Discussion-based document collaboration

Abstract

A document collaboration apparatus and method allows users to create, edit, manage, collaborate, and communicate over sets of documents, such as word processor documents, spreadsheets, or other types of documents. A set of documents is obtained and split into a series of fragments that are stored in a secure way in a combination of a relational database and an unstructured content store. Access to individual fragments within the series of fragments is granted to users, and proposed changes and comments are obtained in a form of structured discussions that are associated with the fragments from the document set. A controlled workflow-driven mechanism for discussion-centered collaboration is provided. Any changes to the documents from the document set are restricted to the changes that are approved in associated discussions only, providing controlled collaboration between multiple parties or groups of users, such as in multi-party contract negotiations and large scale collaborations.

1 - 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 obtaining a document as an input;   parsing the document into a series of fragments to recognize a reference pattern;   for each individual fragment, granting access to the individual fragment to at least a subset of users of a set of internal users and a subset of users of a set of external users;   obtaining a first set of proposed changes from any of the set of internal users and a second set of proposed changes from the set of external users, each of the first set of proposed changes and the second set of proposed changes comprising structured discussions associated with the series of fragments from the document;   presenting the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users to the set of external users and the second set of proposed changes to the set of internal users;   responsive to detecting an acceptance to the first set of proposed changes from the set of external users, integrating the first set of proposed changes to the series of fragments;   responsive to detecting an acceptance to the second set of proposed changes from the set of internal users, integrating the second set of proposed changes to the series of fragments; and   restricting changes to fragments of the document that are approved in the structured discussions.   
     
     
         40 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , wherein the set of internal users and the set of external users are allowed to collaborate over the document responsive to identifying an approval of the document. 
     
     
         41 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 generating an internal data model to establish reference relationships between the series of fragments.   
     
     
         42 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 identifying a set of differences between the series of fragments of the document and the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users; and   modifying the series of fragments to highlight the set of differences between the series of fragments of the document and the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users, the modified series of fragments presented to the set of external users.   
     
     
         43 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , wherein each fragment of the series of fragments is a clause of the document, wherein each clause is granted access to a first internal user of the set of internal users with a first specialty type and a first external user of the set of external users with the first specialty type. 
     
     
         44 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 presenting the first set of proposed changes from any of the set of internal users to all of the set of internal users for approval by the set of internal users, wherein the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users are presented to the set of external users responsive to identifying the approval by the set of internal users; and   presenting the second set of proposed changes from any of the set of external users to all of the set of external users for approval by the set of external users, wherein the second set of proposed changes from the set of external users are presented to the set of internal users responsive to identifying the approval by the set of external users.   
     
     
         45 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 storing the series of fragments in an encrypted form using tenant specific encryption keys in a combination of a relational database and an unstructured content store.   
     
     
         46 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , wherein parsing the set of documents into the series of fragments further includes splitting the document into fragments, parsing out any of headers, footers, watermarks, and storing the fragments, headers, footers, and/or watermarks for future use, wherein the fragments comprise any of paragraphs, sections, and sub-sections of the document, and user defined fragments of variable length. 
     
     
         47 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 providing a controlled workflow-driven mechanism for discussion-centered collaboration between the set of internal users and the set of external users.   
     
     
         48 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 39 , further comprising:
 generating a new document in one or more word processing formats based on any of text in the fragments of an original document, final text in a closed discussion, pending changes in a document, and posts of active discussions,   wherein the generated document incorporates any accepted changes and pending changes with appropriate markup denoting any pending changes or comments.   
     
     
         49 . A document collaboration apparatus, comprising a processor and memory having instructions stored therein which, when executed by the processor, implement a document service comprising:
 a document import module for obtaining a document set through any of a plurality of channels;   a document model comprising an internal representation of the document set based on document fragments that are generated by splitting the documents into fragments and parsing formatting data during the document set import;   a document export module for generating documents in one or more word processing formats by assembling versions of the fragments from accepted discussions and fragments from the original document set; and   a combination of a relational database and an unstructured content store for securely storing said document fragments in an encrypted form.   
     
