Abstract:
Apparatus are provided including a networking element to connect a user computer with an expert computer. A changing set of help topics is provided indicating topics for which a user requests help or for which an expert provides help. A help topic set modifier is provided to modify the changing set of help topics.

Description:
COPYRIGHT NOTICE  
       [0001]     This patent document contains information subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent, as it appears in the US Patent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.  
       FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0002]     The present disclosure relates to online communications systems, and more particularly, to a support-related online communications system.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     On line communications system include e-mail infrastructures (for example, Microsoft Outlook™), web-base collaboration tools (for example, Microsoft NetMeeting) and remote support infrastructures (for example, the Citrix® GoToAssist™ product). Support-related online communications systems generally connect users (help requesters) with experts (help providers) through an online connection—e.g., via one or a combination of local, wide area, and direct network connections (including any type of network technology—e.g., the Internet, a proprietary intranet/extranet technology, PSTN, etc.).  
         [0004]     A support-related online communications system may, for example, help a user find an expert on a particular application software product. For example, the user may need an expert&#39;s help with a given software application. The Citrix® GoToAssist™ product allows technical support personnel to remotely access customer computers and secure data centers to resolve the computer&#39;s IT issues.  
       SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE  
       [0005]     One embodiment of the disclosure is directed to an improved support-related online communications system that provides users and/or experts with more control over the types of help topics that can be addressed by a given expert or that are required by a given user.  
         [0006]     In accordance with one embodiment, apparatus are provided. A network element is provided to connect a user computer with an expert computer. A changing set of help topics is provided. A help topic set modifier is provided to modify the help topics in the changing set. The networking element may include a user computer network connection, a user computer web browser, an expert computer network connection, and/or an expert computer web browser. In addition, or in the alternative, the networking element may include a help server.  
         [0007]     The changing set of help topics may include a set of user help topics unique to a given user and/or a set of expert help topics unique to a given expert. More specifically, the help topics can include a list of applications. The set of help topics can be stored in a memory of a user computer, in a memory of an expert computer, and/or in expert and user profile databases of a help server. The help topic set modifier may include a prompt interface element prompting a user, via a computer screen interface on the user computer, to input a help topic desired by the user. In addition, or in the alternative, the help topic set modifier may include for example, a sweeper, remote from the user computer, to sweep the user computer to ascertain configuration information. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]     Embodiments of the disclosure are further described in the detail description which follows, by reference to the noted drawings in which like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:  
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a collaborative help system;  
         [0010]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart of an expert process;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of part one of a front end of the collaborative help system;  
         [0012]      FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram of part two of the illustrated front end; and  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is block diagram of the back end of the illustrated collaborative help system.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]     Referring now to the drawings in greater detail,  FIG. 1  shows a block diagram of a collaborative help system  10 . The illustrated system  10  includes at least one help server  18  connected through online connections to a plurality of expert machines  12  and user machines  14 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the help server  18  may be connected to the machines  12  and  14  via one or more networks  16 . Each expert machine  12  includes an interface  13   a , and each user machine  14  includes an interface  13   b . The illustrated interfaces  13   a  and  13   b  may include, for example, web browsers. In embodiments, expert machines  12  and user machines  14  may, e.g., include any general or special purpose computer (e.g. personal computers, laptops, workstations, or smaller computer devices).  
         [0015]     The illustrated collaborative help system  10  includes one or more changing sets of help topics. In the specific embodiment illustrated, the one or more sets of help topics include sets of data provided in expert profiles  24  and user profiles  26 . More specifically, the help server  18  may include a plurality of expert profiles  24  corresponding to respective ones of expert machines  12 , which may be stored in expert profile databases of help server  18 . Similarly, a plurality of user profiles  26  may be provided which correspond respectively to user machines  14 , and which are stored in one or more user profile databases of help server  18 .  
         [0016]     The one or more sets of help topics may include help topics which are specified by a given user using one of the user machines  14 , as well as information concerning the types of help topics for which a given expert will provide help, which the expert can specify via his or her expert machine  12 . Accordingly, the set of help topics may include a set of user help topics unique to a given user, and may also include a set of expert help topics unique to a given expert. In the embodiment illustrated, the help topics include listed applications for which a given user may require help or for which a given expert may be able to provide help. The help topic information associated with a user or an expert may be accessed by and stored in each of the expert machines  12  and user machines  14 , for example, via the use of an interface  13   a ,  13   b . Specifically, the interfaces  13   a ,  13   b  may each include a web browser.  
