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Software Patent Abstract
A method and arrangement is provided for creating a tutorial for
troubleshooting a software application. The method begins by saving
captured display screens of a software application operating on
the respective versions of the hardware device in one or more files.
This step is repeated for each of a plurality of different versions
of a hardware device. Next, each of the files for the plurality
of different versions of the hardware device is distributed so that
they are accessible to a plurality of help centers. In this way
customer support can be provided to users of any of the plurality
of different versions of the hardware device.
Software Patent Claims
1. A method of creating a tutorial for troubleshooting a software
application, comprising:for each of a plurality of different versions
of a hardware device, saving captured display screens of a software
application operating on the respective versions of the hardware
device in one or more files; anddistributing each of the files for
the plurality of different versions of the hardware device so that
they are accessible to a plurality of help centers that provide
customer support to users of any of the plurality of different versions
of the hardware device.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the files are distributed
over a communications network.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the files is physically
distributed on an electronic storage medium to the help centers.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising repeating the screen
capturing and the distributing steps for each of a plurality of
software applications bundled with the different versions of the
hardware device.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the software application is selected
from the group consisting of operating systems, authoring applications,
client applications and browser applications.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the files are stored in an SQL
database.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the hardware device is a personal
computer.
8. At least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions
which, when executed by a processor, performs a method including:receiving
a selection of a given version of a hardware device selected from
among a plurality of different versions of the hardware device;receiving
a selection of a given software application selected from among
a plurality of different software applications that reside on the
selected hardware device;accessing one or more files that include
a plurality of screenshots of the given application operating on
the selected version of the hardware device; anddisplaying at least
one of the screenshots.
9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 further comprising displaying
a graphical user interface that presents a first menu from which
the given version of a hardware device can be selected from among
the plurality of different versions of the hardware device.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 wherein the graphical
user interface further presents a second menu from which the given
software application can be selected.
11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 wherein the graphical
user interface is configured as a web browser.
12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the files are
accessed over a communications network.
13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the files further
include annotations associated with the screen shots, said annotations
including additional information concerning the screen shots.
14. The computer-readable medium of claim 13 wherein each of the
annotations is displayed with the screen shot associated therewith.
15. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the files are
accessed from an SQL database.
16. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the selections
are received at a help center providing customer support to users
of the hardware device.
17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16 wherein the selections
are received from users of the hardware device.
18. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein different portions
of the files are distributed among different servers physically
remote from one another.
19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17 wherein different
portions of the files are distributed among different servers physically
remote from one another.
20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19 wherein at least one
of the servers is located at the help center.
Software Patent Description
STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATION
[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent
Application Ser. No. 60/814,218, filed Jun. 16, 2006, entitled "Tutorials
Emulation System," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated
by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002]The present invention relates generally to help centers made
available by computer hardware providers, and more particularly
to a tutorial to be used by call agents at the help centers to assist
customers with application software operating on computer hardware
supplied by the hardware provider.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003]Providers of electronic hardware devices such as general
purpose computers (e.g., PCs) include manufacturers, assemblers,
vendors and the like. Such hardware providers are continually launching
new product offering including updated versions of existing product
lines as well as entirely new hardware platforms. For example, a
manufacturer such as Sony may offer several different series of
PCs each with several or more different models.
[0004]The rapid expansion of the computer industry and the resulting
wide diversity of products offered by hardware providers place great
demands on the support services they provide to their customers.
To meet these demands hardware providers often make available one
or more staffed help centers with which users can communicate by
phone or electronic mail. The help center personnel must continually
keep up with the new products that are made available after each
development cycle. This task is made even more complex because of
the wide variety of software products that are available to operate
on the hardware devices. Moreover, software development cycles often
proceed at an even greater pace than hardware development cycles.
Even when a software product is simply an upgrade of an existing
product, every addition, subtraction, or modification of the software
can have a significant effect on its ability to properly operate
on any given hardware platform. Because such software products need
to be compatible with a wide variety of continually changing hardware
systems and platforms, as well as other software products, there
is a great need for extensive customer service available from the
help centers.
