PROCEDURAL USER INTERFACE

Abstract: A simplified procedural user interface ("PUI") for controlling the operation of a computer (300), defined in terms of the steps or procedures required to do a given operation. The PUI acts as a graphical checklist that indicates to the user what has to be done and then controls the operation of the computer required to implement the operation. The PUI provides a linked icon representation of a user's task in a series of hierarchical panels (50). The linked icons (58, 60, 62) indicate the steps a user must go through to complete a task using the computer. The hierarchical panels on which the icons reside provide a means to logically group related task steps. The underlying concept is to simplify the computer operation by only presenting the capability required to do a particular task at a given time.

Description: PROCEDURAL USER INTERFACE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention was made with Government support. The government has certain rights in this invention. This invention relates to providing a simplified mechanism for controlling the operating of a computer system. In the recent past, computer users have been required to be both expert in their discipline as well as in the operation and control of the computer used to execute the discipline. That is, the user has been required to know both what has to be done and how to use the computer tools to do what has to be done. The problems have been com¬ pounded as computer systems have increased in sophistica- tion and power. These problems associated with the desktop computing sophistication have been recognized since the early 1980's. The technical focus of solutions directed to this problem have been to make the computer easier to use. This has been by making the operation consistent across various applications. Apple Computer's "Macintosh" graphical user interface, "Windows" software marketed by Microsoft Corpo¬ ration for the IBM-PC, "Motif" software for UNIX computers, and "Open Look" software for Sun Microsystems computers have all attempted to address this complexity issue through the common "look and feel" approach. These solutions UBSTITUTESHEET somewhat address the level of expertise required of users in the operation of the computer, in that once an applica¬ tion is learned, similar applications on the same computer operate similarly. However, the user still is required to be expert in knowing what the job is. One solution to the problem of user expertise in the discipline has been to define the job as a series of tasks on checklists. For example, a job for a secretary may be to scan a color document into a personal computer, compress the file to shorten transmission time, then transmit the compressed file to a remote office via a modem. This job may entail three checklists as shown in Tables I-III: TABLE I TABLE II TABLE III CHECKLIST 1 CHECKLIST 2 CHECKLIST 3 Scan a Document Compress the File Send file via Modem D Start Scanner D Start file D Start communica¬ Application compression appln tions application D Set up application D Compress image file D Set up modem com¬ to scan a color in JPEG format munications to document D Save compressed Omaha office D Scan document file D Send compressed D Save image in a D Quit File Compres¬ file file sion application D Quit Communica¬ D Quit Scanner tions application Application As can be recognized in the tasks defined in each of the three checklists, the tasks indicate what is to be done but not how to use the computer to implement or execute the tasks. The secretary still must be relatively expert in using the computer to do the job defined on the checklists. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The procedural user interface ("PUI") in accordance with this invention solves this problem by capturing the task steps, or procedure, the user goes through in a simplified representation. The PUI is a simplified system control mechanism in which a users* job is captured as a series of linked icons in hierarchical windows or display panels. The linked icons represent the tasks a user must go through to complete a job using the computer. These linked icons activate and control predefined operations to launch and control computer functional applications. The PUI can be described as a graphical standard operating procedure or graphical check list that indicates to the user what has to be done and then helps the user do it. One advantage is that there are only two types of icon controls a user must learn, panel navigation icons and task icons, which greatly reduces training time for new users. This means that the user is no longer required to be expert in the discipline because the steps in the job are repre¬ sented on the screen. A second advantage is that a struc¬ ture is applied to a collection of tools, but the user is not restricted in the use of those tools. A new user can be immediately productive, but an advanced user is not con- strained by that structure. A PUI is applicable for any job that can be structured as a series of well-defined and repeatable tasks a user must go through to solve a problem using a computer system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: SUBSTITUTE SHEET FIG. 1 is an exemplary representation of a procedural user interface (PUI) for performing an exemplary job. FIG. 2 illustrates the graphical syntax of a PUI representation. