On-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service

An assistance service through its local client application or agent at a user's device hardware and software environment information and monitor a health of one or more applications. Upon detecting an issue or being activated by the user, the assistance service may perform diagnostic and/or recovery actions. If predefined or dynamically determined recovery actions are inadequate to address the issue, the assistance service may engage a support service providing collected user device environment information and received server environment information to the support service. A history of attempted recovery actions and diagnostic results may also be provided. The assistance service may, through a user interface of its local, client or agent, facilitate communication with the supports service and perform recovery actions, suggested by the support service providing feedback to the support service. When needed, the assistance service may rollback a version of locally installed or server-side applications to address the issue.

BACKGROUND

Hosted services are increasingly providing valuable services to people in their home and work lives. Bringing applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, communication, notetaking, collaboration, and others under an umbrella, such services allow users to access, edit, and collaborate on documents through locally installed or cloud-accessible applications.

Hosted services and associated applications form a complex environment that involves local and cloud-stored data, device resources, user attributes, operating system and application configurations, among other things. Such services and their components are also subject to frequent updates and upgrades. Thus, they present a challenge to users when errors happen. Regular users may not be expected to diagnose and correct a majority of errors or crashes. A manual diagnostic and recovery process that involves expert help may also not be feasible or at least experience degrading when a service has a large number (e.g., hundreds of thousands) users.

SUMMARY

Embodiments are directed to on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. In some examples, hardware and software environment information associated with a user device may be collected and hardware and software environment, information associated with one or more servers executing a hosted service may be received. The support service may be engaged by an assistance application or component of an assistance service at the user device in response to exhausting a set of automatic diagnostic and recovery actions associated with a component of the hosted service. The collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers may be provided to the support service. A communication may be facilitated between a user associated with the user device and an operator of the support service, and one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service may be performed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As briefly described above, embodiments are directed to on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. In some examples, an assistance service through its local client application or agent at a user's device (or devices) may collect telemetry information associated with the user's operating environment (physical and software operation parameters and configurations) and monitor a health of one or more applications. Upon detecting an issue or being activated by the user, the assistance service may perform diagnostic and/or recovery actions. If predefined or dynamically determined recovery actions are inadequate to address the issue, the assistance service may engage a support service providing collected (local) and received (server-side) information to the support service. A history of attempted recovery actions and diagnostic results may also be provided. The assistance service may, through a user interface of its local client or agent, facilitate at least a portion of communication with the supports service such as messaging or online conference. The assistance service may also be used to perform recovery actions suggested by the support service and provide feedback to the support service. When needed in some cases, the assistance service may rollback a version of locally installed or server-side applications to address the issue.

Throughout this specification, the term “platform” may be a combination of software and hardware components for providing on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. Examples of platforms include, but are not limited to, a hosted service executed over a plurality of servers, an application executed on a single computing device, and comparable systems. The term “server” generally refers to a computing device executing one or more software programs typically in a networked environment. However, a server may also be implemented as a virtual server (software programs) executed on one or more computing devices viewed as a server on the network. More detail on these technologies and example operations is provided below.

FIG. 1includes an example system environment where on-demand or dynamic, diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service may be implemented.

As illustrated in diagram100, an example system may include a datacenter112hosting a productivity service114configured to provide a variety of productivity related applications and may be accessed across multiple devices and users. The datacenter112may include one or more processing servers116configured to execute the productivity service114, among other components. In some embodiments, at least one of the processing servers116may be operable to manage the productivity service114, where data from devices (such as devices122,126) may be stored with the cloud stored data at storage servers120(or associated data stores). As described herein, the productivity service114may be implemented as software, hardware, or combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the productivity service114may be configured to interoperate with various applications to provide services such as word processing, spreadsheet processing, presentation, note taking, communications, scheduling, and comparable ones. For example, as illustrated in the diagram100, a user104may execute a thin (e.g., a web browser) or a thick (e.g., a locally installed client application) Version of an application106through the device102with which the productivity service114may be configured to integrate and interoperate with over one or more networks, such as network110. The application106may be an application hosted by the productivity service, such as a word processing application, for example. The device102may include a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a vehicle mount computer, a smart phone, or a wearable computing device, among other similar devices. A communication interface may facilitate communication between the productivity service114and the application106over the network110.

