Abstract:
A system that improves searching based on a search term by first capturing successful search strategies and then offering them in the results of a subsequent search based on the same search term. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a search engine collects successful search sequences based on a search term, a database stores the search sequences and then provides them to the search engine in response to subsequent uses of the search term. The search engine comprises a data capture mechanism that gives a searcher a way of indicating when a successful search has been completed.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/267,704, filed on Dec. 8, 2009, and entitled “Search Strategy Capture and Retrieval Method.” The concepts, but not necessarily the nomenclature, of this provisional application are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to data processing systems in general, and, more particularly, to searching using search terms. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    When conducting an Internet search based on a search term, a user faces a torrent of results that are often unhelpful and unfocused. Submitting a search term generally yields a large number—sometimes a huge number—of Internet locations each of which contains a match to the submitted search term. Likewise, when calling into an interactive voice response system, a user generally faces many choices and layers of sub-choices. 
         [0004]    In an Internet search generally, a user submits a search term to an Internet search engine. Google is an example of an Internet search engine. The Internet search engine finds locations (or destinations) throughout the Internet that have a match to the user&#39;s search term. These destinations are stored in (or hosted by) web servers. A web server is a computer that stores information that is accessible over the Internet (or the World Wide Web), such as an online store, a document, an online dictionary, etc. 
         [0005]    For example, submitting the search term “Avaya” to the Google search engine yields over one million results. Each result is an identifier that points to a destination hosted by some server on the Internet. 
         [0006]    Receiving a million results for a search term is not necessarily helpful to the searcher&#39;s objective. The fact that the search term matches something at a destination site does not guarantee that the destination is relevant, desirable, or helpful. 
         [0007]    One technique for narrowing down the search results is to submit to the search engine a more complex search term, for example, “Avaya employment benefits.” Even this search term yields over 50,000 results. 
         [0008]    To successfully conclude the search, therefore, the user might navigate numerous destinations before achieving the sought-after objective of the search. This can be costly and time consuming, or worse, can lead the user astray through endless circumnavigation. 
         [0009]    A more focused approach is required. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The present invention improves searching based on a search term by first capturing successful search strategies and then offering them either alone or within the results of a subsequent search based on the same search term. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a search engine collects successful search sequences based on a search term, a database stores the successful search sequences and then provides them to the search engine in response to subsequent uses of the search term. The search engine comprises a data capture mechanism that gives a searcher a way of indicating when a successful search has been completed. 
         [0011]    In contrast to the prior art, which generally addresses the destination endpoint of a search, the present invention captures successful search strategies, i.e., sequences of destinations that ultimately lead to a successful search. What is a successful search? A successful search is defined in reference to the searcher&#39;s objective in doing the search, for example, making a purchase, consulting an expert, reading a document, providing feedback, etc. 
         [0012]    Critically, a successful search is not merely a sprint to a destination, although it could be that simple in some cases. The prior art is generally addressed to sprinting to the destination. However, there are situations where the search strategy itself is useful to subsequent searchers and should be captured (or learned) and used again later. 
         [0013]    For example, when intending to purchase a given product, a buyer might first navigate some blogs or reviews of the product, might then navigate the manufacturer&#39;s web site, might then navigate some vendors of the product, and might finally settle on a vendor site and actually buy the product. An expert buyer might have developed a strategy for online purchasing by relying on certain reputable reviewers or manufacturers. Thus, the expert buyer&#39;s online strategy can be helpful and useful to others. 
         [0014]    In another example directed at a corporate help center, an expert&#39;s strategy for navigating in response to customer trouble calls is valuable to learn and then reuse. Thus, the corporate help center would first use the present invention to capture successful search strategies used by its expert operators. A search strategy would be captured in the form of a search sequence through the present invention&#39;s search engine and then stored into a database in accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. The search engine would be outfitted with a data capture mechanism that gives each expert a way of indicating when a successful search has been completed. The search sequence is then stored into the database. The invention contemplates the possibility of more than one search sequence being stored for a given search term. The invention also contemplates the possibility of a learned search sequence being expanded and re-learned as a new search sequence. 
         [0015]    Subsequently, call center operators would receive results from the database when submitting search terms. When the database finds a match for a given search term, it sends the corresponding search sequence(s) to the user who submitted the search term. Thus, the present invention enables search strategies to be learned and then reused. With the present invention, the search sequences themselves provide value, not merely the final destinations. 
