Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention generally relates to the field of computer program products installation. More specifically, the present invention relates to a computer product with an interactive user interface that allows a user to select system configuration, products, components, and features for installation of a large or complex software package, and then to generate a customized installation plan for reference by the user during the installation process. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Installation and configuration of large software packages is often a time consuming and tedious task. For large software packages that involve multiple products, components, and features, the system administrator must read multiple manuals and chapters to gather information necessary for installation. This information might include which components must be installed, any required prerequisites, the necessary sequence of installation steps, which CDs inside and outside of the software package are required, configuration steps, etc. Consequently, users or system administrators spend a considerable amount of time collecting planning and installation information for the software package to be installed. 
   Currently, a “Before You Start” CD has been provided to the installer for use with the Winhelp format. This “Before You Start” CD provides product overview and system configuration information, but does not necessarily include other relevant information. In addition, a customized installation plan is not generally created for the user to follow. 
   What is therefore needed is a computer program that provides users with a custom installation plan based on a single point of access for product packaging information, planning information, and installation assistance. This plan and associated information should be provided to the user before the user begins installing the product to minimize confusion. The need for such a product has heretofore remained unsatisfied. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention satisfies this need, and presents a system and associated method (collectively referred to herein as “the system” or “the present system”) for automatically creating a multi-program installation plan. Software manufacturers might include the present system with their software products to aid the user in product installation. 
   It is one object of the present system to provide a logical initial step for installing a computer product with the goal of improving the overall out-of-box experience of the product for the user. This goal is accomplished by consolidating product overview and system configuration information for multiple products in a single HTML interface. The present system generates a quick start form for software installation, providing users or installers with the guidance needed to install and configure the product. 
   The present system is a self-contained unit of content relating to planning, installation, and configuration of a large software product that introduces users to the product package, informs users of product capabilities, and informs users of potential system configurations. The present system reduces confusion regarding the first step in product installation. It further reduces the time users spend collecting planning and installation information. 
   In addition, the present system further provides an interactive installation planning assistant that automatically creates a customized installation plan based on system configuration, product, component, and feature requirements that users select for the installation of the software product on their computers. 
   This printable installation plan creates an easy-to-follow installation sequence and provides the user with information regarding software and hardware requirements. In addition, to further facilitate the installation process, the installation plan lists the product CDs required during the installation process and provides configuration worksheets that users can complete prior to installation. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The various features of the present invention and the manner of attaining them will be described in greater detail with reference to the following description, claims, and drawings, wherein reference numerals are reused, where appropriate, to indicate a correspondence between the referenced items, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of an exemplary operating environment in which a multi-product software installation system of the present invention can be used; 
       FIG. 2  is comprised of  FIGS. 2A and 2B , and represents a process flow chart illustrating a method of operation of the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary “welcome” screen for the automatic multi-product software installation planning system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary system configuration screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary product overview screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary planning assistant screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary product selection screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary components selection screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a screen shot displaying an exemplary features selection screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIGS. 10 and 11  are screen shots displaying an exemplary installation plan screen for the automatic multi-product software installation system of  FIG. 1 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The following definition provides background information pertaining to the technical field of the present invention, and is intended to facilitate the understanding of the present invention without limiting its scope: 
   HTML: HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): A standard language for attaching presentation and linking attributes to informational content within documents. During a document authoring stage, HTML “tags” are embedded within the informational content of the document. When the web document (or “HTML document”) is subsequently transmitted by a web server to a web browser, the tags are interpreted by the browser and used to parse and display the document. In addition to specifying how the web browser is to display the document, HTML tags can be used to create hyperlinks to other web documents. 
     FIG. 1  portrays an exemplary overall environment in which a system  10  and associated method  200  for automatically creating a customized multi-program installation plan according to the present invention may be used. System  10  includes a software programming code or computer program product that is typically installed on a compact disk (“CD”)  15 . Alternatively, system  10  can be imbedded within, or installed on a host server or other computer device or saved on a suitable storage medium such as a diskette, a hard drive, or like devices. 
