Patent Publication Number: US-8538790-B2

Title: Computer-implemented system and method for measuring and reporting business intelligence based on comments collected from web page users using software associated with accessed web pages

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/847,676 filed Aug. 30, 2007 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,809,602 by Rand B. Nickerson and Mark A. Treschl and entitled “Computer Implemented System and Method for Measuring and Reporting Business Intelligence Based on Comments Collected From Web Page Users Using Software Associated With Accessed Web Pages” which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of provisional application No. 60/824,122 filed Aug. 31, 2006. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to computer-implemented feedback collection and reporting and more particularly to a computer-implemented system and method for measuring and reporting business intelligence based on comments collected from web page users using software associated with accessed web pages. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Customer feedback data is among the richest sources of intelligence available to businesses and the Internet is one of the most underutilized opportunities to access it. Many businesses provide websites for customers, potential customers, partners, and the general public to use to learn about the businesses and their products and services. Some websites provide mechanisms to allow users to provide feedback to the business about the website, the products and services of the business, or the business itself. In some instances, the volume of this feedback data may be substantial and the subject matter may be varied. Collection, analysis, and management of this feedback data is typically either ineffective, inefficient, or both. In some situations, valuable feedback data may be discarded because it does not fit within an anticipated scope. In other situations, valuable feedback data may be underutilized because it is only available for a single functional group within a business, because it is only used for purposes that are limited relative to the nature of the feedback data, or because any analysis of the feedback data is not performed at a rate that is sufficient for the time-sensitive nature of the feedback data. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Particular embodiments of the present invention may reduce or eliminate problems and disadvantages associated with previous techniques for measuring and reporting customer feedback. 
     In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for measuring and reporting business intelligence based on comments collected from web page users using software associated with accessed web pages includes: using a computer system, accessing a plurality of user comments collected from users of one or more web pages using feedback collection software that provides users who access a particular web page a viewable element through which to provide their comments regarding one or more aspects of a business associated with the particular web page; using a computer system, associating each of the plurality of collected user comments with one or more of a plurality of predefined business-related categories; and using a computer system, generating a report identifying, for each of the plurality of predefined business-related categories, one or more quantitative values derived from the collected user comments associated with that business-related category. 
     In another embodiment, a system for measuring and reporting business intelligence pertinent to a business includes software encoded in a computer readable medium. When the software is executed using one or more processors, the software is operable to access a plurality of user comments collected from users of one or more web pages using feedback collection software that provides users who access a particular web page a viewable element through which to provide their comments regarding one or more aspects of a business associated with the particular web page; associate each of the plurality of collected user comments with one or more of a plurality of predefined business-related categories; and generate a report identifying, for each of the plurality of predefined business-related categories, one or more quantitative values derived from the collected user comments associated with that business-related category. 
     In another embodiment, an electronically generated business intelligence report includes a plurality of category indicators each identifying one of a plurality of predefined business-related categories; and a plurality of quantitative indicators identifying, for each of the plurality of predefined business-related categories, one or more quantitative values derived from user comments collected from users of one or more web pages using feedback collection software that provides users who access a particular web page a viewable element through which to provide their comments regarding one or more aspects of a business associated with the particular web page. 
     Certain embodiments of the present invention may provide one or more technical advantages related to measuring and reporting business intelligence. For example, certain embodiments may provide for more efficient and timely assessment of the impact of certain business activities based on user feedback. Certain embodiments may make available substantially real-time user feedback regarding one or more aspects of a business and its operation. Particular embodiments may provide an organized metric for assessing the health of a business and its operation based on user feedback. Certain embodiments may provide substantially real-time reporting, diagnostic tools, and automated alerts. Certain embodiments may provide tools to categorize and/or assess a variety of collected user feedback that may extend beyond the scope of feedback that was initially expected. Certain embodiments may provide all, some, or none of these technical advantages. Certain embodiments may provide one or more other technical advantages, one or more of which may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the figures, descriptions, and claims included herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an example web page displaying an example element for soliciting user feedback; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates an example element for receiving user feedback; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example report of business-related user feedback; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates example reports that may be generated for each of a plurality of industries; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an example categorization scheme; 
         FIGS. 6A-6C  illustrate an example interactive report; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example report of user feedback; 
         FIGS. 8A-8B  illustrate example selection tools; 
         FIGS. 9A-9B  illustrate example administrator tools; and 
         FIGS. 10A-10B  illustrate example composite reports. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     Feedback from customers, partners, and the general public can be collected through the use of various tools and techniques. For example, feedback may be collected over the phone, such as through a call center or help desk. As another example, feedback may be collected in person, such as in focus groups or live marketing surveys. As another example, feedback may be written down and submitted through the mail or otherwise, such as in the case of a mail-in comment card. As another example, feedback may be collected electronically, such as through the use of a computer, PDA, interactive television system, etc. In certain embodiments, feedback may be collected through the use of a feedback mechanism associated with a particular web site, web page, or Internet distributed advertisement. In certain embodiments, feedback may be collected through the use of a feedback mechanism associated with a particular television program, movie, or video advertisement. In the description provided, many example embodiments utilize electronically collected feedback, and more particularly feedback collected through a web page mechanism, as an example; however, alternative embodiments of the present invention may utilize or operate with feedback collected using alternative tools and techniques, alone or in combination with feedback electronically collected through a web page feedback mechanism. The present invention is intended to encompass these alternative embodiments. 