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a flow diagram illustrating the operation of a PUI in accordance with this invention. FIG. 5 illustrates a PUI hierarchy structure for an exemplary command and control planning system. FIGS. 6-9 illustrate exemplary panels for the PUI structure of FIG. 5. FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram for a graphic editor useful for creating PUI representations. FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a typical digital computer system which may be employed to implement a PUI in accordance with this invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention can be described as a procedural user interface (PUI) , which is a graphical checklist that indicates to the user what has to be done and then controls the operation of the computer required to implement the operation. This invention provides a linked icon represen¬ tation of a user's job in a series of hierarchical panels. The linked icons indicate the tasks a user must perform to complete a job using the computer. The hierarchical panels on which the icons reside provide a means to logically group related tasks. The underlying concept is to simplify the computer operation by only presenting the capability required to do a particular task at a given time. The procedural user interface ("PUI") in accordance with this invention can be illustrated by an application directed to the secretarial task illustrated in the check¬ lists of Tables I-III above. The PUI solves this problem in three ways. First, the checklist is represented on the SUBSTITUTE SHEET computer display as a series of linked icons, which pro¬ vides the advantage of presenting a concise, simple graphi¬ cal representation of what the job is. Second, the under¬ lying operating system control commands to launch applica- tions, retrieve data files, and so on are automatically executed when the icon is activated, thereby reducing the level of expertise required to operate the system, to knowledge of how to activate the icon. Third, the flow of data required from task to task is inherently managed by the system by only allowing access to capabilities and applications required to do the task represented on the PUI panel. FIG. 1 illustrates an example PUI representation for the exemplary secretarial job. The PUI representation of FIG. 1 is a simple representation, including three task icons 20, 22 and 24. Icon 20 represents the task of scanning a document, icon 22 the task of compressing the resulting file, and icon 24 the step of sending the com¬ pressed file via a modem to a computer at a remote loca- tion, designated here as Omaha. Upon user activation of icon 20, e.g., by pointing and clicking a computer mouse at this icon, or by positioning a cursor at this icon on the display and depressing a given keyboard key, the operation of scanning the document is automatically executed. The various tasks set forth in the checklist of Table I are automatically executed by the computer without further user involvement. Next, upon user activation of icon 22, the operation of compressing the file resulting from the scanning operation is automatically executed by the comput- er. Thus, each of the tasks of Table II is automatically executed. Finally, upon user activation of icon 24, the compressed file will be transmitted via modem to Omaha, by automatic computer execution of each of the tasks of Table III, again without further user involvement. SUBSTITUTE SHEET The PUI manages the representation of the tasks to be done, activates and controls the computer, and manages data flow through the system. FIG. 2 illustrates the graphical syntax of a PUI representation. There is no inherent limit to the number of icons that can be placed on a PUI panel 50. In addition, not all panels will require a complete compliment of navigation icons, and in simple cases where the PUI is fully represented on a single panel (as in the example of FIG. 1) , no navigation icons are required. The syntax of the PUI is such that there are only two types of icons presented to the user, which greatly reduces training time for new users. The square icons 52, 54, 56, 60, i.e., the navigation icons, provide the capability to navigate from panel to panel, and the rounded icons 58, 62, i.e., the task icons, implement the control and operate the computer. The arrows linking the icons 58, 60, 62 repre¬ sent the data flow being managed by the system and indicate data dependency between tasks. Data dependency in this case means that the task being pointed at depends on data from the task from which the arrow originates. FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate the flow diagram for how the PUI functions. There are two operational capabilities provided in the PUI. The first is the capability to navigate from panel to panel and the second is the capabil- ity to execute functions. When the PUI program first executes, the operating system environment is initialized (step 102) . A panel hierarchy file is loaded into memory (step 104) . This hierarchy file contains data representing the graphic definitions of the user's tasks, icons, and panels, and includes the hierarchy structure. The first or root panel is displayed on the display screen. When a navigation icon is activated, the panel represented by that icon is retrieved from the hierarchy file and displayed on the screen (steps 106 and 108) . (For simple PUI represen- SUBSTITUTE SHEET tations, the root panel may be the only panel, and there is no need for navigation icons in this case.) When a task icon is activated (step 114) , the hierar¬ chy file is read (step 118) to retrieve the executable instructions to be automatically implemented (step 120) . These executable instructions are referred to as procedural services. Procedural services are defined as small execut¬ able programs which directly interact with the operating system of the computer. These small programs can be represented as UNIX shell scripts, IBM personal computer batch files, custom small scale applications, or any other scripting or macro based capability designed to automate interaction with the operating system of the computer. The purpose of the procedural services is to implement the operating system commands required to load files, launch applications, format disks, and so on, so the human opera¬ tor can be isolated from that level of expertise. The procedural services utilize the operating system services to execute their commands (step 122) . System services are platform dependent operating system features and command available to control the operation of the computer. To execute the system services, data from the operations performed by activation of the previous task icon are retrieved from the appropriate storage medium (step 124) . This can be a data file, a database record, a random access memory location or any other storage capability available on the platform. The data are processed as required and results are stored (steps 126 and 128) . This newly processed data are made available to the next task in the procedure to be activated by the user. Once the processing is completed, the execut¬ able function returns to the navigation loop (step 110) . Any job that can be structured as a series of repeat- able tasks can be represented in a PUI. It is applicable to any system in which information is processed and pre- SUBSTITUTE SHEET sented to the user in intermediate steps requiring a decision or judgment to be made related to the processed information. These systems can include those such as used in command and control, office automation, security admin- istration, planning, training and simulations, and equip¬ ment test stations. An example of an application of the PUI in the field of command and control is for a planning system in which a human user assesses a situation, creates a plan to address the situation, then executes the plan applicable to the situation. In this example, due to the size and complexity of the system, the PUI operation is represented in a hierarchical series of panels containing logical groupings of tasks. FIG. 5 illustrates a root panel showing the hierarchical PUI structure of this example system. After assessing the situation (step 150) , the user must create a plan to address the problem detected (step 152) . To create a plan, the user must allocate appropriate resources to be used to solve the detected problem (step 154) , build a briefing to present the plan to solve the problem (step 156) , and then get plan approval (step 158) before executing the plan (step 160) and solving the detected problem. Each box in this hierarchy represents a PUI panel. Since the "Create Plans" panel 152 has three sub-tasks associated with it, three navigation icons 154, 156 and 158 as represented in FIG. 6. Once in the "Build Plan Briefing" task (FIG. 7) , the user can navigate to the previous panel which is the "Allocate Resources" procedure (154) or the user can navigate to the next panel which is the "Get Plan Approval" procedure (158) . While in the "Build Plan Briefing" task, the user can execute the sub-tasks 156A, 156B and 156C. Thus, by activating task icon 156A, the computer automati¬ cally executes the procedure of selecting targets from the database. By next activating task icon 156B, plan slides are automatically created. Then, by activating task icon 156C, the plan briefing is displayed. As represented in FIG. 7, the tasks 156A, 156B and 156C require data generat¬ ed from execution of the previous sub-task. The "Allocate Resources" panel is illustrated in FIG. 8. The user can navigate to either the "Create Plans" panel or the "Build Plan Briefing" panel, or can execute the sub-tasks to allocate resources. Thus, activation of task icon 154A causes the available resources to automati- cally selected from the database. Activation of icon 154B causes the resource locations to be automatically displayed on a map. The "Get Plan Approval" panel is illustrated in FIG. 9. Here, the user can navigate to the "Build Plan Brief- ing" panel or the "Create Plans" panel by activating icon 156 or 152. To execute the subtasks represented on this panel, activation of icon 158A automatically sends the plan briefing file to the Pentagon. Activation of icon 158B automatically starts a video conference. Activating icon 158C causes the plan briefing slides to be displayed. Activation of task icon 158D automatically stores the approved plan in the computer database. The user simply activates the appropriate square icons to navigate from panel to panel and activates the rounded icons to perform the required steps to execute the proce¬ dure. The user does not have to be expert in operating the computer to perform these tasks and must only be expert enough in the command and control discipline to know that the answer presented by the system is correct. The preferred method of creating PUI representations is to use a graphic editor which allows panels to be created and hierarchically linked to one another, allows icons to be drawn, and attaches the system services and procedural services to the icons. This graphic editor tool is referred to as the Procedural Interface Editor (PIE) . FIG. 10 illustrates the flow diagram for use of the PIE. The PIE provides a graphic means to develop PUIs. When the PIE program first executes, the operating system environment is initialized (202) . A panel hierarchy file is created in memory (step 204) . This hierarchy file contains the graphic definitions of the user's task, icons, and procedures and includes the hierarchy structure. The PIE provides the capability to create a panel (step 204) on which icons may be drawn. A blank panel is first created (steps 208, 210), then both navigation and task icons can be placed on that panel by selecting the appropriate drawing tool (step 212 or 222) . When a task icon is drawn, a procedural service is attached to that icon using the procedural service tool (steps 216, 220) . The procedural service tool allows the names of the procedural service macros or scripts to be associated with the icon so that when the rounded icon is activated, the attached procedural service will be executed. When all procedures are captured in the PUI representation, the PIE saves the definitions in a hierarchy file (step 224) that is utilized by the PUI application. FIG. 11 illustrates in simplified form elements of a digital computer system 300 which may be employed to implement a PUI in accordance with this invention. The system 300 comprises a central processing unit (CPU) 302, a computer display 304, an keyboard 306 or other user data input means, and a memory 308. The user may operate the keyboard, or a computer mouse, touch sensitive display screen, light pen, or other user input means to activate a particular icon displayed on device 304. The panel hierar¬ chy file can be loaded into the memory 308,and all process¬ ing steps can be carried out by CPU 302. If the system 302 comprises a personal computer with a DOS-type operating system, for example, the procedures implemented by the CPU will be instruction sets which may be executed by the DOS operating system. It is understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the possible specific embodi¬ ments which may represent principles of the present inven¬ tion. Other arrangements may readily be devised in accor¬ dance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the inven¬ tion.

