Patent Publication Number: US-2009238355-A1

Title: Guided assignment of telephone features

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A “SEQUENCE LISTING” 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a system and method for providing telephone services and, in particular, to a system and method for guiding the assignment of features and other retail products to telephone services. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The use of wireless telephone services in the United States has grown steadily over the last few years as the offerings, services, and prices of wireless telephones and other wireless components have become more attractive. The rapid growth in the wireless telephone industry has forced service providers to expand both their service offerings and the features offered with each type of service. 
     Telephone service customers typically prefer to have a great deal of flexibility in selecting the features assigned to their service. Offering such flexibility, however, can present problems for service providers and for the customers themselves. For instance, due to the multitude of different features compatible with some types of telephone services and due to customers wishing to customize their telephone service with features of their choosing, it can be confusing and difficult to navigate through the series of steps required to assign such features with known order entry software. This difficulty may stem from the shear number of options available. Such difficulty may also arise if the service provider&#39;s order entry system is not configured to easily and efficiently guide customers through the order entry/telephone service modification process. 
     Accordingly, the disclosed systems and methods are directed towards overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of offering telephone services to a customer includes displaying a product catalog containing at least one guided assignment folder in response to determining the presence of a root folder. The method also includes governing an evaluation of a plurality of content contained in the at least one guided assignment folder based on a rule set. The rule set being unique to a folder type associated with the at least one guided assignment folder. The method further includes forming a telephone service order including a content of the plurality of content automatically assigned to the service order based on the rule set. 
     In an additional exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of offering telephone services to a customer includes collecting a plurality of customer information, determining that a root folder exists, and displaying a product catalog associated with the root folder. The product catalog contains a plurality of guided assignment folders. The method also includes determining a type and contents of at least one guided assignment folder of the plurality of guided assignment folders. The method also includes receiving a selection of desired features from the customer and automatically assigning at least one feature to a telephone service of the customer. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic illustration of a telephone service system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart illustrating a method of providing telephone services according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrating a portion of the method illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a guided assignment wizard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another guided assignment wizard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates still another guided assignment wizard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a further guided assignment wizard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates still another guided assignment wizard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates yet another guided assignment wizard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a telephone service system  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system  10  can include, for example, a server  14  connected to a wireless network  16 . The system  10  can also include one or more mobile devices  18  connected to the wireless network  16 . One or more components of the system  10  may be housed in and/or otherwise located within a sale center  12 . For example, the server  14  may be located within the sale center  12  and may be connected to the wireless network  16  via one or more connections  20 . 
     The sale center  12  may be, for example, any type of retail store known in the art, such as a brick and mortar retail store. The sale center  12  may also be, for example, a store front accessible by wireless telephone service customers, a kiosk located within a shopping mall, a stand-alone shopping facility, and/or any other known retail facility. In addition, the sale center  12  may be a call center, a website operated by the service provider, and/or any other conventional point of sale known in the art. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, telephone service customers may be required to visit the sale center  12  to, for example, select equipment for use, select service plans and/or add-on features, make advanced payments, receive wireless equipment, activate their telephone service, replenish their service, and/or otherwise make any transactions necessary for the activation or replenishment of such features and/or services. As used herein, the term “customer” may identify the individual purchasing goods or services such as, for example, mobile devices  18 , accessories, and/or service contracts from the service provider. As also used herein, the term “user” may identify the individual entering information into and/or otherwise interfacing with the telephone service system  10 . Generally, the user is a sales representative of the service provider and the terms “sales representative” and “user” may be used interchangeably throughout the present disclosure. It is also understood that, in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a user may be a customer. 
     It is understood that the embodiment of the sale center  12  utilized by the service provider may be dependent upon various factors including, but not limited to, the service provider&#39;s business model. For example, the service provider&#39;s business model may be such that customers are required to visit a brick and mortar sale center  12  in-person to select a mobile device  18 , make an advance payment, and/or otherwise activate their service. However, the service provider may allow the customer to replenish their service via credit card by either calling a service provider customer service department or by visiting a service provider website. In such an exemplary embodiment, the sale center  12  may include the brick and mortar sale center, the customer service department, and the website. 