         [0016]    The illustrative embodiment comprises: 
         [0017]    transmitting to a first telecommunications terminal a first document in response to a first search term; 
         [0018]    transmitting to the first telecommunications terminal a second document in response to a user entry; and 
         [0019]    storing in a database an indicium that the first search term is associated with the ordered sequence for presenting the first document and the second document to the first user. 
         [0020]    Although the illustrative embodiment describes Internet or intranet searches, the system also works in an interactive voice response framework. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  depicts a schematic diagram of the salient portions of data processing system  100  according to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks of data processing system  100  according to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  201 . 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  301 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  302 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  202 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0027]      FIG. 1  depicts a schematic diagram of the salient portions of data processing system  100  according to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Data processing system  100  is an apparatus that comprises: telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2  and  101 - 3 , network  102 , search engine  103 , database  104 , and server  105 .  FIG. 1  also depicts users positioned at the telecommunications terminals. 
         [0028]    Although the illustrative embodiment comprises three telecommunications terminals, it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that comprise any number of telecommunications terminals, e.g., one telecommunications terminal, two telecommunications terminals, four telecommunications terminals, etc. 
         [0029]    Although the illustrative embodiment comprises one network  102 , it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that comprise any number of interconnected networks, e.g., two networks, three networks, four networks, etc. Furthermore, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that when an alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises more than one interconnected network, each of the other components can be connected to any one of the networks, and need not all be connected to a single network. 
         [0030]    Although the illustrative embodiment comprises one search engine  103 , it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that comprise any number of search engines, e.g., two search engines, three search engines, four search engines, etc. 
         [0031]    Although the illustrative embodiment comprises one database  104 , it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that comprise any number of databases, e.g., two databases, three databases, four databases, etc. 
         [0032]    Although the illustrative embodiment comprises one server  105 , it will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention that comprise any number of servers, e.g., two servers, three servers, four servers, etc. 
         [0033]    Although the illustrative embodiment depicts the components of data processing system  100 —telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2  and  101 - 3 , search engine  103 , database  104 , and server  105 —as being connected to each other through network  102 , it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that one or more of these named components can be directly connected to one or more of the other components. Thus, telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  can be directly connected to search engine  103 . Likewise, database  104  can be directly connected to search engine  103 . Likewise, server  105  can be directly connected to search engine  103 , etc. 
         [0034]    Although the illustrative embodiment depicts the components of data processing system  100 —telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2  and  101 - 3 , network  102 , search engine  103 , database  104 , and server  105 —as being separate from one another, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that a single physical device can comprise one or more of these named components. Thus, one physical device could comprise search engine  103  and database  104 . Likewise a single physical device could comprise search engine  103  and server  105 , etc. 
         [0035]    Telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2  and  101 - 3  are well-known prior art hardware that is a personal computer. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2  and  101 - 3  can be any personal computer platform, a computer terminal, a personal digital assistant, a Blackberry, an iPhone, a telephone, a wireless telephone, or any device capable of transmitting user input and receiving information in response. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading this disclosure, that any discussion in this specification about any one of telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2 , or  101 - 3  equally applies to any one of the other two telecommunications terminals. 
         [0036]    Telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2  and  101 - 3  transmit user input through network  102  to search engine  103 , to server  105 , and to database  104 . Telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2 , and  101 - 3  additionally receive responses issued by search engine  103 , server  105 , and database  104 , and present the received responses to the respective user of the telecommunications terminal. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading this disclosure, that in some alternative embodiments of the present invention telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2 , and  101 - 3  do not transmit to or receive from database  104  or server  105  or both. 
         [0037]    Network  102  is a data network well known in the prior art. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art that network  102  could be an Internet Protocol (“IP”) network, a telecommunications network, a mixed voice and data network, or any kind of network that sustains transmission of information. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art that network  102  can be the public Internet or a private “intranet,” or a combination of Internet and intranet. 