Claims: CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A method for controlling the operation of a digital computer (300) comprising a memory (308) , a visual display (304) and user input means (302) , said method for causing to be performed a job which is structured as a series of repeatable tasks,, characterized by the following steps: reading (106) from memory (308) a panel hierarchy file containing data representing the graphic defini¬ tions of said job, icons, hierarchy structure and panels to be generated during performance of said job; displaying (108) a root panel on said visual display (304) , said root panel comprising one or more task icons (58, 62) representing a sequence of opera¬ tions to be automatically executed when the task icon is activated (114) by the user; and in response to activation (114) of a particular task icon (58, 62) by the user, automatically execut¬ ing the predetermined sequence of operations (120, 122) associated with that task icon and automatically managing a flow (124, 128) of data between operations represented by sequentially activated task icons. 2. A method according to Claim 1 further character¬ ized by the step of displaying on said root panel one or more navigation icons (52, 54, 56, 60), each representing a predetermined panel in turn represented by data compris- ing said panel hierarchy file, and further comprising the step of reading (106) said file in response to activation of said navigation icon by the user and displaying said predetermined panel (108) . 3. A method according to any preceding claim further characterized in that said step of automatically executing said sequence of operations comprises: reading (118) said panel hierarchy file and retrieving executable instructions to be automatically executed; executing (120, 122) said executable instruc¬ tions; and processing (124, 126, 128) data in accordance with predetermined processing instructions for said particular activated icon. 4. A method according to any preceding claim, further characterized in that said step of automatically executing said sequence of operations comprises, for at least one task icon; retrieving (124) from memory data processed from operations initiated in response to a previous activa¬ tion of another of said task icons; processing (126) said retrieved data in accor¬ dance with predetermined processing instructions; and storing (128) said processed data in memory. 5. A digital computer system (300) comprising a memory (308) , visual display (304) , user data input means (306) , and a central processing unit (CPU) (302) operative- ly connected to said memory, said visual display and said user data input means, said CPU comprising means for causing to be performed by said computer system a job structured as a series of repeatable tasks, said means characterized by: means for displaying the tasks comprising said job as a hierarchical series of linked icons on one or more display panels which provide a graphical representation of the tasks comprising the job, said linked icons comprising navigation icons (52, 54, 56, 60) or task icons (58, 62); means for causing the computer operations to navigate to a particular display panel (50) in response to activation of particular navigation icons (52, 54, 56, 60) and to display said par¬ ticular display panel; and means for causing predetermined computer operations to be initiated in response to activa¬ tion of a particular task icon (58, 62), and automatically managing a flow of data between operations represented by sequentially activated task icons. 6. A system according to Claim 5 further character¬ ized by means (302) for storing a panel hierarchy file in memory, said file containing data representing graphic definitions of said job, said icons and panels generated during execution of said method, and wherein said means for causing predetermined computer operations to be initiated in response to activation of a particular task icon com¬ prises means for reading (118) said panel hierarchy file, means for retrieving (120, 122) executable instructions to be automatically executed, means for executing said execut¬ able instructions, and means for processing (124, 126, 128) data in accordance with predetermined processing instruc¬ tions for said particular activated icon. 7. A system according to Claim 5 or 6, further characterized in that said means for causing predetermined computer operations to be initiated in response to activa¬ tion of a particular task icon comprises, for at least one such task icon, means for retrieving (124) data processed from operations initiated in response to a previous activa¬ tion of another of said task icons, means for processing (126) said retrieved data in accordance with said predeter¬ mined processing instructions, and means for storing (128) said processed data. 8. A system according to Claim 5, 6 or 7 further comprising means for storing a panel hierarchy file in memory (308) , said file containing data representing graphic definitions of said task, said icons and panels generated during execution of said method, and wherein said means for causing said computer operations to navigate to a particular display panel in response to activation of particular navigation icons comprises means for reading (106) said panel hierarchy file and means for displaying (108) on said computer display said particular display panel.

Inventors: BARRETT WILLARD H, BARRETT, WILLARD, H.
Applicants: HUGHES AIRCRAFT CO, HUGHES AIRCRAFT COMPANY
Application year: 1993
Main classification: G06F3
IPC codes: G06F3, G06F9, G09B19