     The server  14  can comprise, for example, an electronic control unit, a computer, and/or any other electrical control device known in the art. The server  14  can include one or more operator interfaces such as, for example, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch-screen, and/or any other devices useful in entering, reading, storing, and/or extracting data from a human user or from one or more devices to which the server  14  is connected. The server  14  can also be configured to store and/or manipulate data regarding, for example, telephone services or customers, as well as data collected from the customer or from the mobile device  18  associated with the customer. Such data can include, for example, name, address, social security number, and/or other customer information. Such data can also include account number, service address, service type, username, password, account balance, duration of service, and/or other account information. The collected data can, for example, be stored by one or more memory devices of the server  14  and can be manipulated by the server  14  as desired. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the server  14  can be connected to the wireless network  16  via one or more connections  20 . The connections  20  can consist of any conventional electrical and/or communication means known in the art such as, for example, wires or other like connection structures, as well as wireless communication means. The connections  20  may provide customers with a variety of options for communication. For example, the connections  20  may be configured to transmit and receive multimedia communications including, for example, audio, voice, video, text, imaging, and all other types of data. Such data can be transmitted between the wireless network  16  and the server  14  and may also be transmitted between the wireless network  16  and the mobile device  18 . 
     The wireless network  16  may comprise, for example, one or more data networks such as, the internet, and/or public telephone networks including wireless networks. In an exemplary embodiment, the wireless network  16  may comprise an internet protocol (“IP”) network, including a data link. 
     The mobile devices  18  shown in  FIG. 1  can include, for example, cellular telephones, hand-held computers, personal data organizers, and/or any other mobile devices known in the art. The mobile devices  18  may be configured to receive and/or transmit any kind of communications data known in the art such as, for example, audio, voice, video, text, imaging, and/or other types of data. The mobile devices  18  may be configured to send and receive, for example, text messages, email, digital images, voice communications, and/or any other electrical or digital information known in the art. Such mobile devices  18  may be produced by any known mobile device manufacturer and may be electrically, wirelessly, and/or otherwise connectible to the wireless network  16 . 
     It is understood that the exemplary system  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1  may include additional components configured to facilitate wireless, electrical, and/or other connections between, for example, the mobile devices  18 , the wireless network  16 , and the server  14 . Such components may include any electrical, telecommunications, and/or other components known in the art. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     Telephone services facilitated and/or otherwise provided by the exemplary telephone service system  10  of the present disclosure can be purchased at a sale center  12  and activated on the spot. In an exemplary embodiment, a customer may visit the sale center  12 , and may elect to purchase a mobile device  18  and any associated mobile telephone services or add-on features. Alternatively, upon visiting the sale center  12 , the customer may activate telephone services on an existing mobile device  18  already owned by the customer. As will be discussed in greater detail below, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be utilized in guiding the customer and/or the user through a process in which one or more features are associated with and/or otherwise assigned to the selected telephone service. Such features may be assigned to the telephone service automatically and/or manually. 
       FIG. 2  depicts a flow chart  100  illustrating a method of offering telephone services to a customer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As a first step in this method, a sales representative of a wireless telephone service provider or other system user may collect customer and/or account information (Step  102 ). In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the customer may be a new customer and in alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the customer may be an existing customer. Accordingly, the account information collected in Step  102  may be useful in either establishing a new account record for a new customer or for retrieving an existing account record for an existing customer. Such information can include, for example, the customer&#39;s full name, a company name associated with the customer, a service address, a billing address, an account type, a service start date, a billing cycle, a desired invoice format and/or any other customer and/or account information known in the art. 
     As shown in Step  104 , the sales representative may use the collected information to retrieve an existing account record or create a new account record. Although not illustrated in  FIG. 2 , it is understood that the sales representative and/or the customer may, at this stage, specify any number of customer-level features to be associated with the customer. The sales representative and/or the customer may also choose the service types to be assigned to and/or otherwise associated with the customer. It is understood that multiple services of the same type can be created by specifying the quantity of services. The customer and/or the sales representative may also choose the service types to be assigned as sub-services, and multiple sub-services of the same type can be created by specifying the quantity desired. Step  104  can also include assigning service numbers, billing numbers, and/or other information to be associated with the desired services. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in Step  106 , the system  10  ( FIG. 1 ) and/or the sales representative can determine whether or not a root folder is present. A root folder may be, for example, a starting point for the guided assignment wizard. It is understood that, although only a single root folder is illustrated in, for example,  FIGS. 4-9 , the guided assignment wizards described herein may include more than one root folder. The one or more root folders may contain, for example, multiple guided assignment folders of the type described herein. As  FIG. 2  illustrates, if a root folder is not present, the system  10  may assign features to the customer&#39;s service using a default feature assignment wizard (Step  108 ). 