         [0038]    Search engine  103  is hardware that receives and transmits information to telecommunications terminals  101 - 1 ,  101 - 2 , and  101 - 3 , database  104 , and server  105  and search engine  103  interprets information and composes communications that it transmits to other components of processing system  100 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how search engine  103  receives, interprets, composes, and transmits information to and from the other components in data processing system  100 . 
         [0039]    Database  104  is hardware that stores information that can be retrieved. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how the salient information of data processing system  100  is stored, organized, and retrieved from database  104 . 
         [0040]    Server  105  is well-known prior art hardware that hosts documents and makes them available to other devices. For the purposes of this specification, the term “document” is defined to include, but not be limited to, a Hypertext Markup Language (“HTML”) “Web” page, a Portable Document Format (“PDF”) document, a Microsoft Word document, audio, images, video, interactive web sites, etc. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art that server  105  can host any number of documents. Furthermore, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that a document can comprise one or more identifying datum (e.g., a hypertext link, etc.) to one or more other documents. 
         [0041]    In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention a document is presented to the user at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  in response to user action. User action comprises entering a search term, entering a URL, selecting from one or more identifying datum, clicking on a hypertext link, activating a browser button, answering a query, etc. 
         [0042]    In accordance with the illustrative embodiment, server  105  receives requests from search engine  103  by way of a unique identifying datum. For purposes of this specification an “identifying datum” is defined as an indicium that uniquely identifies a document within the universe in which data processing system  100  operates. A universal resource locator (“URL”) is used by those skilled in the art as the identifying datum necessary to uniquely identify a World Wide Web location or an Internet location or any location on an IP intranet. For example, “http://www.avaya.com/usa/” is a URL. 
         [0043]    In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention a URL is used as the identifying datum of information to be presented to a user. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention the identifying datum need not be a URL, but could be any other reference information that search engine  103  is capable of presenting, e.g., legal citations, newspaper citations, phone numbers, interactive voice response digits, etc. 
         [0044]    The details of data processing system  100  are further described below. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use data processing system  100 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 2  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks of data processing system  100  according to the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0046]    Data processing system  100  comprises task  201  and task  202 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , these tasks operate independently. 
         [0047]    Although the illustrative embodiment of processing system  100  comprises only two tasks, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that an alternative embodiment of the present invention could have any number of tasks or sub-divisions of tasks, e.g., one task comprising task  201  and task  202 , two tasks that are differently sub-divided, three tasks, four tasks, etc. Furthermore, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention tasks  201  and task  202  can operate in parallel, or alternatively, can operate interdependently and need not be independent of each other. Furthermore, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that alternative embodiments of the present invention can have multiple instances of either task  201  or task  202 , or both. 
         [0048]    At task  201 , the contents of database  104  are built. Task  201  is described in further detail in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0049]    At task  202 , an ordered sequence based on a search term is provided. Task  202  is described in more detail in  FIG. 6 . It will be clear to those skilled in the art that some executions of task  202  involve telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 ; some executions of task  202  involve telecommunications terminal  101 - 2 ; and some executions of task  202  involve telecommunications terminal  101 - 3 . 
         [0050]    For purposes of this specification, a “search term” is defined as an alphanumeric string transmitted from telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  that is used by search engine  103  to find matches throughout its universe of searchable matter. For example, “auto maintenance ford mustang 1965” is a search term transmitted from telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention the search term can comprise any number of alphanumeric characters and any number of alphanumeric strings, e.g., a one-word search term, a two-word search term, a number, two numbers, a combination of alphanumeric strings, a combination of numbers and alphanumeric strings, a telephone dialing digit, two telephone dialing digits, etc. 
         [0051]      FIG. 3  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  201 . 
         [0052]    Task  301  performs a search based on a search term and is described in further detail in  FIG. 4 . It will be clear to those skilled in the art that some executions of task  301  involve telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 ; some executions of task  301  involve telecommunications terminal  101 - 2 ; and some executions of task  301  involve telecommunications terminal  101 - 3 . 
         [0053]    Task  302  populates database  104  with:
       (i) the search term,   (ii) an ordered sequence for presenting a first document and a second document to a user, and   (iii) an indicium that the search term is associated with the ordered sequence for presenting the first document and the second document to the user.       
 