         [0017]     The illustrated help server  18  includes a back end  20  which for interfaces with the expert machines  12 , and a front end  22  which interfaces with user machines  14 .  
         [0018]     The collaborative help engine  28  facilitates access to a data in each of the expert and user profiles  24  and  26  by either of back end  20  and front end  22 . In addition, collaborative help engine  28  may, for example, provide other functionality for help server  18 , such as allowing administrators to access the help server  18 .  
         [0019]     The expert machine back end  20  may perform a process whereby an expert logs in and receives certain information regarding a help request, and is also able to provide information regarding the types of help that expert is willing to provide. In addition, back end  20  may facilitate the interaction between a given expert via an expert machine  12  with a given user via a user machine  14 .  
         [0020]     Similarly, front end  22  allows a user to interact with help server  18 , to provide information regarding help subjects with which it is interested, to choose applications that are at issue, and to provide key words regarding the type of help requested by the user. In addition, the front end  22  may allow a user, via a user machine  14 , to view the available experts, as well as experts previously used by the user, and to select an expert.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  provides a flow chart of a help process. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in an initial act  30 , an expert logs in to the help server  18  via his or her expert machine  12  through its interface with back end  20 . At act  32 , the user enters a help request and selects an expert. This is done by the user through the use of his or her user machine  14  which interfaces with the help server  18  via front end  22 . When the user enters the help request and selects an expert, the collaborative help engine  28  may, at acts  42  and  44 , sweep the user machine and/or monitor the input to the collaborative help engine of the user at act  42 , and populate or modify the user profile at act  44 .  
         [0022]     After act  32 , at act  34 , the expert receives, on his or her expert machine  12 , the help request, and accepts the help request, by interacting with his or her user interface on the expert machine  12 . When the expert receives and accepts a help request at act  34 , the expert machine may be swept by the collaborative help engine and/or the expert machine input by the expert may be monitored, for information regarding the types of expert advice or help the expert provides to users. In addition, the expert profile for that given expert may be populated or modified at act  48 .  
         [0023]     After act  34 , the process proceeds to act  36 , where the user, through use of his or her user machine  14 , installs a sharing application on the user machine  14  and accepts a connection by the expert via his or her expert machine  12  to the user machine  14 . Examples of sharing applications include the PC Anywhere, Citrix Remote User Applications, and Windows Remote User Applications.  
         [0024]     After act  36 , act  38  is performed where a help session occurs. Here, a user and expert may interact with each other, while the expert takes control at certain points in time of the user&#39;s machine to help the user solve his or her problem. At some point during help session  38 , the process may return to acts  42  and  44  as well as to acts  46  and  48 . Accordingly, additional sweeps of the expert and user machines as well as monitoring of input of those machines may be performed by the collaborative engine  28 . In accordance with such monitoring and/or sweeps, the user and expert profiles  24  and  26  may be updated accordingly.  
         [0025]     At act  40 , the session between the expert and user is terminated.  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram of a front end user interface which may be displayable on a user machine  14  as a result of the functionality provided by front end  22  through interface  13   b  (which, in the illustrated embodiment, is a web browser). The illustrated front end interface  49  includes a plurality of interfaces, which may be in the form of stored data (for example, in a file) and/or a graphical user interface. User interface  49  may be part of an individual work station, or a platform that includes one computer or a plurality of computers. The illustrated user interface may include an individual computer work station running an application program such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or a web browser. A counterpart portion of the illustrated user interface may be provided in a separate computer to carry out certain functions of the user interface. For example, the user interface may include both a web browser client and a web page server on a separate machine.  
         [0027]     The illustrated interface may include icons or otherwise manipulable graphical tools.  
         [0028]     The front end interface  49 , part one of which is shown in  FIG. 3 , is provided to provide information regarding the help sought by the user.  