     If, however, a root folder is determined to be present, the system  10  may display a product catalog associated with the root folder (Step  110 ). As will be described in greater detail below, the product catalog may contain at least one guided assignment folder, and the customer may be required to select a group of services to which a common set of features will be automatically assigned. In an exemplary embodiment, the system  10  may display a list of features for the customer to choose from based on the type, contents, and/or other configurations of the guided assignment folders that are displayed. Such a list may assist the customer in selecting the features that will be automatically assigned to each of the services associated with the customer&#39;s account. In an exemplary embodiment, the list of assignable features may include any and all items included in the service provider&#39;s catalog of offerings. Such items may include, among other things, pricing plans, discounts, contracts, handsets, and accessories. Thus, the list of assignable features may include billable items, nonbillable items, physical items, and/or non-physical items. 
     It is also understood that, in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, telephone service features and/or other content may be automatically added and/or otherwise assigned to a customer&#39;s telephone service order in response to a mobile device selection made by the customer. For example, the system  10  ( FIG. 1 ) may be configured to offer certain features, such as internet access, to the customer based on the mobile device  18  the customer selects. In such an embodiment, the customer may be offered internet access, SMS, or other services only after selecting a mobile device  18  capable of utilizing such functionality. Alternatively, the system  10  may be configured to offer certain mobile devices or accessories to the customer based on the plan or contract the customer selects. For example, if the customer selects a two-year service plan, the system  10  may automatically select an upgraded mobile device model. Thus, the system  10  may be configured to begin the guided assignment process based on either the selection of retail items (for example, mobile devices  18  or accessories) or the selection of billing items (for example, service contracts or add-on features). In this way, the exemplary methods disclosed herein may assist the service provider in combining retail and billing functions. 
     In an exemplary embodiment, the system  10  may automatically determine the type and/or contents of the at least one guided assignment folder that is displayed (Step  112 ). System logic may then determine the features to be assigned to the customer&#39;s service either automatically or with minimal input from the customer or user.  FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of Step  112  in which the type and/or contents of the guided assignment folders displayed by the system  10  can be used to determine whether and/or how to assign the contents. In particular, the evaluation and/or automatic assignment of the content contained in the displayed guided assignment folders can be governed by a predetermined rule set. The predetermined rule set can be unique to, for example, a folder type associated with the guided assignment folder being displayed. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the system  10  ( FIG. 1 ) may determine if the guided assignment folder displayed is a standard guided assignment folder (Step  114 ). If the guided assignment folder is a standard guided assignment folder, the system  10  may not display the contents of the folder. Instead, as illustrated in the rule set  116 , the system  10  may automatically evaluate the folder contents. Each of the folder contents may be evaluated and/or otherwise processed based on folder type. In particular, for a standard guided assignment folder, the system  10  may evaluate the folder&#39;s children and the evaluation may differ depending on the type of child contained within the folder. For example, for all non-folder contents or children, such as, for example, retail items, packages, products, discounts, contracts, pricing plans, and/or roaming agreements, the system  10  may automatically assign the non-folder contents to the service without user and/or customer intervention. As will be explained in greater detail below with respect to  FIG. 3 , the guided assignment folder displayed in Step  110  can include not only standard guided assignment folders as described above with respect to Step  114 , but can also include selectable guided assignment folders, choose guided assignment folders, and selectable and choose guided assignment folders. The displayed guided assignment folder can also include standard folders (i.e., non-guided assignment folders). Such standard or non-guided assignment folders will be ignored by the system  10  during the evaluation occurring in Step  116 . All selectable guided assignment folders will be displayed by the system  10  for the customer to choose from. All choose guided assignment folders will evaluate their children. For the purposes of this disclosure, “evaluating the child” of a guided assignment folder includes displaying all non-folder items and all selectable guided assignment folders in a list for the customer to choose from. In addition, selectable and choose guided assignment folders will be displayed in a list of selectable items. If such a folder is selected, the children of the selectable and choose guided assignment folder will be evaluated as discussed above with respect to the choose guided assignment folder. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , if the at least one guided assignment folder displayed in Step  110  is not a standard guided assignment folder, the system  10  will determine whether the at least one guided assignment folder is a selectable guided assignment folder (Step  118 ). If the at least one guided assignment folder is a selectable guided assignment folder, the system  10  will display the folder in a list for the customer to choose (Step  120 ). 