In an example embodiment, the productivity service114may be configured to receive content from the application106of the device102. The received content may be stored remotely at the productivity service114within the storage servers120, for example. As the productivity service114includes a number of applications and involves a large number of local and remote resources, errors leading, to application crashes or other undesirable results may occur. When a serious error like this occurs, users may have technical support help available. However, given the large number of users subscribing to modern hosted services, scheduling and coordinating technical support may degrade user experience and be expensive to provide for service providers. According to some embodiments, on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service may be provided by an assistance service or application that may be part of the productivity service114or a third party service.

Productivity service114is used as an illustrative example to describe various aspects of embodiments herein. However, embodiments are not limited to a productivity service. An assistance application or service providing on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service may be implemented with any hosted service such as a collaboration service, an online storage service, and others using the principles described herein.

A system according to embodiments allows on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. By automatically and dynamically diagnosing system and application issues, performing recovery actions in conjunction with a support service, collecting statistical data, and performing notification tasks, increased efficiency, reduced local and cloud computing resource usage, reduced bandwidth usage, and increased security may be achieved.

Embodiments, as described herein, address a need that arises from very large scale of operations created by software-based services that cannot be managed by humans. The actions/operations described herein are not a mere use of a computer, but address results of a system that is a direct consequence of software used as a service offered in conjunction with large numbers of devices and users taking advantage of hosted services.

FIG. 2illustrates conceptually on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service.

As shown in diagram200, diagnostic, recovery, and related actions for the productivity service114and its components may be performed by an assistance application202that is part of the productivity service114. The assistance application202may be executed on one of the servers116. In other embodiments, the assistance application202or one or more components may be executed on the local devices such as device102. In further embodiments, the assistance application may be part of an independent assistance service executed on a separate server and provide personalized diagnostics, troubleshooting, recovery, and notification to multiple hosted services.

The assistance application may receive information from a number of sources (e.g., local resources204). For example, system and device configuration information such as installed and/or running applications, memory availability, processor availability, network bandwidth, display characteristics, and other hardware and software state information may be received from operating systems, local and network task/system managers, other applications and/or services used by the user104. Because user credentials determine what resources a user has access to and under which circumstances, user credentials may be retrieved from a credential manager or, account manager agent. Telemetry data associated with past and current usage may be received from telemetry engines or similar data collectors. Because interactivity with other applications (within or outside the productivity service114) may have an impact on the performance of individual, applications, data from other applications may also be retrieved through standardized or custom, application programming interfaces (APIs) on those applications.

In some embodiments, the assistance application202may continuously receive data and monitor conditions to identify error patterns. In other embodiments, the assistance application202may be activated by the user104upon encountering a problem and collect the data at activation to perform diagnostics. The assistance application202may analyze collected data and the encountered error, compare to known errors in a database, and determine possible solutions. The assistance application202may then apply the potential solutions (recovery actions) automatically. In some cases, the assistance application202may prompt the user104to take action such as sign off and sign in, or close certain applications, etc.

If a solution is found to address the encountered problem, the assistance application202may forward information associated with the encountered error, the identified solution, and state, of hardware/software at the time of the error to a data insights database for analysis and updating, of errors/solutions database. If a working solution is not identified, the assistance application202may escalate the issue to a support department of the productivity service114allowing support personnel to have all the background information and contact the user104without the user having to go through the process of calling the support department, describing the issue, etc.

In other embodiments, the assistance application202may engage a support service providing collected (local) and received (server-side) information to the support service if predefined or dynamically determined recovery actions are inadequate to address the issue. A history of attempted recovery actions and diagnostic results may also be provided. The assistance application may, through a user interface of its local client or agent, facilitate at least a portion of communication with the supports service such as messaging or online conference. The assistance application may also be used to perform recovery actions suggested by the support service and provide feedback to the support service.

FIG. 3illustrates example interactions between major components of a system for on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service.

In diagram300, example major components in providing on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service are shown. An assistance application or service according to embodiments may be implemented with additional or fewer components performing additional or fewer tasks than those described herein.

In, the example configuration of diagram300, an assistance service302may be executed on one or more servers such as server308. A hosted service such as a productivity service may also be executed on the same or different servers. The assistance service may manage diagnostic, recovery, and related actions for subscribers of the productivity service or other services304. In a hosted service environment, users may access the functionality provided by the hosted service (other services304) through locally installed (thick) client applications or through web browsers (thin). Thus, issues arising with the functionality or applications of the hosted service may be cause by one or more hardware or software components at the user's client device or at the servers executing the hosted service. Therefore, a software environment and a physical environment306of the example server308may provide insight into resolving the issue(s).