         [0057]      FIG. 4  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  301 . It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, that “Telecommunications Terminal  101 - n ” depicted in  FIG. 4  means any one of the telecommunications terminals depicted in  FIG. 1 , i.e., telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 2 , or telecommunications terminal  101 - 3 . For brevity in regards to  FIG. 4 , the description that follows refers to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . 
         [0058]    At task  401 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits a search term to search engine  103 . For example, “auto maintenance ford mustang 1965” is a search term transmitted from telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . Transmitting a search term from telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  is well known in the art. 
         [0059]    At task  402 , search engine  103  receives the search term. Search engine  103  conducts a search based on the search term. For example, search engine  103  finds that server  105  hosts a web site that matches the search term and the web site&#39;s identifying datum is “http://www.1965mustang_maint.com.” Continuing the present example, search engine  103  finds another result at server  105 , which hosts a document that matches the search term and its identifying datum is “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf.” 
         [0060]    It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how search engine  103  searches for, finds, and retrieves identifying data based on a search term. Although this example illustrates how search engine  103  found two results for the search term in one server, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention search engine  103  can find any number of results, e.g., no results, one, result, two results, three results, etc., in any number of servers, e.g., one server, two servers, three servers, etc. Furthermore, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention search engine  103  can find results to the search term in database  104 . See  FIG. 6 . 
         [0061]    At task  403 , search engine  103  compiles the results of its search into a first document and transmits the document to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . Continuing the previous example, the first document comprises two identifying data resulting from the search term: (1) “http://www.1965mustang_maint.com” and (2) “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf.” Although this example illustrates the first document comprising only two matching results, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention search engine  103  can compile a document comprising any number of results for the search term, e.g., no results, one result, two results, three results, etc. 
         [0062]    At task  404 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  receives the first document transmitted by search engine  103 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art how to receive a document at a telecommunications terminal. 
         [0063]    At task  405 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  makes a “user entry,” i.e., transmits a request to search engine  103 . For purposes of this specification, a “user entry” is defined as a request at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmitted to search engine  103 . In the illustrative embodiment, the user entry is a request seeking a next document that was referenced in the first document received at task  404 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art how telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits a request to search engine  103 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention a user entry can be a document reference, a URL, a new search word, an indicium of finality (as defined below), etc. Continuing the prior example, telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits the following request to search engine  103 : “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf,” which is referenced in the first document. 
         [0064]    It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the next requested document is not referenced in the first document, but is requested at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  by the entry of a URL, or of another identifying datum, or of a second search term. This alternative embodiment is described in more detail below under the rubric of “topic of interest.” 
         [0065]    At task  406 , search engine  103  receives the request from telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  and processes the request by finding the document identified by the identifying datum. 
         [0066]    At task  407 , search engine  103  transmits to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  the next-requested document. In the continuing example, search engine  103  transmits the document located at http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, how to transmit a document from a search engine to a telecommunications terminal. 
         [0067]    At task  408 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  receives the document transmitted by search engine  103 . 
         [0068]    At task  409 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits either:
       (i) another request for a new document, or   (ii) an indicium of finality.       
 