[0005]The help centers of hardware providers are often widely distributed
over multiple locations across one or more countries or even the
entire world. The help centers may collectively have upwards of
several hundred or more personnel that must be familiar with the
product offerings in order to assist consumers. To keep up with
product updates new hardware releases are often physically delivered
to the help centers so that personnel can familiarize themselves
with the products. Likewise, new application software releases are
also delivered to the help centers so that the personnel can familiarize
themselves with their operation on the new hardware releases. This
process, in addition to being very costly and time-consuming, makes
it difficult to assist customers in a timely manner and to provide
them with satisfactory information sufficient to troubleshoot or
otherwise resolve their problem or problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006]In accordance with the present invention, a method and arrangement
is provided for creating a tutorial for troubleshooting a software
application. The method begins by saving captured display screens
of a software application operating on the respective versions of
the hardware device in one or more files. This step is repeated
for each of a plurality of different versions of a hardware device.
Next, each of the files for the plurality of different versions
of the hardware device is distributed so that they are accessible
to a plurality of help centers. In this way customer support can
be provided to users of any of the plurality of different versions
of the hardware device.
[0007]In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, each
of the files are distributed over a communications network.
[0008]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, each
of the files is physically distributed on an electronic storage
medium to the help centers.
[0009]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
screen capturing and the distributing steps are repeated for each
of a plurality of software applications bundled with the different
versions of the hardware device.
[0010]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, at
least one computer-readable medium encoded with instructions which,
when executed by a processor, performs a method that includes the
following steps: receiving a selection of a given version of a hardware
device selected from among a plurality of different versions of
the hardware device; receiving a selection of a given software application
selected from among a plurality of different software applications
that reside on the selected hardware device; accessing one or more
files that include a plurality of screenshots of the given application
operating on the selected version of the hardware device; and displaying
at least one of the screenshots.
[0011]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, a
graphical user interface is displayed that presents a first menu
from which the given version of a hardware device can be selected
from among the plurality of different versions of the hardware device.
[0012]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
graphical user interface further presents a second menu from which
the given software application can be selected.
[0013]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
files further include annotations associated with the screen shots,
said annotations including additional information concerning the
screen shots.
[0014]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, each
of the annotations is displayed with the screen shot associated
therewith.
[0015]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
files are accessed from an SQL database.
[0016]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
selections are received at a help center providing customer support
to users of the hardware device.
[0017]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the
selections are received from users of the hardware device.
[0018]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, different
portions of the files are distributed among different servers physically
remote from one another.
[0019]In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, at
least one of the servers is located at the help center.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of one example of a distributed
help center in accordance with the present invention.
[0021]FIGS. 2 and 3 show an illustrative graphical user interface
(GUI) provided by the front end interface program which enables
a call agent to access the appropriate agent tutorial file or file.
[0022]FIG. 4 shows the GUI that appears after the hardware model
and application software have been selected.
[0023]FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one example of how a help agent
uses the agent tutorial files to assist a user.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024]Before detailing various embodiments of the invention, it
may be helpful to present one illustrative environment in which
the invention may be employed. Since an aspect of the present invention
is directed to help centers that provide customer support for hardware
devices and platforms on which various application software products
operate, an understanding may be helpful of how some such help centers
are currently arranged. It should be noted that the terms help center,
call center, and support center, as well as other terms involving
these words, are used interchangeably throughout this disclosure.
The hardware devices and platforms referred to herein include general
purpose computers as well as other electronic devices on which application
software resides, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants,
servers, peripherals, digital cameras, and the like. The application
software products referred to herein include operating systems (for
example, DOS, Windows.TM., Windows.TM. 95, Windows.TM. 98, Windows.TM.
2000, Windows.TM. NT, Windows.TM. Millennium Edition, Windows.TM.
XP, OS/2, or Linux), authoring applications (for example, word processing
programs, database programs, spreadsheet programs, presentation
programs, or graphics programs) capable of generating documents
or other electronic content; client applications (for example, AOL
user, CompuServe user, AIM user, AOL TV user, or ISP user) capable
of communicating with other computer users, accessing various computer
resources, and viewing, creating, or otherwise manipulating electronic
content; and browser applications (for example, Netscape's Navigator
or Microsoft's Internet Explorer) capable of rendering standard
Internet content.