     If the displayed folder is chosen, the system  10  will automatically evaluate the contents of the folder as discussed above with respect to Step  116 . If, however, the at least one guided assignment folder displayed in Step  110  is neither a standard guided assignment folder nor a selectable guided assignment folder, the system  10  may determine whether the at least one guided assignment folder is a choose guided assignment folder (Step  122 ). As shown in Step  124 , a choose guided assignment folder may not be displayed in the guided assignment wizard but instead its children may be displayed and the customer may be required to select a minimum or maximum number of displayed contents based on the choose rules associated with the choose guided assignment folder. For example, a child or contents of a choose guided assignment folder may be displayed in a selection list of the choose guided assignment folder if it is one of a non-folder content, a selectable guided assignment folder, or a selectable and choose guided assignment folder. 
     As discussed above, the choose guided assignment folder may require the customer to select a minimum or maximum number of displayed contents based on one or more choose rules. In an exemplary embodiment, such choose rules may include the following: 1) if the minimum and maximum choose limits are the same and are not zero, the customer may be required to choose exactly that many items; 2) if the minimum and maximum amounts are zero, the customer can choose zero or more items; and 3) if the minimum amount is equal to or greater than the listed number of items or contents, the customer may be required to choose items until the minimum is met. In such an example, the system  10  may provide a warning or other notification to the user and/or the customer that the minimum choose amount was not met or that the maximum choose amount was exceeded. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , if the at least one guided assignment folder displayed in Step  110  is not a standard guided assignment folder, a selectable guided assignment folder, or a choose guided assignment folder, the system  10  may determine whether the at least one guided assignment folder is a selectable and choose guided assignment folder (Step  126 ). If the at least one guided assignment folder is a selectable and choose guided assignment folder, the system  10  may display the selectable and choose guided assignment folder in a list for the customer to choose (Step  128 ). If chosen, its children and/or any other folder contents may be automatically evaluated by the system  10  as discussed above with respect to Step  124 . 
     As shown in Step  130 , once the evaluation of one or more contents contained in the at least one guided assignment folder displayed in Step  110  has been evaluated based on one or more corresponding rule sets, the system  10  may determine whether the product catalog displayed in Step  110  contains any additional guided assignment folders (Step  132 ). If such additional guided assignment folders are present, the system  10  may determine the type and contents of the additional guided assignment folders as discussed above with respect to Step  112 . If, however, the displayed product catalog does not contain any additional guided assignment folders, the user and/or customer will be given the opportunity to reconfigure the features that have been assigned to the customer&#39;s services and/or otherwise review the customer&#39;s order (Step  134 ). 
     While reviewing the order, the system  10  may also display an ADHOC assignment page. In an exemplary embodiment, the ADHOC assignment page may include a list of features that a customer may choose from for assignment to the specified services. In an exemplary embodiment, a user of the system  10  may assign individual features to a customer&#39;s service order outside of the guided assignment wizards disclosed herein using either a search function or a browse function associated with the ADHOC assignment page. Using this functionality, the user may search or browse the service provider&#39;s catalog of offerings for features that may not have appeared on the guided assignment wizard pages. For example, if a user assists a business customer using a guided assignment wizard configured for a residential customer, certain business-related features may not be included and/or displayed in the wizard. Accordingly, the user could use the ADHOC assignment page to search for and assign business-related features to the business customer&#39;s order outside of the guided assignment wizard. 
     The ADHOC assignment page may be useful in embodiments of the system  10  utilizing one or more folder filters. In such embodiments, folder filters may be included as a part of the guided assignment wizard to filter out or hide certain folders containing features that do not apply to a particular customer. Folders filtered out by such folder filters are not displayed during the guided assignment wizard. For example, a first folder may be tagged as applying to business customers and a second folder may be tagged as applying to residential customers. In such an exemplary embodiment, if a customer is characterized as a business customer, the active folder filter may cause the second folder to be hidden, and only the first folder may be displayed. Folders that are hidden or filtered out by the folder filters may contain features that are later added at the ADHOC assignment page. It is understood that additional filters may be used to filter out or hide folders based on, for example, geographic and/or other customer or service characteristics. It is also understood that the folder filters may be script-driven and, thus, may be more easily customizable than known data-driven filters. It is further understood that any of the folder filters discussed above may be applied to folders that are automatically evaluated during a guided assignment wizard and these filters are not limited to folders that are selectable by the user or the customer. 