         [0071]    In the present continuing example, when telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits a request for a new document at task  409 , it requests “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual_previous_version.pdf,” which is an identifying datum referenced in the current document that it received at task  408 , i.e., document “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf.” 
         [0072]    In the illustrative embodiment, the request for a new document is an identifying datum referenced in the previous document (i.e., the next-referenced document received at task  408 ), but it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use alternative embodiments of the present invention in which the document requested at task  409  is not referenced in the document received at task  408 , but is requested at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  by the entry of a URL, or of another identifying datum, or of a second search term. This alternative embodiment is described in more detail below under the rubric of “topic of interest.” 
         [0073]    At task  410 , search engine  103  decides whether it detects an indicium of finality. When search engine  103  does not detect an indicium of finality in the transmission received from telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 , it loops back to task  403  to process and transmit the appropriate responsive document to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . Thus, continuing the present example, having received a request for “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual_previous_version.pdf” at task  410 , having decided that it is not an indicium of finality, and having looped back to task  403 , search engine  103  transmits to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  the document identified as “http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual_previous_version.pdf.” 
         [0074]    This process continues indefinitely as described above until telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits an indicium of finality at task  409 . 
         [0075]    For purposes of this specification, an “indicium of finality” is defined as an indication or marker that communicates an end to the present search based on the search term. The indicium of finality arises from action at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  which in turn triggers an interpretive task in search engine  103  at task  410 . 
         [0076]    The action at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  that transmits an indicium of finality can be either express or implied. An express action is when telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  activates a special-purpose button on a web browser that is designated to transmit the indicium of finality of the present search, i.e., the button signals that the search has ended. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the special-purpose button is a browser push-button. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in other embodiments of the present invention the special-purpose button can be a check mark, a radio button, or any number of indicators in a web browser, or a sequence of digits in an interactive voice response system, or a voice command in an interactive voice response system, or any like user interface. 
         [0077]    Another express action to activate the indicium of finality is when telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits an affirmative answer to a query that indicates an end to the present search based on the search term. In one illustrative embodiment of the present invention, search engine  103  presents telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  with an “end-of-search” query with every responsive document it transmits to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . When telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  affirmatively answers the end-of-search query, it transmits an express indicium of finality to search engine  103 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in other embodiments of the present invention that the end-of-search query can be a specially-formulated search term. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use an express indicium of finality, including how to make and use a special-purpose button and how to make and use an end-of-search query. 
         [0078]    An implied indicium of finality is when action taken at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  is interpreted by search engine  103  at task  410  as representing an end to the search based on the search term. In one illustrative embodiment of the present invention telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits a new search term to search engine  103 . 
         [0079]    In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the implied indicium of finality is a payment transaction at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 , meaning that a successful search has resulted in a purchase. In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the implied indicium of finality is when the URL transitions from a non-secure transmission method to a secure transmission method, such as would be associated with a payment transaction. For example, when a first document&#39;s URL begins with “http://” it is understood by those skilled in the art to signify a non-secure transmission method and to be the indentifying datum of a non-secure web site, but when a second document&#39;s URL begins with “https://” it is understood by those skilled in the art to signify a secure transmission method and to be the identifying datum of a secure web site. Thus, in an ordered sequence, after navigating a non-secure web site with an “http://” URL, reaching a secure web site with an “https://” URL, can be an indicium of finality. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention the identifying datum of a secure web site can take a different form than an “https://” URL. 
         [0080]    In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the implied indicium of finality is an entry of a URL at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  that is a departure from continuing the search via the references available in the current document received from search engine  103 . In an alternative embodiment of the present invention the implied indicium of finality is receiving a user survey at telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 , i.e., search engine  103  relies on the underlying application accessed by the user having detected an event precipitating a survey, thus signaling to search engine  103  the end of the search based on the search term. 
         [0081]    In an alternative embodiment of the present invention a new search term is not an indicium of finality so long as the new search term and the preceding search term both are in the same “topic of interest.” For purposes of this specification, a topic of interest is defined as a category comprising a plurality of terms that pertain to similar subject matter, wherein the categorization is at the discretion of those who implement search engine  103 . When a new search term falls within the same topic of interest as the preceding search term, search engine  103  continues to accumulate and append to the ordered sequence that will ultimately be stored in database  104  as pertaining to the original search term. Thus, like search terms or like subjects can be grouped into topics of interest that might yield fruitful search results to future users. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention, a URL entered by a user is not an indicium of finality so long as it is in the same topic of interest as the search term that preceded it. 
         [0082]    It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use search engine  103  to comprise modes of operation with one or more topics of interest. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, when the first search term is “cat” and the second search term is “kitten” and search engine  103  has a topic of interest that comprises both of these terms, search engine  103  will interpret search term “kitten” as a continuation of the search based on the search term “cat” and will not interpret “kitten” as an indicium of finality. In a contrasting example, when the first search term is “cat” and the second search term is “cab,” and “cab” is not in the same topic of interest as “cat,” search engine  103  will interpret “cab” as an indicium of finality. 
         [0083]    It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  can transmit the indicium of finality through a plurality of actions and that search engine  103  can detect an indicium of finality from a combination of actions. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  can transmit a variety of indicia of finality and that search engine  103  can detect any one of the indicia of finality at task  410 . 
         [0084]    When search engine  103  detects an indicium of finality at task  410 , task  301  ends and proceeds to task  302 . 
         [0085]      FIG. 5  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  302 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use task  302 . 
         [0086]    At task  501 , search engine  103  creates an ordered sequence for reading the first document and the next document(s) that pertain to the search term, ordering the sequence in the temporal order in which the documents were transmitted to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . In the continuing examples presented above, the ordered sequence at task  501  is shown in Table 1 below: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Document in the 
                   