     An example web page feedback mechanism utilizes a first element for soliciting user feedback and a second element for receiving user feedback.  FIG. 1  illustrates an example web page  100  displaying an example element  102  for soliciting user feedback. In the example shown, element  102  is an icon positioned in the lower right corner of web page  100 .  FIG. 2  illustrates an example element  200  for receiving user feedback. In the example shown, element  200  is a form with several multi-level rating scales  202 , a topic selector  204 , a comment box  206  that may be utilized to provide open-ended comments, and a feedback tool for collecting responses to an explicit question  208 . In certain embodiments, a feedback mechanism may include tools to collect demographic information for a user providing feedback. In certain embodiments, a feedback mechanism may include tools to collect web page information, such as the web page title, URL, load time, and load date. In certain embodiments, a feedback mechanism may include tools to collect the time and/or date that the feedback is provided. In certain embodiments, a feedback mechanism may include tools to collect, contextual information for a user, such as the user&#39;s IP address, hostname, username, password, network connection, time zone, operating system, web browser, screen resolution, plug-ins, referring page, browser history, or any other appropriate aspects of the user&#39;s environment. 
     In certain embodiments, element  200  may be presented in response to a user selecting element  102 . In certain embodiments, element  200  may open in a separate window from web page  100 , in the same window as web page  100  replacing web page  100 , or in a frame within the same window as web page  100 . In certain embodiments, element  200  may be designed or intended to collect web-page specific user feedback, product or service specific user feedback, or company specific user feedback. 
     In certain embodiments, although element  200  may be designed or intended to collect specific types of user feedback, additional types of feedback may also be collected. For example, element  200  may be designed or intended to collect feedback related to a particular web page, but may be used by web page users to provide feedback unrelated to the particular web page, such as feedback on one or more customer service or product related issues. As another example, element  200  may be designed or intended to collect feedback related to a particular product or service, but may be used by web page users to provide feedback related to general corporate operations or recent news about the business. 
     In embodiments of element  200  that include comment box  206  or other tools for receiving open-ended user feedback, element  200  may collect user feedback related to various aspects of a business and its operation. This user feedback may be broadly referred to as business intelligence. Such business intelligence may be related to any aspect of a business and its operation. For example, business intelligence may include e-commerce information (including various aspects of the website(s) of a business), customer service, sales, products and services, marketing, corporate operations, etc. 
     In certain embodiments, user feedback related to business intelligence may be categorized by the user that provides the feedback through the use of one or more tools available at the time the feedback is provided. For example, while a user is viewing element  200  displayed by a computer system, the user may identify a category for a particular user comment, using topic selector  204 . As an alternative, in certain embodiments, user comments may be categorized by one or more analysts who may read user comments and then associate each user comment with one or more business-related categories or subcategories. In certain embodiments, user comments may be categorized by associating each user comment with one or more categories selected from a predefined group of categories. For example, an analyst may view a comment, either printed on paper or displayed by a computer, and then using a computer system the analyst may submit information into a database to associate the user comment with one or more predefined business-related categories. As another alternative, all or a portion of the user comments may be automatically categorized by one or more software applications executed on a computer system, in response to the user comments being accessed. For example, a software application executed on a computer system may utilize keyword associations to categorize user comments. In addition, or as an alternative, a software application executed on a computer system may utilize inductive learning algorithms, Bayesian filters, or other appropriate logic to categorize user comments. 