The assistance service302may provide diagnostic and recovery aid, to a user310on one or more of their devices through a locally installed assistance client312or web accessed assistance client. As discussed above, software environment318and physical environment316may have an impact on the issue(s). Therefore, the assistance client312may collect information associated with both. The software environment318may include things such as a number and a type of applications314installed/executed on the user's client device, configurations of such applications, operating system type and version, states of various applications314being executed, and similar information. The physical environment316may include things such as available and used storage, memory, processor capacity, network connectivity, and comparable items.

Upon exhausting diagnostic and recovery actions it is capable of, the assistance service302may determine that the issue needs to be elevated to a support service322. The support service322may include automated and/or human operators. To prevent the user from having to repeat the description of the issue and the details of attempted recovery actions to the support service, the assistance service302may provide the collected and received client-side and server-side environment information, diagnostic results, attempted recovery actions and their results to the support service322. Thus, when a human operator320at the support service322takes over the case, they may have the needed background information in front of them.

In some cases, the support service322may employ more sophisticated tools, which may diagnose the issue based on the information provided by the assistance service302. In other cases, the human operator320may need to communicate with the user310. To enhance the user experience in resolving the issue(s), the assistance service302may also provide user availability/preference for communication information to the support service322(receiving that information directly from the user). In some embodiments, the assistance service302may include communication capabilities and facilitate the communication over one or more modes between the user310and the human operator320or the supports service322. For example, the assistance service302may facilitate a message exchange session, an audio online conference, a video online conference, and similar ones.

Furthermore, the assistance service302may be configured to perform some or all of the recovery actions suggested by the support service322. For example, instead of the user310being told, by the human operator320to deactivate an application or restart their computing device and doing so, the assistance service302may perform those tasks and notify the user310about what is being done. As a typical user is not expected to have expert knowledge on the hardware and software aspects of their computing device(s), having an expert assistance service perform the diagnostics, attempt recovery actions, and manage interaction with a support service may optimize the diagnostic and recovery process, enhance user interaction, and reduce consumption of resource such as processing capacity, network capacity, etc. by reducing unnecessary actions and repetitions.

FIG. 4illustrates example actions performed by components in providing on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service.

Diagram400shows some example actions that may be performed by an assistance service and/or its client412on a user's computing device. As, part of its automated diagnostic and recovery tasks, the assistance service may collect and/or monitor software and, hardware environment information on the user's computing device (402) as discussed above. In addition, the assistance service may receive server-side software and hardware environment information404from the server(s) executing the hosted service whose issue is being diagnosed. The wide range of information collected and received in the above phases may be analyzed, tabulated, and correlated. The assistance service may also make inferences based on the collected information.

If the automated diagnostic and recovery options are exhausted, the assistance service may be configured to automatically engage406a support service414. To aid the support service to diagnose and resolve the issue(s) rapidly and accurately, the assistance service may provide the collected and received environment information, its analysis results, and/or its inferences to the support service upon engagement.

As part of its operations, the assistance service may query the user about his or her contact preferences (communication mode, timing, etc.). Upon engaging the support service414, the assistance service may provide those user preferences such that the user can be contacted conveniently. In some examples, the assistance service may include communication facilitation capability and facilitate communication408between the user and an operators of the support service through one or more modes.

In addition, to the above operations, the assistance service may also aid the support service in performing at least some of the recovery actions. For example, the support service operator may decide to try some configuration changes, deactivation or activation of some applications, or a restart of the computing device. Instead of instructing and having the user perform those actions and similar ones, the assistance service may perform the suggested recovery actions410while notifying the user about which action is being performed. In some cases, a version or configuration incompatibility may be the cause of the issue. In such scenarios, the assistance service may facilitate a rollback of the current version or configuration of an application, hosted service, or other software settings to a previous one to resolve the issue.

The examples provided inFIGS. 1 through 4are illustrated with specific systems, services, applications, modules, codes, and notifications. Embodiments are not limited to environments according to these examples. On-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service may be implemented in environments employing fewer or additional systems, services, applications, engines, codes, and user experience configurations. Furthermore, the example systems, services, applications, modules, and notifications shown inFIG. 1 through 4may be implemented in a similar manner with other values using the principles described herein.

FIG. 5is a networked environment, where a system according to embodiments may be implemented. In addition to locally installed applications (for example, application106), on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service may also be employed in conjunction with hosted applications and services (for example, a productivity service114) that may be implemented via software executed over one or more servers506, individual server508, or at client devices, as illustrated in diagram500. A hosted service or application may communicate with client applications on, individual computing devices such as a handheld computer501, a desktop computer502, a laptop computer503, a smart phone504, a tablet computer (or slate),505(‘client devices’) through network(s)510and control a user interface presented to users.