               
               
                 Ordered Sequence 
                 Identifying Datum 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 First Document 
                 http://www.1965mustang_maint.com and 
               
               
                   
                 http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf 
               
               
                 Second Document 
                 http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf 
               
               
                 Third Document (end of 
                 http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual_previous_version.pdf 
               
               
                 ordered sequence) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0087]    All three documents in Table 1 pertain to the search term illustrated in this example, namely “auto maintenance ford mustang 1965.” Each successive document in Table 1 was referenced in the previous document. Thus, the second document was referenced in the first document, and the third document was referenced in the second document. 
         [0088]    For every additional iteration of task  403 , a new document is added to the ordered sequence of task  501  so that the ordered sequence comprises, in temporal order, all the documents presented to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  for the current search term. In the example of Table 1, a total of three documents were transmitted by search engine  103  to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  within the present search based on the search term and therefore the ordered sequence at task  501  comprises these three documents. 
         [0089]    Although the identifying datum in the illustrative embodiment shown in Table 1 is represented by URL(s), it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure that in alternative embodiments of the present invention the identifying datum can be a phone number, an interactive voice response digit, a voice command, etc. Furthermore, although the illustrative embodiment shown in Table 1 has an ordered sequence of three documents, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention the ordered sequence can comprise any number of documents each of which can comprise any number of identifying data, e.g., the ordered sequence can comprise two documents, or four documents, or five documents, etc., and each document can comprise three identifying data, or four identifying data, or five identifying data, etc. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use the ordered sequence at task  501 . 
         [0090]    Creating the ordered sequence at task  501  in response to detecting the indicium of finality at task  410  also means that additional documents transmitted by telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  after the indicium of finality is detected at task  410  will not be appended to the ordered sequence. In other words, the indicium of finality marks the end of the present ordered sequence. 
         [0091]    At task  502 , search engine  103  transmits to database  104  the ordered sequence created at task  501  and the search term that gave rise to the ordered sequence. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to transmit the information at task  502 . 
         [0092]    At task  503 , database  104  receives the information transmitted at task  502  by search engine  103 , i.e., receives the ordered sequence created at task  501  and the search term that gave rise to the ordered sequence. 
         [0093]    At task  504 , database  104  stores the following:
       (i) the search term,   (ii) the ordered sequence, and   (iii) an indicium that the search term is associated with the ordered sequence.       
 