     In certain embodiments, user comments may be categorized at least in part based on the user&#39;s demographic information, contextual information, or other information relating to the user or the user&#39;s methods of providing feedback. For example, user comments may be categorized manually or automatically based on the user&#39;s IP address, hostname, username, password, network connection, time zone, operating system, web browser, screen resolution, plug-ins, referring page, and/or browser history. In certain embodiments, this manual or automatic categorization based on demographic information or contextual information may be used as an alternative to, or in addition to, categorization based on the user&#39;s comments or other feedback. 
     Example business-related categories may include customer service, sales, product, marketing, corporate operations and categories related to e-commerce (including various aspects of the website(s) of a business). In certain embodiments, one or more of these business-related categories may include one or more sub-categories. For example a website category may include several sub-categories, such as general, usability, content, design, login/logout/password, online profile, search, checkout, technical support, etc. 
     In certain embodiments, a subjective assessment of each user comment may be provided and ratings may be assigned to each user comment. In certain embodiments, user comments may be subjectively assessed by one or more analysts who may read user comments and then assign one or more ratings to each user comment. For example, an analyst may view a comment, either printed on paper or displayed by a computer; analyze the comment to provide a subjective assessment; and then using a computer system the analyst may submit information into a database to assign a rating to the user comment. As another alternative, all or a portion of the user comments may be automatically assessed by one or more software applications executed on a computer system. For example, a software application executed on a computer system may utilize keyword associations to assess user comments. In addition, or as an alternative, a software application executed on a computer system may utilize inductive learning algorithms, Bayesian filters, or other appropriate logic to categorize user comments. 
     Example ratings may include positive, negative, and neutral ratings. Example ratings may range from positive integers to negative integers, with zero being a neutral rating (e.g., from −3 to +3). Example ratings may be only positive integers, with a specified integer being associated with a neutral rating, integers above that specified integer being associated with a positive rating, and integers below that specified integer being associated with a negative rating (e.g., from 1 to 5). Example ratings may be color-coded, with certain colors being associated with certain ratings. For example, green may be associated with positive ratings, red may be associated with negative ratings, and black or yellow may be associated with neutral ratings. 
     In certain embodiments, a report of user feedback may be generated. The report may include, for example, category indicators each identifying one of a plurality of business-related categories, and a plurality of quantitative indicators identifying, for each of the plurality of business-related categories, one or more quantitative values derived from collected user comments collected. For example, a quantitative indicator may identify the quantity of collected user comments associated with a particular business-related category. As another example, a quantitative indicator may identify the quantity of collected user comments assigned to a particular rating. As another example, a quantitative indicator may identify an average rating for multiple collected user comments associated with a particular business-related category. As another example, a quantitative indicator may identify a difference between a current average rating and a previous average rating. As another example, a quantitative indicator may identify a rate of change in the average rating for collected user comments associated with a particular category. 
     In certain embodiments, the report may be based on user feedback received within a specified period of time, such as user feedback received in the last day, week, month, quarter, etc. In certain embodiments, the report may be based on a certain number of user comments. For example, the report may indicate how many of the last one-thousand comments are associated with each business-related category. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an example report  300  of business-related user feedback. In the embodiment shown, report  300  is a bar graph that identifies over one-hundred example business-related categories  302  and indicates for each particular business-related category, a quantity of user comments associated with the particular business-related category based on the sized of the bar associated with each identified category. In certain embodiments, report  300  may be color-coded. For example, each bar shown in report  300  may be color-coded, such that each color indicates a particular rating assigned to one or more user comments. In a particular embodiment, each bar may include up to three colors, with a red portion indicating the quantity of negative user comments in a particular category, a green portion indicating the quantity of positive user comments in the particular category, and a black or yellow portion indicating the quantity of neutral user comments in the particular category. 
     In a particular embodiment, report  300  may be presented as a mirror-image bar graph, such that the graph includes a first half and a second half, the first half being separated from the second half by an axis of the graph and the first half being a mirror-image of the second half. In embodiments utilizing a mirror-image bar graph, the mirror-image may be utilized to magnify the size of each bar presented on the graph. 