Client devices501-505are used to access the functionality provided by the hosted service or application. One or more of the servers506or server508may be used to provide a variety of services as discussed above. Relevant data such as cloud stored versions of the files may be stored in one or more data stores (e.g. data store514), which may be managed by any one of the servers506or by database server512.

Network(s)510may comprise any topology of servers, clients, Internet service providers, and communication media. A system according to embodiments may have a static or dynamic topology. Network(s)510may include a secure network such as an enterprise network, an unsecure network such as a wireless open network, or the Internet. Network(s)510may also coordinate communication over other networks such as PSTN or cellular networks. Network(s)510provides communication between the nodes described herein. By way of example, and not limitation, network(s)510may include wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

Many other configurations of computing devices, applications, engines, data sources, and data distribution systems may be employed for on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. Furthermore, the networked environments discussed inFIG. 5are for illustration purposes only. Embodiments are not limited to the example applications, engines, or processes.

FIG. 6is a block diagram of an example general purpose computing device, which may be used to provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service.

For example, computing device600may be used as a server, desktop computer, portable computer, smart phone, special purpose computer, or similar device. In an example basic configuration602, the computing device600may include one or more processors604and a system memory606. A memory bus608may be used for communicating between the processor604and the system memory606. The basic configuration602is illustrated inFIG. 6by those components within the inner dashed line.

Depending on the desired configuration, the processor604may be of any type, including, but not limited to a microprocessor (μP), a microcontroller (μC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor604may include one more levels of caching, such as a level cache memory612, one or more processor cores614, and registers616. The example processor cores614may (each) include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP Core), or any combination thereof. An example memory controller618may also be used with the processor604, or in some implementations the memory controller618may be an internal part of the processor604.

Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory606may be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combination thereof. The system memory606may include an operating system620, a productivity service622, an assistance service623, and program data624. The assistance service623may provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service in conjunction with the support coordination engine625for the productivity service622. The program data624may include, among other data, assistance data628such as telemetry data, as described herein.

The computing device600may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications between the basic configuration602and any desired devices and interfaces. For example, a bus/interface controller630may be used to facilitate communications between the basic configuration602and one or more data storage devices632via a storage interface bus634. The data storage devices632may be one or more removable storage devices636, one or more non-removable, storage devices638, or a combination thereof. Examples of the removable storage and the non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDDs), optical disk drives such as compact disk (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSD), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.

The computing device600may also include an interface bus640for facilitating communication from various interface devices (for example, one or more output devices642, one or more peripheral interfaces644, and one or more communication devices646) to the basic configuration602via the bus/interface controller630. Some of the example output devices642include a graphics processing unit648and an audio processing unit650, which may be configured to communicate to various external devices such as a display or speakers via one or more A/V ports652. One or more example peripheral interfaces644may include a serial interface controller654or a parallel interface controller656, which may be configured to communicate with external devices such as input devices (for example, keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.) or other peripheral devices (for example, printer, scanner, etc.) via one or more I/O ports658. An example communication device646includes a network controller660, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices662over a network communication link via one or more communication ports664. The one or more other computing devices662may include servers, computing devices, and comparable devices.

The computing device600may be implemented as a part of a general purpose or specialized server, mainframe, or similar computer that includes any of the above functions. The computing device600may also be implemented as a personal computer including both laptop computer and non-laptop computer configurations.

Example embodiments may also include methods to provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. These methods can be implemented in any number of ways, including the structures described herein. One such way may be by machine operations, of devices of the type described in the present disclosure. Another optional way may be for one or more of the individual operations of the methods to be performed in conjunction with one or more human operators performing some of the operations while other operations may be performed by machines. These human operators need not be collocated with each other, but each can be only with a machine that performs a portion of the program. In other embodiments, the human interaction can be automated such as by pre-selected criteria that may be machine automated.

FIG. 7illustrates a logic flow diagram of a method to provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service, according to embodiments.

Process700may be implemented on, a computing device, server, or other system. An example system may include a computer communicatively coupled to a productivity service server.

Process700begins with operation710, where an assistance service or application may collect client-side operating environment information associated with physical configuration and software parameters of a user's computing device while performing diagnostic and recovery actions. At operation720, similar server-side information associated with the user such as server-side physical configuration, software configuration, operational parameters, and user credentials (e.g., permission levels) may be received from the hosting service of the application with the issue (e.g., the productivity service).