         [0097]    Thus, database  104  forms an association between a search term and an ordered sequence of documents that have collectively led to an indicium of finality for that search term. The indicium of association can be express or implied, depending upon the data structures used for database  104 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to associate a search term with an ordered sequence for the search term. In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, in the continuing example presented above, database  104  stores an entry as shown in Table 2 below: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 Search Term: 
                 auto maintenance ford mustang 1965 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Ordered Sequence 
                 http://www.1965mustang_maint.com and 
               
               
                 Associated with the 
                 http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf 
               
               
                 Search Term: 
                 http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual.pdf 
               
               
                   
                 http://www.mustangs/1965/maint_manual_previous_version.pdf 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0098]    The end of task  504  ends one iteration of task  302 . When task  302  ends, it loops back to task  301 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0099]    Subsequent iterations of task  301  can yield new and different results for the same search term when the user employs a different search strategy. In a subsequent iteration of task  301 , when using the same search term as before and choosing differently from among the documents transmitted by search engine  103 , an ordered sequence results that differs from the ordered sequence previously stored for the search term. Thus, at task  504 , database  104  populates a distinct entry for the search term by adding a new and different ordered sequence. In accordance with the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, database  104  is shown in Table 3 below, illustrating three iterations of task  302  based on the same search term “X”: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                   
                 X 
                 X 
                 X 
               
               
                   
                 (after the first 
                 (after the second 
                 (after the third 
               
               
                   
                 iteration of 
                 iteration of 
                 iteration of task 
               
               
                 Search Term: 
                 task 302) 
                 task 302) 
                 302) 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Ordered Sequence 
                 DOC1 
                 DOC1 
                 DOC1 
               
               
                 Associated with 
                 DOC2 
                 DOC2 
                 DOC11 
               
               
                 the Search 
                 DOC3 
                 DOC3 
               
               
                 Term: 
                   
                 DOC4 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0100]    Table 3 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, but it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that an entry in database  104  can be structured in other ways that comprise the search term, the ordered sequence, and the association between them. For example, another way of structuring database  104  is shown in Table 4 below: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 List of 
                 List of Sequences 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Search Terms 
                   
                 Associated with 
               
               
                 X 
                 Ordered Sequence 
                 Search Term 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Y 
                 DOC1, DOC2, DOC3 
                 X 
               
               
                 Z 
                 DOC1, DOC2, DOC3, DOC4 
                 X 
               
               
                   
                 DOC1, DOC11 
                 X 
               
               
                   
                 DOC5, DOC6, DOC7 
                 Y 
               
               
                   
                 DOC4, DOC8, DOC9, DOC10 
                 Z 
               
               
                   