   The CD  15  is provided by a software manufacturer as part of its software product. System  10  can be viewed and operated by a user or system administrator, illustrated as computer  20 , to provide installation support. Computer  20  may be a desktop computer, a server, a set of computers in a distributed configuration, or any computing device in which a software product may be installed. 
   The method  200  for operating system  10  is illustrated in the process flow chart of  FIG. 2 . For illustration purposes, system  10  is described to use client-side javascript pages to generate an installation plan for the computer product. The installation plan informs the users of the hardware and software requirements, package CDs, and installation and configuration steps required to install the computer product on computer  20 . 
   System  10  presents the user with a series of interactive hyperlinked screens, i.e., with HTML links, to lead the user through the process of gathering information and defining the parameters for the installation. System  10  initially displays a “welcome” screen to the user at block  205 . The “welcome” screen introduces the user to the product overview, system diagram, and planning assistant. 
   From the “welcome” screen, the user may navigate to a system configuration screen at block  210 , or to a product overview screen at block  215 . The system configuration screen at block  210  provides the user with a pictorial view of how products and components are installed as opposed to a purely textual view. Consequently, the user is able to plan a more effective installation of the computer program. From the system configuration screen at block  210 , the user may then select a computer system configuration (block  220 ) for more detailed information on the benefits of a given setup. 
   From the product overview page (block  215 ), the user may review product information and specifications by clicking on a variety of hypertext links. The product overview screen provides key pieces of information to the user such as the different products included in the installation package, information about each of the products, and the components that comprise those products. Information about each of the products and their components is available to the user at a single glance. Without the help of system  10 , the user would be required to search through multiple manuals and chapters for this information. 
   Also available to the user on the product overview screen is the number of CDs pertaining to each specific product, the operating system each specific product supports, any software product requirements or prerequisites for each specific product. The user may then return to the “welcome” screen at block  205 , either from the product overview screen (block  215 ) or from the system configuration screen (block  210 ). The user may also navigate between the system configuration screen (block  210 ) and the product overview screen (block  215 ). 
   After selecting the system configuration at block  210 , and reviewing the product information at block  215 , the user navigates to the “planning assistant” screen at block  230 . The planning assistant screen contains a “start” link; the user initiates the installation planning process by clicking on that link at block  235 . System  10  displays a products selection screen at block  240 . 
   On the product selection screen, system  10  presents a list of the software products available to the user within the planning assistant. For each product listed, the user can select a hyperlink to view a pop up window that provides “snap shot” description of the product including one or more different prerequisite programs that may be required for installation. 
   At block  245 , the user selects the desired products for installation, then clicks a “next” link to display the components selection screen at block  250 . For each component at block  255 , the user can select a hyperlink to view a pop up window that provides a “snap shot” description of the components or select the desired component for installation. Once completed, the user then clicks a “next” link to display the features selection screen at block  260 . The list of features available to the user within the planning assistant Is dynamically generated based on the initial products selected. As used herein, features include product options. 
   At block  265 , the user selects the features to include in the installation plan, then clicks a “next” link. With products (block  245 ), components (block  255 ), and features ( 265 ) specified by the user, system  10  then generates a customized installation plan at block  270  and displays that plan to the user at block  275 . The user then prints the installation plan at block  280  to reference while installing the product. 
   The customized installation plan includes a configuration worksheet, hardware requirements, and customized instructions for installation. For each selected product and component, system  10  provides a table of information that includes hardware and software requirements, the product CDs needed, installation and configuration steps, and a configuration worksheet. 
   The customized installation plan shows the user which prerequisites to install, the order of installation for the prerequisites, how to configure each prerequisite program, the order in which to install the products, and how to configure the products to work with the prerequisites. The customized installation plan also provides the user with a list of CDs that will be needed during installation. Consequently, the user will not have to stop or pause the installation while searching for information or CDs. 
   A sample “welcome” screen is shown in  FIG. 3 . This screen includes a brief introduction  305  to the installation CD. The user can navigate to the system diagram using navigation link  310 , the product overview using navigation link  315 , and the planning assistant using navigation link  320 . 
