Intelligence analysts and archeologists

...and criminal investigators and clothing manufacturers have one thing in common. They look for meaningful relationships between actions, times, people, places, materials, colors, sizes and other parameters. They are not alone — persons in many other occupations also look for meaningful associations between a large number of “things”.

Often those “things” are — or could be — listed as items on a data table, with the names of the items in the first column followed by other columns showing the parameter values of those items. The human mind has an astounding ability to analyze the entire array of parameter values: to identify meaningful groups (even of separated data), and visualize conflicts and opportunities — and suggest changes. Those issues, produced spontaneously by dynamic thinking, last only momentarily in the user’s mind. With typical database programs, that train of thought may be lost by the time the parameter values are edited and/or columns are rearranged to reflect responses to those issues. Worse, unexpected and valuable YES BUT and WHAT IF issues may not even be generated because of the limited physical presentation of the data — a single static table, perhaps followed later (how much?) by others. How then can a data table be made dynamic — changeable at a speed approaching that of the user’s mind? How can all possible arrangements of the data be examined?

Step 1 was acknowledging that even when columns of parameter values are rearranged, the listed items remain in the same row (because computers sort from left to right). So we put the names in the last column, where they are free to move up or down according to the parameter values in the first column. Edit a value in that first column, or put a different parameter there, and the item names move again. You can then analyze groupings of item names as well as groupings of parameter values.

Step 2, given the objective of speed, was enabling the user to take the fewest possible steps to design a data table, see it, and edit it. Our patented software does that using only three screens: Query (design the table), View (see the result), and Edit (if and when desired, with a dialog box containing not only all parameter values but a description of the object ). As the user cycles between those 3 screens, his or her personal knowledge, goals, analytic skills, and imagination all come into play. Answers are no longer on a static data table, where anyone can read them. They are unique formations in the minds of the individual analysts. The abilities of individuals are employed in a new and powerful fashion.

Step 3 was our patented invention of automated permuting. A user of our software can manually view all 24 column arrangements (permutations) of a table with 4 parameters. But that is not feasible with the 120 permutations of 5 parameters, 720 permutations of 6 parameters, etcetera. So all possible permutations can be automatically displayed at a speed of the user’s choice. Those with meaningful groups of parameter values — which define unique sets of item names — can be saved for further study.

Step 4 recognized that item names and parameter values are not the only subjects of analysis. Experienced data table users may know much more about an item than what is on the table. So why not expand the scope further by concurrently displaying images of the items? With the arrangement of those images corresponding to the arrangement of the item names? That is also our patented invention, yet to be embodied (along with other enhancements we have identified).

A name was needed for the new analytic methodology supported by our inventions. As when modeling a lump of moist clay, users of our dynamic data tables model the data in the context of the content of their minds, so we named the methodology contextual data modeling (CDM).

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			Back Get this article in PDF Intelligence analysts and archeologists ...and criminal investigators and clothing manufacturers have one thing in common. They look for meaningful relationships between actions, times, people, places, materials, colors, sizes and other parameters. They are not alone — persons in many other occupations also look for meaningful associations between a large number of “things”. Often those “things” are — or could be — listed as items on a data table, with the names of the items in the first column followed by other columns showing the parameter values of those items. The human mind has an astounding ability to analyze the entire array of parameter values: to identify meaningful groups (even of separated data), and visualize conflicts and opportunities — and suggest changes. Those issues, produced spontaneously by dynamic thinking, last only momentarily in the user’s mind. With typical database programs, that train of thought may be lost by the time the parameter values are edited and/or columns are rearranged to reflect responses to those issues. Worse, unexpected and valuable YES BUT and WHAT IF issues may not even be generated because of the limited physical presentation of the data — a single static table, perhaps followed later (how much?) by others. How then can a data table be made dynamic — changeable at a speed approaching that of the user’s mind? How can all possible arrangements of the data be examined? Step 1 was acknowledging that even when columns of parameter values are rearranged, the listed items remain in the same row (because computers sort from left to right). So we put the names in the last column, where they are free to move up or down according to the parameter values in the first column. Edit a value in that first column, or put a different parameter there, and the item names move again. You can then analyze groupings of item names as well as groupings of parameter values. Step 2, given the objective of speed, was enabling the user to take the fewest possible steps to design a data table, see it, and edit it. Our patented software does that using only three screens: Query (design the table), View (see the result), and Edit (if and when desired, with a dialog box containing not only all parameter values but a description of the object ). As the user cycles between those 3 screens, his or her personal knowledge, goals, analytic skills, and imagination all come into play. Answers are no longer on a static data table, where anyone can read them. They are unique formations in the minds of the individual analysts. The abilities of individuals are employed in a new and powerful fashion. Step 3 was our patented invention of automated permuting. A user of our software can manually view all 24 column arrangements (permutations) of a table with 4 parameters. But that is not feasible with the 120 permutations of 5 parameters, 720 permutations of 6 parameters, etcetera. So all possible permutations can be automatically displayed at a speed of the user’s choice. Those with meaningful groups of parameter values — which define unique sets of item names — can be saved for further study. Step 4 recognized that item names and parameter values are not the only subjects of analysis. Experienced data table users may know much more about an item than what is on the table. So why not expand the scope further by concurrently displaying images of the items? With the arrangement of those images corresponding to the arrangement of the item names? That is also our patented invention, yet to be embodied (along with other enhancements we have identified). A name was needed for the new analytic methodology supported by our inventions. As when modeling a lump of moist clay, users of our dynamic data tables model the data in the context of the content of their minds, so we named the methodology contextual data modeling (CDM). Back Get this article in PDF