                 DOC4, DOC8, DOC11, DOC12 
                 Z 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0101]    Although Table 3 and Table 4 show no more than three ordered sequences associated with a given search term, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention database  104  can store any number of ordered sequences in association with a given search term, e.g., four ordered sequences, five ordered sequences, etc. 
         [0102]      FIG. 6  depicts a flowchart of the salient tasks associated with the performance of task  202 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use task  202 . It will be clear to those skilled in the art, after reading this disclosure, that “Telecommunications Terminal  101 - n ” depicted in  FIG. 6  means any one of the telecommunications terminals depicted in  FIG. 1 , i.e., telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 2 , or telecommunications terminal  101 - 3 . For brevity in regards to  FIG. 6 , the description that follows refers to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1 . 
         [0103]    At task  601 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  transmits a search term to search engine  103 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art how to transmit a search term. 
         [0104]    At task  602  search engine  103  receives the search term transmitted by telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  in a manner well known in the art. 
         [0105]    At task  603 , search engine  103  transmits the search term to database  104 . It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to transmit data and information from search engine  103  to database  104 . 
         [0106]    At task  604 , database  104  receives the search term. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to receive data from search engine  103  to database  104 . 
         [0107]    At task  605 , database  104  searches for a match to the search term it received from search engine  103 . In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, database  104  is populated as shown in Table 4 above. Thus, for search term “X” database  104  finds three matches. 
         [0108]    At task  606 , for each match found to the search term, database  104  transmits an associated ordered sequence to search engine  103 . In the illustrative embodiment in accordance with Table 4, database  104  finds three matches for search term “X” and transmits the following three ordered sequences associated with “X”: (i) “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 ,” (ii) “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 , DOC 4 ,” and (iii) “DOC 1 , DOC 11 .” Although the illustrative embodiment of the present invention has three matches found for a search term, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention database  104  can find any number of matches, i.e., no matches, one match, two matches, etc., and can transmit any corresponding number of ordered sequences associated with a given search term, e.g., no ordered sequence, one ordered sequence, two ordered sequences, etc. 
         [0109]    At task  607 , search engine  103  receives the ordered sequences associated with search term “X” transmitted by database  104 , i.e., (i) “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 ,” (ii) “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 , DOC 4 ,” and (iii) “DOC 1 , DOC 11 .” 
         [0110]    At task  608 , search engine  103  transmits to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  a document that comprises the ordered sequences received from database  104 . Thus, in response to search term “X” search engine  103  transmits a document that comprises three ordered sequences: (i) “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 ,” (ii) “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 , DOC 4 ,” and (iii) “DOC 1 , DOC 11 .” 
         [0111]    Although this illustrative example has a document that comprises three ordered sequences corresponding to the search term, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention the document transmitted by search engine  103  at task  608  may comprise additional information, may transmit the ordered sequences in different formats than illustrated here, may combine other search results with database  104  results, may present the ordered sequences in a different order than (i), (ii), and (iii) as illustrated here, may transmit results one at a time, etc. 
         [0112]    In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, search engine  103  monitors the user&#39;s search and assists the user&#39;s navigation through a toolbar that indicates the preferred next step in the ordered sequence that the user is presently navigating. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention, search engine  103  highlights or otherwise points to the preferred next step in the ordered sequence that the user is presently navigating. Thus, the user is presented with many navigational options and search engine  103  assists in regards to at least one ordered sequence that matches the search term. 
         [0113]    At task  609 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  receives the document comprising the ordered sequence(s) transmitted by search engine  103 . 
         [0114]    At task  610 , telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  continues the search based on the search term, using the results it received from search engine  103 . In the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, in the continuing example presented above, telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  selects the first ordered sequence transmitted by search engine  103 , i.e., “DOC 1 , DOC 2 , DOC 3 .” Telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  then navigates to the document with identifying datum “DOC 1 .” Telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  then navigates to the document with identifying datum “DOC 2 ” and then to the document with identifying datum “DOC 3 ,” successfully reaching the same endpoint as the user who initially created this ordered sequence. 
         [0115]    Although in the illustrative embodiment of the present invention telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  navigates the ordered sequence in the same order as presented by the sequence, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  can navigate an ordered sequence transmitted by search engine  103  in any order. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use task  610  such that the ordered sequence is available to telecommunications terminal  101 - 1  to navigate in any order. It will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, how to make and use task  610 . 
         [0116]    When task  610  ends, this ends task  202 . As noted earlier, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention tasks  201  and  202  can operate interdependently, so that ordered sequences that are populated into database  104  at task  201  are transmitted to a telecommunications terminal in response to a search at task  202 . This means that data processing system  100  is capable of both learning ordered sequences and retrieving those sequences when tasks  201  and  202  are interdependent. 
         [0117]    Furthermore, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention task  402  comprises searching both database  104  and prior art servers like server  105 . Likewise, it will be clear to those having ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, that in alternative embodiments of the present invention task  608  comprises results from both prior art servers like server  105  and from database  104 . 
         [0118]    It is understood that this disclosure teaches just some examples of how the tasks of processing system  100  are ordered and organized and that many different variations can be devised by those skilled in the art after reading this disclosure. It is further understood that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the following claims.