate the experience using the ID  201   d  that is determined by the system when entering the decision point  201 . The subsequent decision point information  205  is used for creating connections between experiences so that people that view an experience can see were different actions and consequences led people that entered the experiences 
         [0032]    In this implementation, the links to subsequent decision points  205  includes a list of decision points  205 -L that can contain references to a specific instance of a decision point  205 -La or a generic reference to a decision point  205 -Lb. To add subsequent decision points, the person clicks on the “add” button for the list  205 -L and is presented with a list of his decision points as well as the general list of decision points available in the system. The person can choose to add a specific reference to a decision point that he entered or a reference to a general decision point. To remove a decision point from the list of subsequent decision points, the person can un-check the check-box by the decision point 
         [0033]    In addition the person can click on “add experience”  205   a  to create a new experience that is automatically linked as a subsequent decision point. 
         [0034]      FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary method for viewing experiences. In this example, the viewer uses categories  301   a ,  301   b  and  301   c  to browse a specific list of decision points  303  that fall into these categories. The viewer can further refine the list of decision points using the search box  302   a  and the date range  302   b ,  302   c  by updating the criteria and hitting the refresh button  302   d.    
         [0035]    The experience view is further composed of a list of decision points  303 , data points for the various decision points  304 , actions for the various decision points  305 , consequences  306  and links to subsequent decision points  307   
         [0036]    When the viewer selects a specific decision point in the decision point list  303 , the relevant data points  304 , actions  305 , consequences  306  and links to subsequent experiences  307  are populated. In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , for the decision point “How do I help my child get more friends in school” there are multiple experiences and the aggregated view for these experiences include data points  304   a ,  304   b ,  304   c ,  304   d , actions  305   a - 1 ,  305   b - 1  and  305   c - 1 , list of descriptions for each action  305   a - 2 ,  305   b - 2 ,  305   c - 2  the relevant consequences  306   a - 1 ,  306   b - 1  and  306   c - 1 , the list of descriptions for the consequences  306   a - 2 ,  306   b - 2 ,  306   c - 2  and the list of subsequent experiences  307   a ,  307   b  and  307   c    
         [0037]    In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , the viewer can further filter the information about the experiences by adding/deleting specific data points in the data points list  304  and selecting/deselecting various options within the data points (e.g.:  304   a ,  304   b  . . . ). For example: in the example, the School grade data point  304   b  has “Not specified”, 1 st  and 3 nd  grade selected. This filters the information to experience entries that include 1 st  grade or 3 rd  grade in the School grade data point as well as all the entries where the School grade was not specified. If the viewer has a child in 1 st  grade and would like to view experiences that include only 1 st  grade only, the viewer can deselect “Not specified” and 3 rd  grade and thus further filter the actions  305 , consequences  306  and links to subsequent experiences  307  in this view to match experiences that specifically included School grade that is 1 st  grade. The viewer can reset the data point selection by pressing the “Show all” button  304   s  which will show all the relevant data points and selections for this experience. 
         [0038]    The actions  305  include the action taken and additional descriptions entered by the author of the experiences. In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , there are three action groups  305   a - 1 ,  305   b - 1  and  305   c - 1 . This means that for this decision point given the various applied filters, the aggregated experiences included three different groups of actions  305   a - 1 ,  305   b - 1  and  305   c - 1 . For each group of actions there is a list of descriptions that were entered for this group of action. For example, if there are 10 different experiences that include the decision point “How do I help my child get more friends in school” and match the given data points and the action was “No action taken” ( 305   a - 1 ) then the description list  305   a - 2  will show the 10 descriptions entered for these 10 experiences. One thing to note is that the action group  305   b - 1  includes two actions. This reflects that there were people that for this specific decision point chose these two actions when entering their specific experience. As shown in  FIG. 2 , this can be done by selecting more than one action in the action list  203 -L when entering an experience 
         [0039]    The consequences  306  are the aggregated recorded consequences of the actions  305  for the decision point. For each of the action groups, the consequences indicate for each consequence what is the % for a consequence that happened for these actions and the descriptions that were entered for the consequences of this action group. In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , for the “No action taken”  305   a - 1 , the consequences in the consequence list  306   a - 1  show that for 20% of the experiences people entered “No change”, for 5% people entered “Change for the worse”, for 10% people entered “Partial improvement” and for the rest 65% people entered “Issue resolved”. The list of descriptions  306   a - 2  includes further descriptions for the consequences in  306   a - 1 . The descriptions that will be shown are the ones for the selected consequences in  306   a - 1 , meaning that the descriptions shown are for “No change”, “Change for worse” and “Partial improvement” 
         [0040]    The subsequent experiences  307  are the aggregated list of links to relevant experiences for the selected consequences  306  of the actions  305  for the decision point. For each of the action groups and consequences of this action group, the viewer can follow links to other experiences that resulted from these consequences. In the example shown in  FIG. 3 , for the “No action taken”  305   a - 1 , and the selected consequence in the consequences list  306   a - 1 , the list of links to subsequent experiences  307   a  includes links to “Should I volunteer in school” and “My kid is bullied in school”. Clicking on one of the links, leads the viewer to view the selected experience, maintaining the filters and data points from the current experience. 
         [0041]    Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.