         [0029]     The interface includes graphical tools, which may include displayed information as well as fields for inputting information to a computer system. Those tools include help subject tools including a standard menu list  50  which, upon selection by the user, may present a standard menu of subjects that can be selected by the user. In addition, the help subject tools may include a recent subjects list  52 , which can present, upon selection, a list of recent subjects requested by the user or by other users.  
         [0030]     The user can interact with standard menu list  50  and recent subjects  52  to select the specific subjects for which help is sought by that user. In addition, free form field or fields  54  may be provided, in which a user can type in a specific question or issue.  
         [0031]     A number of other graphical tools may be provided to allow a user to choose the application or applications at issue. Those tools may include a list  56  of applications used by the user, a list  58  of applications for which the help is frequently requested by that user, and a list  60  of applications currently running on the user machine for that user. In the illustrated embodiment, the user may simply select the items in the mentioned lists  56 ,  58  and  60 , in order to provide input to the collaborative help engine  28 . The collaborative help engine  28  then updates the user profile  26  accordingly, to indicate the selections made by the user.  
         [0032]     Additional graphical tools include a list  62  of key words from open document or documents of the user on the user machine. In this case, a mechanism may be provided within collaborative help engine  28  to scan the user machine for any open documents, and to run an algorithm to select certain key words gathered from those open documents on the user machine. Those gathered key words may then be presented in list  62  of key words, to allow the user to select one or more of those key words as being relevant to the help request.  
         [0033]     In addition, one or more free form fields  64  may be provided, in which the user can specify key words related to the help request.  
         [0034]      FIG. 4  shows a second part  69  of the front end portion of the illustrated collaborative help system. This part relates to the selection of an expert through the user machine interface. Accordingly, the second part interface  69  includes a graphical tool  70  for viewing the available experts that are available for the user&#39;s requests, as well as a tool  72  for viewing experts previously used by this user. The user can interact with the information viewable through tools  70  and  72  to select the expert for his or her help request.  
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows a back end interface  79  which schematically presents an interface viewable by an expert via an expert machine  12 . The illustrated back end interface  79  provides graphical tools to allow an expert to provide information regarding the type of expertise of the expert and the expert&#39;s availability. Accordingly, the illustrated interface  79  includes graphical tools for describing job functions of the expert, and for providing information regarding (i) help subjects for which the expert is willing to provide help or has expertise, (ii) applications the expert may choose for providing help to users, and (iii) any key words relevant to the expertise or the availability of that expert. The graphical tools in the illustrated embodiment include a standard menu list  80  and one or more free form fields  82 . The standard menu list  80  may present a list of job functions from a standard menu, from which certain job functions can be selected by the expert through the use of a graphical user interface on the expert machine  12 . Free form fields  82  may be used to allow the expert to type in job functions in a free form fashion.  
         [0036]     The help subject or subjects for which an expert can provide help may be specified by the expert through the use of a menu list  84 , selection of recent subjects  86 , and the use of one or more free form fields  88 . The menu list  84  may be configured so that it is modified based upon the job functions of the given expert as indicated through the use of graphical tools  80  and  82 . For example, if the expert is in the marketing department, the subjects for which that expert will be presented through menu list  84  may be limited to a document processing program such as Microsoft PowerPoint and other publishing applications. Whereas, if the job description of the expert is in IT support, the types of applications listed in the menu list  84  may be include, for example, Windows XP. Recent subjects  86  present to the expert the recent subjects handled by that expert or by experts with similar job functions. One or more free form fields  88  allow the expert to indicate the subjects of interest or availability of that expert.  
         [0037]     The specific applications for which the expert has expertise (or wishes to be available) may be specified by selecting among a preset menu list  90 , or by choosing a list of applications  92  installed and/or currently running and/or most used by either the expert or by one or more users that are currently (or have in the past) used the collaborative help engine  28 . This information, again as noted above, may be collected through the monitoring of input by users and experts, and/or by sweeping the expert and users machines, as described above.  
         [0038]     Any key words relating to the expert&#39;s availability and credentials may be specified through the use of graphical tools including a list  94  of key words based upon documents created or reviewed by that expert, and/or through the use of free form fields  96 . The key words that are acquired from documents created or reviewed by the expert may be determined by performing a sweep of the expert machine.  
         [0039]     The claims as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.