     During Step  134 , the customer and/or the user may be given the opportunity to perform any additional required tasks associated with completing an order for telephone services. For example, such additional tasks may include adding more features to the customer&#39;s account record, adding more services to the customer&#39;s account record, and/or other known tasks associated with completing the order. The user and/or the customer will then be given the opportunity to submit the order after which it will be processed according to ordinary business practices of the service provider (Step  136 ). 
       FIGS. 4-9  illustrate the user/customer experience in a guided assignment wizard starting at a root folder in a product catalog. The guided assignment wizard is illustrated in the pages of the product catalog shown in  FIGS. 4-9  and the features assigned to the telephone services upon completion of the guided assignment wizard are illustrated in the “Features Assigned” section of  FIGS. 4-9 . For each of the cases illustrated in  FIGS. 4-9 , the following assumptions have been made: 1) the children and/or contents of each assigned folder are also assigned (these children have been omitted for simplicity); 2) the sort order is the order in which the contents appear in the product catalog box unless otherwise stated; 3) there are no choose packages configured; and 4) choose folders (i.e., choose guided assignment folders and selectable and choose guided assignment folders) are all “choose 1 folders” unless stated otherwise. 
     The guided assignment wizard  200  shown in  FIG. 4 , illustrates that any features/contents in a guided assignment type folder will automatically be evaluated. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the product catalog  202  contains a root folder (RF) having a guided assignment folder (GA 1 ), and the guided assignment folder contains two products (P 1 , P 2 ). In such an exemplary embodiment, the products P 1 , P 2  may be automatically assigned to the service and the customer does not need to interact with the guided assignment wizard. In particular, as shown in page  1  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  204 ), the standard guided assignment folder GA 1  will be hidden and the telephone service features/products P 1 , P 2  are automatically assigned to the customer&#39;s service order. As shown at page  2  (Box  206 ) of the guided assignment wizard, the ADHOC assignment page will be displayed by the system  10  ( FIG. 1 ). The products P 1 , P 2  are the features assigned  208  to the service order. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary use of a selectable guided assignment folder. In the guided assignment wizard  300  illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the product catalog  302  contains a root folder, and the root folder includes two selectable guided assignment folders (SGA 1 , SGA 2 ). The children/contents  312  of the first selectable guided assignment folder SGA 1  are telephone service features/products P 1 , P 2  and the children/contents  314  of the second selectable guided assignment folder SGA 2  are the products P 3 , P 4 . As shown in page  1  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  304 ), the customer can be given the option of choosing at least one of the selectable guided assignment folders. Once the desired selectable guided assignment folder has been chosen (SGA 2 ), its children will be evaluated. As shown in page  2  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  306 ), the second selectable guided assignment folder will be hidden and its children P 3 , P 4  can be automatically assigned to the service order. In page  3  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  308 ), the ADHOC assignment page can be shown. The features assigned  310  in the exemplary guided assignment wizard  300  of  FIG. 5  will be the contents of the chosen selectable guided assignment folder (features P 3 , P 4 ). 
       FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary guided assignment wizard  400  in which a product catalog  402  contains a choose guided assignment folder (CGA 1 ). As shown in page  1  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  404 ), the choose guided assignment folder (CGA 1 ) will not be displayed but each of its children (P 1 , P 2 ) will be listed for selection. The customer may then be given the opportunity to select at least one of the telephone service features/products. As shown in page  2  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  404 ), the customer has selected the product Pi, and after making such a selection, the ADHOC assignment page will be displayed at page  2  of the guided assignment wizard (Box  406 ). As shown in  FIG. 6 , such actions by the customer will result in the features assigned  408  being P 1 . 
       FIG. 7  illustrates an exemplary guided assignment wizard  500  in which the product catalog  502  contains three selectable and choose guided assignment folders (SCGA 1 , SCGA 2 , SCGA 3 ). In addition, each of the selectable and choose guided assignment folders in the product catalog  502  contain a plurality of children  514 ,  516 ,  518 . As discussed above with respect to  FIG. 3 , selectable and choose guided assignment folders are a combination of select guided assignment folders and choose guided assignment folders. For example, selectable and choose guided assignment folders are displayed as selectable guided assignment folders and the contents selected are evaluated like contents of a choose guided assignment folder. In addition, children of selectable and choose guided assignment folders are listed as selectable items. Accordingly, selectable and choose guided assignment folders enable the bundling of certain features with telephone services and/or other items that have been previously selected by the customer. 