At operation730, the assistance service may engage a support service associated with the hosting service (e.g., the productivity service) upon exhausting local recovery actions. Relevant information that may help the support service such as the collected client-side information, the received server-side information, any diagnostic results, attempted recovery actions and their results, and/or user contact preferences may be provided to the support service at operation740.

If the user prefers a communication that can be facilitated by the assistance service such as a messaging session, an audio or video online conference, etc. and the support service is available to communicate, the assistance service may facilitate the communication at operation750. While facilitating the communication with the support service, the assistance service may also provide access to local resources and perform recovery actions suggested by the support service such as modifying configurations, rebooting applications and/or operating system, etc.

The operations included in process700are for illustration purposes. On-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service may be implemented by, similar processes with fewer or additional steps, as well as in different order of operations using the principles described herein. The operations described herein may be executed by one or more processors, operated on one or more computing devices, one or more processor cores, specialized processing devices, and/or general purpose processors, among other examples.

According to examples, a means for providing on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service is described. The means may include a means for collecting hardware and software environment information associated with, a user device; a means for receiving hardware and software environment information associated with one or more servers executing a hosted service; in response to exhausting a set of automatic diagnostic and recovery actions associated with a component of the hosted service, a means for engaging the support service; a means for providing the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers to the support service; a means for facilitating a communication between a user associated with the user device and an operator of the support service; and a means for performing one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service.

According to some examples, a method to provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service is described. The method may include collecting hardware and software environment information associated with a user device; receiving hardware and software environment information associated with one or more servers executing a hosted service; in response to exhausting a set of automatic diagnostic and recovery actions associated with a component of the hosted service, engaging the support service; providing the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers to the support service; facilitating a communication between a user associated with the user device and an operator of the support service; and performing one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service.

According to other examples, the method may further include engaging the support service in response to a user request, receiving one or more communication preferences from the user; and providing the one or more communication preferences to the support service. The one or more communication preferences may include a timing and a modality of communication with the user. The collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device may include one or more of: a memory capacity, a storage capacity, a processor capacity, a network connectivity, an operating system configuration, and state data of one or more applications executed on the user device. The received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers may include one or more of: a memory capacity, a storage capacity, a processor capacity, a network connectivity, an operating system configuration, and one or more components of the hosted service.

According to further examples, providing the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers to the support service may include providing one or more of raw data, tabulated data, and analysis results. Providing the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers to the support service may further include providing one or more inferences made at an assistance service based on the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers. The method may also include providing a notification to the user prior to or while performing the one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service.

According to other examples, a computing device to provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service. The computing device may include a communication interface configured to facilitate communication between the computing device and one or more servers; a memory configured to store instructions; and one or more processors coupled to the memory, where the one or more processors, in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory, are configured to execute a productivity service. The productivity service may include one or more productivity applications and an assistance application, where the assistance application may collect hardware and software environment information associated with a user device; receive hardware and software environment information associated with one or more servers executing a productivity service; in response to a user action or exhausting a set of automatic diagnostic and recovery actions associated with a component of the productivity service, engage the support service; provide the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers to the support service; facilitate a communication, between a user associated with the user device and an operator of the support service according to a communication preference received from the user; and perform one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service.

According to some examples, the assistance application may be further configured to facilitate the communication employing one or more modalities through a user interface of the assistance, application, facilitate the communication employing one or more modalities through a user interface of a communication application within the productivity service, and rollback one of a component of the productivity service and an application on the user device to a previous version. The assistance application may also be configured to rollback a configuration of the productivity service and a configuration of an application on the user device to a previous version. The productivity service may include one or more of a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, a presentation application, a note taking application, a communication application, and a calendar application.

According to further examples, a physical computer-readable storage medium with instructions stored thereon to provide on-demand or dynamic diagnostic and recovery operations in conjunction with a support service is described. The instructions may include collecting hardware and software environment information, associated with a user device; receiving hardware and software environment information associated with one or, more servers executing a hosted service; in response to a user action or exhausting a set of automatic diagnostic and recovery actions associated with a component of the hosted service, engaging the support service; providing the collected hardware and software environment information associated with the user device and the received hardware and software environment information associated with the one or more servers to the support service; facilitating a communication between a user associated with the user device and an operator of the support service according to a communication preference received from the user; performing one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service; and performing a rollback one of a component of the hosted service and an application on the user device to a previous version or configuration.

According to other examples, the instructions may further include providing feedback to the support service associated with the performed one or more diagnostic and recovery actions instructed by the operator of the support service. The instructions may be executed at the user device by a component of an assistance service. The component of the assistance, service may be a locally installed application or a web application. The assistance service may be an independent service or part of the hosted service.