     In a particular embodiment, report  300  may be presented as a split-image bar graph, such that the graph includes a first half and a second half, the first half being separated from the second half by an axis of the graph and the first half providing a first set of information and the second half providing a second set of information. In certain embodiments, by including two sets of information on the same graph, it may communicate trend information, benchmarks, or comparisons. For example, the first set of information may be current or recent information, such as information for the most recent day, month, quarter, or year; and the second set of information may be historical or cumulative information, such as information for the previous day, month, quarter, or year. As another example, the first set of information may be information related to a particular business and the second set of information may be information related to a different business, multiple businesses, or an industry. As yet another example, the first set of information may reflect feedback collected through a first method or technique; and the second set of information may reflect feedback collected through a second method or technique. 
     In certain embodiments, report  300  may be electronically generated and may be presented in an electronic format and displayed, for example, on a computer monitor or other form of electronic display. In a particular embodiment, report  300  may be updated in substantially real time, such that the information displayed in report  300  changes over time as additional user feedback is received. In these embodiments, the rate at which report  300  is updated may depend, among other things, upon the rate at which user feedback is categorized and assessed. In certain embodiments, report  300  may be used to provide an organized metric for assessing the health of a business and its operation across numerous business-related categories. In certain embodiments, report  300  may be used to provide a substantially real-time indication of customer, partner, and/or general public responses to one or more actions taken by a business. For example, report  300  may indicate customer responses to a new product introduced by a business. As another example, report  300  may indicate a general public response to actions taken by a business that have been discussed recently by one or more news media. 
     In certain embodiments, one or more software applications executed on a computer system may be utilized to generate report  300 . In these embodiments, the one or more software applications executed on a computer system may further be utilized to generate automated alerts based on one or more criteria associated with the categorized user feedback. For example, if the quantity of user comments exceeds a certain limit within a specified period of time, an automated alert may be generated. In an alternative embodiment, if a certain number of user comments having a negative rating are received in a specified period of time, then an automated alert may be generated. Such an automated alert may include, for example, an email or a text message sent to a person within the business designated as having responsibility for a particular category. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates example reports  300  that may be generated for each of a plurality of industries. In the embodiments shown, each report  300  includes fifteen categories of user feedback, including nine website-related categories, a customer service category, a sales category, a product category, a marketing category, a corporate operations category, and an other category. In certain embodiments, a comment categorization hierarchy or indexing scheme may be developed for use across numerous industries and/or across numerous businesses within a single industry. Through the use of such an indexing scheme, user feedback collected with respect to multiple businesses may be utilized to develop an industry benchmark for user feedback. In certain embodiments, such a benchmark may be utilized to assist in assessing the health of a business within a particular industry. In certain embodiments, a standard indexing scheme may be utilized across multiple businesses, with each business utilizing the same indexing scheme alone or together with business specific categories. Alternatively, within a standardized indexing scheme, each business may utilize business-specific sub-categories. For example, in a product category each business may identify one or more sub-categories associated with specific products produced, marketed, and/or sold by that business. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an example categorization scheme  400  that may be utilized to categorize user feedback for a business, for multiple businesses within an industry, or for multiple businesses across multiple industries. 
       FIGS. 6A-6C  illustrate an example interactive report  500  for displaying business-related user feedback. In the embodiment shown, report  500  includes a bar graph and identifies fifteen categories of user feedback. In certain embodiments, software associated with report  500  may allow a user to interact with report  500  to manipulate the display of information provided. For example, if report  500  is presented on a computer screen, a user may use a mouse or other device to interact with report  500 . In a particular embodiment, if a user clicks on one of the arrows  502  at the top of bar graph  504  shown in report  500   a , then bar graph  504  may expand to present more detailed information including information for sub-categories within a particular category, as shown in report  500   b . In certain embodiments, a user may drag a cursor  506  over a portion of bar graph  504  and obtain additional information regarding the data presented, such as is shown on report  500   c.    
     In certain embodiments, a user may interact with report  500  to generate a list of comments associated with one or more categories. For example, by clicking on one of the bars  508  of bar graph  504  presented in report  500   c , a user may access a comment listing, such as comment listing  600  shown in  FIG. 7 . Comment listing  600  includes specific user comments associated with a particular category or subcategory. In certain embodiments, comment listing  600  may include additional information related to particular comments. For example, comment listing  600  may identify the time and date that a particular comment was received, the rating assigned to a particular comment, the source of the particular comment (such as the URL of the web page that the web page user was visiting at, or just prior to, the time that the comment was submitted), etc. 