     As shown in the exemplary guided assignment wizard  500  of  FIG. 7 , each of the selectable and choose guided assignment folders may be displayed at page  1  (Box  504 ). Since there is no parent choose guided assignment folder in the product catalog  502 , the customer can choose 1, 2, or all 3 of the selectable and choose guided assignment folders shown in Box  504 . Alternatively, the customer may have the option of choosing none of the displayed selectable and choose guided assignment folders. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the customer has chosen the second and third selectable and choose guided assignment folders (SCGA 2 , SCGA 3 ), and each of the chosen selectable and choose guided assignment folders will be evaluated at pages  2  and  3  of the guided assignment wizard  500 . In this example, the customer has chosen P 3  of SCGA 2  at Box  506 , and P 5  of SCGA 3  at Box  508 . The system  10  may then display the ADHOC assignment page (Box  510 ) at page  4  of the guided assignment wizard  500 . The system  10  may then display the features assigned  512  (P 3 , P 5 ). 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary guided assignment wizard  600  of the present disclosure in which the product catalog  602  includes a choose guided assignment folder (CGA 1 ) as a parent folder of three selectable and choose guided assignment folders (SCGA 1 , SCGA 2 , SCGA 3 ). In addition, each of the child selectable and choose guided assignment folders include a plurality of contents and/or children ( 612 ,  614 ,  616 ). Assuming that the choose guided assignment folder of the product catalog  602  (CGA 1 ) is a “choose one folder,” the customer will be required to select one item from the list of selectable and choose guided assignment folders displayed at page  1  (Box  604 ) of the guided assignment wizard  600 . For example, upon selecting the second selectable and choose guided assignment folder (SCGA 2 ) the children of the second selectable and choose guided assignment folder may be displayed at page  2  (Box  606 ). As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the customer has chosen product P 4 . After making a selection at page  2 , the ADHOC assignment page  608  will be displayed by the system  10  at page  3  of the guided assignment wizard  600 . Finally, the selected features to be assigned  610  will be displayed by the system  10 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the only feature to be assigned in this exemplary embodiment is feature/product P 4 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an additional exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure in which a guided assignment wizard  700  includes a product catalog  702  having a choose guided assignment folder (CGA 1 ) as a parent. Upon determining the parent folder to be a choose guided assignment folder, the system  10  will list each child of the choose guided assignment folder (CGA 1 ) at page  1  (Box  704 ) of the guided assignment wizard  700 . Since the children of the choose guided assignment folder (CGA 1 ) are selectable and choose guided assignment folders (SCGA 2 , SCGA 13 ), each of the children are listed as items to select. As shown on page  1 , the customer has selected SCGA 2 , and accordingly, the children of the chosen selectable and choose guided assignment folder SCGA 2  will be evaluated according to the predetermined rule set. In this example, the children of the selected selectable and choose folder SCGA 2  are choose folders (CGA 3 , CGA 10 ). At page  2  (Box  706 ) of the guided assignment wizard  700 , the customer has selected a selectable and choose guided assignment folder (SCGA 6 ) from among the children of CGA 3 . As a result of this selection, the system  10  will evaluate the only child of SCGA 6 , which is the choose guided assignment folder CGA 7 . As shown on page  3  (Box  708 ) of the guided assignment wizard  700 , the customer has chosen feature/product P 8  contained within the choose guided assignment folder CGA 7 . 
     Once this selection has been made, the other child (CGA 10 ) of selectable and choose guided assignment folder SCGA 2  will be evaluated by the customer. As shown in box  710 , the customer has selected feature/package Pk 12  contained therein. It is understood that in each of the embodiments discussed above, more than one type of guided assignment folder can be utilized in a single guided assignment wizard. For example, as shown in Box  702 , the exemplary guided assignment wizard  700  can also include a standard guided assignment folder GA 19 . After determining that the folder GA 19  is a standard guided assignment folder, the system  10  may not display the contents of the folder GA 19  and may automatically evaluate its contents. The product P 20  may, thus, be automatically assigned to the service order without customer intervention (Box  712 ). An ADHOC assignment page will then be shown at page  5  (Box  714 ) of the exemplary guided assignment wizard  700 , and the features assigned  716  as a result of the evaluation discussed above will be features/products P 8 , Pk 12 , and P 20 . 
     Other embodiments of the disclosed system  10  will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of this specification. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with the true scope of the invention being indicated by the following claims.