   An exemplary system diagram screen is shown in  FIG. 4 . Links to descriptions of possible configurations are listed in a configurations list  405 . The user may navigate to the product overview using navigation link  315 , the planning assistant using navigation link  320 , and the “welcome” screen using navigation link  325 . 
   A screen shot of a sample product overview screen is shown in  FIG. 5 . A description  505  of products included in the software package is listed in the screen body. Links to detailed descriptions of products included in the software package are included in block  410  and links to detailed descriptions of prerequisites for installation are listed in block  415 . Additional package details are available through links in block  420 . The user may navigate to the system diagram screen using navigation link  310 , the planning assistant using navigation link  320 , and the “welcome” screen using navigation link  325 . 
   A sample planning assistant screen is shown in  FIG. 6 . The user may navigate to the system diagram screen using navigation link  310 , the product overview screen using navigation link  315 , and the “welcome” screen using navigation link  325 . To initiate the installation planning process, the user clicks on the start link  620  (block  235  of  FIG. 2 ). 
   System  10  then displays a product selection screen such as the sample product selection screen shown in  FIG. 7 . Products such as computer product  705 , product A  710 , product B  715 , and product C  720  are listed. The user may select a product by clicking on the box next to the product name (block  250  of  FIG. 2 ). To select computer product  705 , the user clicks on box  735  and system  10  places a check mark in the box signifying its selection. The user chooses not to select any other products; consequently, boxes  730 ,  735 , and  740  contain no check marks. 
   The user may return to the previous screen by clicking on “back” navigation link  785  or continue to the next screen by clicking on “next” navigation link  750 . As before, the user may navigate to the system diagram screen using navigation link  310 , the planning assistant using navigation link  320 , and the “welcome” screen using navigation link  325 . 
   The user proceeds to the components selection screen by clicking on the “next” navigation link  750 . A sample components selection screen is shown in  FIG. 8 . The product or products selected by the user at block  250  of  FIG. 2 , are listed by system  10  in box  805 . In this example, the user chooses to install “computer product”. 
   System  10  lists all possible components for installation for this product: component A  810 , component B  815 , component C  820 , and component D  825 . The user selects the component by clicking on the box next to the component name (block  255  of  FIG. 2 ). In this example, the user selects all four components listed, as indicated by the check mark in the check boxes for component A  810 , component B  815 , component C  820 , and component D  825 . 
   The user may also select the operating system for each component by choosing from a list presented by system  10  in pull-down menu  830 . Having completed component selection, the user may return to the previous screen by clicking on “back” navigation link  785  or continue to the next screen by clicking on “next” navigation link  750 . As before, the user may navigate to the system diagram screen using navigation link  310 , the planning assistant using navigation link  320 , and the “welcome” screen using navigation link  325 . 
   The user proceeds to the feature selection screen by clicking on the “next” navigation button  750 . The system then displays a feature selections screen such as the sample feature selection screen shown in  FIG. 9 . The products and components selected by the user are listed in box  905 . 
   The features for these components are listed to the right of the component, such as “text search”  910  or “long term object storage”  915 . As before, the user selects these features by clicking on the check box to the left of the feature name (block  265  of  FIG. 2 ). In this example, both “text search”  910  and “long term object storage”  915  have been selected as indicated by the check mark in the check box. 
   Having completed the feature selection, the user may return to the previous screen by clicking on the “back” navigation link  785 , or continue to the next screen by clicking on “next” navigation link  750 . As before, the user may navigate to the system diagram screen using navigation link  310 , the planning assistant using navigation link  320 , and the “welcome” screen using navigation link  325 . 
   The products, components, and features for installation have now been selected. The user clicks on the “next” navigation link  750  to proceed to the installation instruction screen, such as the sample installation instruction screens shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 . When the user clicks on the “next” navigation link  750 , system  10  generates a customized installation plan from the products, components, features, and system configuration selected by the user in previous screens (block  270  of  FIG. 2 ). The user may print out this customized installation plan for reference while installing the computer product (block  275  of  FIG. 2 ). 
   It is to be understood that the specific embodiments of the invention that have been described are merely illustrative of certain application of the principle of the present invention. Numerous modifications may be made to the method for automatically creating a customized multi-program installation plan invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Technology Category: 3