     In certain embodiments, software for use in reporting user feedback may utilize features described in, for example, one or more of U.S. Pat. No. 6,421,724; U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,581; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,928,392. In certain embodiments, one or more of report  300 , report  500 , and comment listing  600  may be customizable using one or more filters, sorting tools, etc. 
       FIGS. 8A-8B  illustrate example selection tools  700  that may be used to select portions of user feedback and/or to generate customized reports. As shown in  FIG. 8A , in certain embodiments, feedback may be selected based on a particular domain or website. For example, feedback may be selected using domain selector  702 , which may utilize a drop-down menu or other appropriate selection technique. Additionally or alternatively, in certain embodiments, feedback may be selected for one or more specific web pages. In a particular embodiment, particular web pages may be selected from a list or by specifying the URL for the particular web page(s). For example, a URL may be specified in new page tool  704  and particular pages may be selected from group selector tool  706 . As shown, in certain embodiments, group selector tool  706  may utilize radio buttons or other appropriate selection methods or techniques. In certain embodiments, feedback may also be selected based on a particular comment card or other user feedback technique or tool. For example, a particular comment card may be added using comment card tool  708  and then selected using group selector tool  706 . Through the use of these tools and techniques, new collections of user feedback may be defined. In certain embodiments, the criteria for these new collections may be stored for future use or selection. 
     As shown in  FIG. 8B , in certain embodiments, portions of user feedback may be selected by category and/or by choosing previously established filtering criteria or groups. For example, categories may be defined by page topics, by page functions, or by URL paths. In certain embodiments, multiple categories and/or subcategories of feedback may be selected for use in generating a customized report. As shown in  FIG. 8B , individual categories may be selected from a list using selection tool  710 , which may utilize a radio button or other appropriate selection technique. In particular embodiments, information about particular categories may be hidden or displayed depending upon selected settings. For example, by selecting expansion tool  712 , particular criteria for a group may be displayed. 
       FIGS. 9A-9B  illustrate administrator tools  800  that may be used to allocate access to the data collected through user feedback. For example, an administrator may identify a new system user through the use of administrator tool  800   a . In certain embodiments, the administrator may identify a new system user in field  802 , select certain reports with report selector  804 , and grant access to certain report groups with access tool  806 . In particular embodiments, a user may be identified by their name, network ID, email address, employee ID, etc. Once system users have been identified and given access to the data collected, certain aspects of this access may be reviewed or modified using administrator tool  800   b . As shown in  FIG. 9B , a listing of the system users may be presented that allows an administrator to review the associated data and reports assigned to that user. In particular embodiments, in addition to allocating access to particular reports, administrator tools  800  may be used to assign certain alerts to particular system users. 
       FIGS. 10A-10B  illustrate example composite reports  900  that may be utilized to display information about feedback received. In particular embodiments, reports  900  may be updated in real-time (or substantially real-time) as information is received from web site users. As shown in  FIG. 10A , composite report  900   a  includes a bar graph  902 , and a list of user comments  904 . 
     Bar graph  902  may be the same or substantially similar to bar graph  504  in report  500 . In the embodiment shown, the upper half of bar graph  902  displays information about the volume and nature of the feedback received for a selected week and the lower half of bar graph  904  displays information about the volume and nature of the feedback received for the week previous to the selected week. In certain embodiments, the nature of the feedback may be color coded. For example, positive feedback may be green, negative feedback may be red, and neutral feedback may be black or yellow. As shown in  FIG. 10B , by selecting an arrow  906  at the top of bar graph  902 , a category of bar graph  904  my expand to provide additional information about subcategories of the category selected. 
     The list of user comments  904  may include a particular group of user comments related to a particular web page, product, company, etc. The list may be determined by the selection methods discussed above with respect to  FIGS. 8A-9B . As shown in  FIG. 10A , list  904  may include a link to the URL from which the comment was generated, a comment rating, a category and subcategory of the comment, the date and time the comment was generated, and the text of the comment. In certain embodiments, the comments may be sorted and filtered based on one or more of these criteria or others. For example, as shown in  FIG. 10B  the comments may be filtered by a category, such as “Page Issue,” and a subcategory, such as “Page Issue (but not print),” and may be sorted by date and time. Through the use of these administrative and reporting tools, certain embodiments may provide for efficient and timely assessment of the impact of certain business activities based on user feedback. 
     Although the present invention has been described with several embodiments, a plenitude of changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art, and it is intended that the present invention encompass such changes, variations, alterations, transformations, and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.