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Method for aligning demonstrated user actions with existing documentation

Method for aligning demonstrated user actions with existing documentation description/claims

The present invention generally relates to documented procedures and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for aligning steps in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions.

Technical support procedures are typically very complex. Users often have trouble following printed instruction describing how to perform these procedures.

In a study to investigate how end users perform technical support procedures while following printed directions, the mouse and keyboard actions of eleven subjects were captured as they followed five pages of written instructions (including screenshots). These instructions were copied from IBM's internal technical support website. The instructions described a procedure to modify and verify the Domain Name Server (DNS) configuration of a laptop computer. Each subject was presented with a different initial configuration, with the eleven configurations chosen to be distinct and to span the space of possible procedure pathways. The subjects were instructed to follow the directions to restore the system to the correct configuration.

Nearly all participants, regardless of MICROSOFT WINDOWS knowledge, had difficulties following printed instructions. In particular, it was noted that people often had difficulty translating from text on the page to widgets on the screen. Moreover, it was noted that people tended to miss portions of the instructions, particularly separate portions of text that described branches of a conditional instruction. Also, it was noted that people had difficultly following out-of-order instructions and screenshots, especially those that were not identical to what they saw on the screen.

Accordingly, it would be desirable and highly advantageous to have a method and apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with corresponding demonstrated user actions, so as provide a guided approach to technical support procedures.

These and other drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art are addressed by the present invention, which is directed to a method and apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with corresponding demonstrated user actions.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions. The apparatus includes an alignment device for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for guiding user actions with respect to a documented procedure displayed on a user interface. The documented procedure has a plurality of steps specified therein. The apparatus includes an alignment device, a highlighting device, and a scrolling device. The alignment device is for computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric. The highlighting device, connected in signal communication with the alignment device, is for visually highlighting on the user interface at least a portion of a step in the documented procedure based on the alignment computed by the alignment device. The scrolling device, connected in signal communication with the alignment device, is for automatically scrolling through each of the plurality of steps of the documented procedure on the user interface based on the alignment computed by the alignment device.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with demonstrated user actions. The method includes the step of computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for guiding user actions with respect to a documented procedure displayed on a user interface. The documented procedure has a plurality of steps specified therein. The method includes the steps of computing an alignment between the document actions and the demonstrated user actions based on at least one similarity metric, visually highlighting on the user interface at least a portion of a step in the documented procedure based on the computed alignment, and automatically scrolling through each of the plurality of steps of the documented procedure on the user interface based on the computed alignment.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

The present invention may be better understood in accordance with the following exemplary figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system 100 for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with corresponding demonstrated user actions, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for aligning document actions specified in a documented procedure with corresponding demonstrated user actions, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram further illustrating step 230 of FIG. 2, according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

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