     
         50 . The document collaboration apparatus of  claim 49 , wherein the document model configured to identify a reference pattern and generate a view and internal data model to establish reference relationships between the fragments. 
     
     
         51 . The document collaboration apparatus of  claim 49 , further comprising:
 a fragment versioning module for managing evolution of the document fragments throughout a document set lifecycle; and   a formatting module for providing document formatting capabilities to authorized users to prepare the document for export and for generating a detailed audit trail for any formatting changes.   
     
     
         52 . The document collaboration apparatus of  claim 49 , further comprising:
 a discussions service comprising:
 a discussion and posts module for any of creating a discussion, creating a post, closing a discussion, and managing a discussions and posts lifecycle within one or more discussions; 
 a workflow module for controlling a lifecycle of fundamental business objects, said fundamental business objects comprising any of discussions, documents, sets of documents, said workflow module orchestrating user notifications and state transitions; 
 a collaboration module for orchestrating interactions between collaborators, moderators, and other participants over discussions, documents, and sets of documents; 
 a notification gateway for delivering notifications to collaborators; 
 a tenant and user module for managing tenants and users within a specific discussion; 
 an audit trail module for reporting on key business events; and 
 a security module for managing authentication and authorization including a role-based model with any of multi-factor authentication, 
   advanced encryption, and DDOS protection.   
     
     
         53 . A document set collaboration method comprising:
 obtaining a document set;   creating identifiable portions of the document set by splitting each document into fragments, parsing formatting data, and storing the identifiable portions of the document set and the parsed formatting data;   establishing a reference pattern across multiple documents in the document set;   generating a view and internal data model that establishes reference relationships between the fragments of text across the document set;   for each individual fragment, granting access to the individual fragment to at least a subset of users of a set of internal users and a subset of users of a set of external users;   obtaining a first set of proposed changes from any of the set of internal users and a second set of proposed changes from the set of external users, each of the first set of proposed changes and the second set of proposed changes comprising structured discussions associated with the fragments from the document set;   integrating any of the first set of proposed changes or the second set of proposed changes to the fragments; and   restricting changes to fragments of the document set that are approved in the structured discussions.   
     
     
         54 . The document set collaboration method of  claim 53 , wherein the set of internal users and the set of external users are allowed to collaborate over the document responsive to identifying an approval of the document. 
     
     
         55 . The document set collaboration method of  claim 53 , further comprising:
 presenting the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users to the set of external users and the second set of proposed changes to the set of internal users;   detecting an acceptance to the first set of proposed changes from the set of external users, wherein the first set of proposed changes are integrated to the fragments responsive to detecting the acceptance to the first set of proposed changes from the set of external users; and   detecting an acceptance to the second set of proposed changes from the set of internal users, wherein the second set of proposed changes are integrated to the fragments responsive to detecting the acceptance to the second set of proposed changes from the set of internal users.   
     
     
         56 . The document set collaboration method of  claim 53 , further comprising:
 identifying a set of differences between the fragments of the document set and the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users; and   modifying the fragments to highlight the set of differences between the fragments of the document set and the first set of proposed changes from the set of internal users, the modified fragments presented to the set of external users.   
     
     
         57 . The document set collaboration method of  claim 53 , wherein each fragment is a clause of the document set, wherein each clause is granted access to a first internal user of the set of internal users with a first specialty type and a first external user of the set of external users with the first specialty type, and wherein the fragments comprise any of paragraphs, sections, and sub-sections of the documents, and user defined fragments of variable length 
     
     
         58 . The document set collaboration method of  claim 53 , further comprising:
 using a document outline and references that are defined in a word processing file before the document set is uploaded, when available; and   otherwise, using a natural language pattern matching algorithm to identify potential section headings and references.