[0025]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of one example of a distributed
help center that may be used by a hardware or software provider
to provide customer support for any of a variety of different hardware
devices of the aforementioned type. The distributed help center
100 includes one or more call centers 110, three of which (help
centers 110.sub.1, 110.sub.2 and 110.sub.3) are shown for purposes
of illustration. Each call center includes one or more help agents,
who are represented by help agent stations 112 that include in this
example a computer system 114 and a telephone 116. Each call center
may also include one or more local document servers 120 on which
various documentation may be made available to the call agents.
In some cases some or all of the documentation may reside on the
individual agents' computer systems 114, thereby possibly eliminating
the need for the dedicated document server 120.
[0026]As previously noted, the help centers 110 shown in FIG. 1
in some cases may be distributed over large geographic regions (e.g.,
world-wide). Coordination among the various help centers may be
achieved by providing a centralized location 130 that serves as
a headquarters for all technical support. This location will be
referred to herein as the customer information service center (CISC)
130. The CISC 130 may be in communication with the call centers
110.sub.1, 110.sub.2 and 110.sub.3 over a communications network
140 such as the Internet, a private network, or the like. The CISC
130 may also be in communication with the local document servers
120 so that the CISC 130 can provide the call centers with any necessary
documentation concerning the hardware and software to be supported.
[0027]As previously mentioned, to keep up with product updates
new hardware and software releases are often physically delivered
to the help centers so that personnel can familiarize themselves
with the products. Constantly allocating and delivering new hardware
and software products to the call centers 120 is a time-consuming
and costly process. Moreover, the individual call agents must share
the limited number of products that are provided for their familization,
limiting the efficiency and effectiveness of the call agents.
[0028]To overcome the aforementioned problems and limitations,
one aspect of the present invention is to create an agent tutorial
file for many or all of the application software products that are
pre-loaded onto or otherwise made available to consumers with the
hardware device they received from the hardware provider. That is,
for any given application software product, the present invention
provides a separate agent tutorial file for each and every version
(e.g., series and model) of the hardware product on which the given
software product may reside. The different agent tutorial files
for any particular software product will assist the agents in providing
customer support that is tailored to the particular hardware device
used by the consumer. This will allow the agents to assist consumers
with problems that may arise with application software operating
on different versions of a hardware device.
[0029]The agent tutorial files will generally include an assembly
of captured screenshots that represent a given application software
product operating on a particular hardware device. The screenshots
can be obtained using a program that captures the screenshots as
a user proceeds though execution of the application in a methodical
and generally sequential order to ensure that most or all of the
screens available in the application have been opened so that they
can be captured. Such screen capturing software is commercially
available and is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Appl. Serial No.
2006/0073462. In addition to capturing screen shots, any additionally
available information may also be optionally recorded such as curser
positions and keystrokes, for example. The user may also annotate
the screen shots with notes that may be helpful to the call agents
when assisting a customer. The annotations allow for the addition
of many types of aids that can further enhance the usefulness of
the tutorial files. The annotations may be added so that they are
displayed in conjunction with or over the screenshots. Alternatively,
the annotations may be in the form of compressed audio segments
that are associated with the screenshots. In general, the annotations
may include additional information (or links thereto) about the
displayed screen shot such as known problems, hidden option, trigger
points and the like. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, an icon may
be provided that allows the call agent to send an email concerning
the screen to an appropriate individual with more expertise in the
operation of the software application on the particular hardware
device.
[0030]The agent tutorial files may be cataloged in an Structured
Query Language (SQL) database. The use of an SQL database allows
the name, vendor and version of the application software products
to be readily tracked. With this information, a unique identification
number can be associated with each application software product.
[0031]Once the agent tutorial files are prepared they can be loaded
onto a server (e.g., an SQL server) located at the CISC 130. The
CISC 130, in turn, can then upload the files to each help center,
either to the local document server 120 or directly to the individual
computer systems associated with the help agent stations. While
less preferred because of the delays imposed, the agent tutorial
files alternatively may be stored on an electronic or optical medium
(e.g., hard drive, CD) and physically distributed to each of the
help centers.
