Patent ID: 7031951
Filing Date: 2006-04-18
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for recommending a product to a customer, the method comprising: a) presenting a set of problem questions to a customer, the set of problem questions including one or more questions presented to determine one or more product needs of the customer; b) receiving a set of problem answers from the customer, the set of problem answers including one or more answers to the set of problem questions, the one or more answers corresponding to the one or more product needs of the customer; c) determining a problem domain based at least in part on the set of problem answers; d) presenting a set of needs questions to the customer, the set of needs questions including one or more questions corresponding to the determined problem domain; e) receiving a set of needs answers from the customer, the set of needs answers including one or more answers to the set of needs questions, each needs answer corresponding to at least one of the one or more product needs of the customer; f) transforming at least a part of the set of needs answers into one or more values to represent a set of product traits, the one or more values comprising at least one of a fuzzy value or a crisp value, at least a portion of the one or more values corresponding to at least one of the one or more product needs of the customer; g) processing at least one of the one or more values to produce one or more product recommendations, wherein the one or more product recommendations correspond to the determined problem domain, wherein at least a portion of the step of processing is performed on a computer processor using fuzzy logic; and h) providing at least one of the one or more product recommendations to the customer.