[0032]In some embodiments of the invention various portions of
the agent tutorial files may be distributed among different locations
and/or servers for access by the call agents. For example, images
(e.g., the screenshots) may locally reside at each of the call centers
while any additional information or other data associated with the
screenshots may be maintained at the CISC. Agents at the call centers
can access this additional information as needed.
[0033]At the help centers, the help agents use a front end interface
program located on their computer stations to access and use the
agent tutorial files. FIG. 2 shows an illustrative graphical user
interface (GUI) 200 provided by the front end interface program
which enables a call agent to access the appropriate agent tutorial
file or files, either upon receiving a call from a customer or in
preparation for handling customer calls. In this example the GUI
200 is configured as a web browser. However, the GUI may be configured
and arranged in any other appropriate manner as well. As shown in
FIG. 2, the GUI 200 includes one or more drop-down menus that allow
the call agent to select the appropriate series and model of the
hardware device on which the application software is to operate.
For instance, drop down menu 210 allows the agent to select the
hardware series and the drop-down menu 220 allows the agent to select
a particular hardware model within a selected series. As shown in
both FIGS. 2 and 3, the GUI 200 also includes a drop-down menu 230
to select from among the available application software products
that may be installed on the selected hardware model and for which
an agent tutorial file is available. In some cases the drop-down
menu 230 may also provide the agent with a list of all the applications
installed on the selected hardware model regardless of whether or
not agent tutorial files are available for that application and
hardware model.
[0034]FIG. 4 shows the GUI 300 that appears after the hardware
model and application software have been selected. In this example
the application software that is selected is Norton.TM. Internet
Security available from Symantec. As shown, a hierarchical outline
of all the available screen shots is presented in an outline area
310 of the GUI 300. Upon selecting (using, for example, a mouse
cursor) a screen shot of the application from the outline area 310,
the screen shot becomes visible in a display area 320 of the GUI
300. In some cases the screen shot can be expanded to fill the screen
by clicking on it. Also shown in FIG. 4 is the annotation area 330
of the GUI 300 in which notes or other annotations may be provided
which are pertinent to the particular screen shot that is visible.
[0035]FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one example of how a help agent
uses the agent tutorial files to assist a user. The method begins
at step 510 when the front-end interface receives from the help
agent a selection of a given version of a hardware device selected
from among a plurality of different versions of the hardware device.
Next, in step 520 the front-end interface receives from the help
agent a selection of a given software application. The given software
application is selected from among a plurality of different software
applications that reside on the selected hardware device. In response
to received selections, one or more files are accessed in step 530.
The files include a plurality of screenshots of the given application
operating on the selected version of the hardware device. Finally,
in step 540 at least one of the screenshots is displayed to the
help agent so that the help agent can assist the user who initiates
the query process.
[0036]As described above, the present invention offers a standardized
customer support architecture for creating tutorials that can assistant
call agents and their customers in addressing hardware and software
problems. In addition, the support architecture can be easily distributed
to help centers wherever they may be located. Since various portions
of the tutorials may be locally or remotely available, the invention
is readily adaptable to the different bandwidths that may available
at the various call centers. Moreover, the present invention leverages
the GUIs incorporated in the applications residing on the hardware
devices to create simulations of the applications that can be used
for tutorial and troubleshooting purposes.
[0037]In addition to the previously described results achieved
by the present invention, the present invention also achieves a
number of benefits and advantages which accrue from these results.
For example, the amount of hardware and software that needs to be
available and physically transported among the call centers is greatly
reduced. Call center personnel do not have to spend time setting
up equipment and physical space does not have to be allocated for
the storage of the hardware products. Also, significant cost reductions
can be achieved because the call agents have quick and easy access
to system setups, troubleshooting information, and software applications.
The call agents' enhanced access to this information can reduce
the time between when a customer places a call and the time when
the problem is resolved, thereby improving customer satisfaction.
The tutorials can even be integrated into knowledge base solutions
that are often available to agents and customers alike. Moreover,
the same tutorials that are created and delivered to call agents
can be provided to the customer's along with the hardware at the
time of purchase or at a later time, thereby reducing the demand
placed on the call centers. The tutorials can also better assist
customers in discovering and using features of installed software
that were unaware of or did not know how to effectively use. |