JP2001117688A - Help function control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a time until a user can obtain desired help information by offering help information along the capability level of the user, the use frequency of the user, and the use tendency. SOLUTION: The attributes or tastes (educational history, type of occupation, years of experience, usage application, hobby, and specialty, etc.), of a user are extracted through a conversation with the user, and help information matched with the capability level of the user in an application category desired by the user is offered by a help information storing means 51, a help information extracting part 6, and a category extracting part 8, based on the capability level of the user judged by an initial capability level judging part 7. Also, when the offered help information is not matched with the capability level of the user, the capability level of the user is corrected by a capability level correcting part 10, and help information suitable for the corrected level is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a help function control system in an information processing system such as a personal computer, a portable terminal, and a word processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the complexity of operation has become a problem due to the sophistication of information processing systems such as personal computers. As a means for solving this problem, operation methods and functions are explained during processing of the system. A "help function" to be displayed on the screen is provided.

In a conventional help function control system, information such as a function explanation can be provided by an instruction such as pressing a help key, and if necessary, a detailed explanation and a related explanation can be obtained by performing further operations. It has become.

[0004] Here, the above-mentioned "further operation" is a new problem in browsing a huge amount of help information, and for the purpose of reducing the operational burden on the help function, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. A method for controlling a help function as disclosed in US Pat. This is characterized in that in order to display a desired help screen from a large amount of help information in a short time, a large number of help screens are set in a hierarchical form, and a help screen of a hierarchy of an arbitrary level is displayed. .

[0005]

However, these conventional methods are all general-purpose manuals for general users, and provide help information in consideration of each user's ability level, usage frequency, or usage tendency. Not done.

Accordingly, the present invention aims to shorten the time required for a user to obtain desired help information by providing help information in consideration of the user's ability level and the user's use frequency / use tendency. It is intended to be.

[0007]

[MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS] A help function control system in an information processing system for providing help information. The help function control system is categorized for each type of application software, and is hierarchized according to the proficiency of each type of application software. Help information storage means for storing the converted help information, and an initial ability level determination for estimating the proficiency of the user for each application software type and determining the proficiency as the user's ability level for each application software type Means, help information extracting means for extracting help information adapted to the user's ability level determined by the initial ability level determining means, ability level correcting means for correcting the determined ability level, use When help information is requested by the Help information based on the capability level of the user corresponding to the type of application software is extracted from the help information extraction unit and presented to the user, and the capability level correction unit receives the instruction from the user and sets the capability level by the capability level correction unit. And a control means for correcting the help function.

A category selection frequency storing means for storing the type of application software and the number of times of selection of help information relating to the type as a set of components in a table, and a rearrangement for rearranging the configuration records of the table based on the number of selections Means, selecting means for selecting an application software type from the record contents sorted by the sorting means, display means for displaying help information corresponding to the selected application software type, and the displayed help information A determination unit that determines whether or not the request meets the user's request; and a counting unit that counts the number of times the help information is selected based on the determination.
When there is a help request from the user, an application software type is selected by the selection unit in accordance with the order of the table rearranged by the rearrangement unit, and help information corresponding to the application type is displayed by the display unit. And control means for controlling the counting means to count the number of help information selections based on an instruction received from a user as to whether or not the displayed help information meets the request of the user. It is a help function control system characterized by comprising:

[0009] Alternatively, the category selection number storage means stores the type of application software and the number of selections by use time zone of the help information related to the type as a component in a table, and the reordering means stores the number of selections based on the number of selections. Rearranging the constituent records of the table by use time zone, and when there is a help request from the user, the control unit, in the table rearranged by the rearrangement unit, at the time of the request. The application software type is selected by the selection means in accordance with the order in the above, the help information corresponding to the application type is displayed by the display means, and the displayed help information received from the user is adapted to the user's request. Help information by the counting means based on the indication of success It is a help function control system and controlling so as to count the 択回 number.

Further, the category selection number storage means includes:
The application software type and the number of use days of the help information on the type are stored in the table as constituent elements, and the reordering unit rearranges the constituent records of the table based on the number of selections for each use day, When there is a help request from the user, the control means selects the application software type by the selection means in accordance with the order of the day of the week in the table sorted by the sorting means, and the display means The help information corresponding to the application type is displayed, and the counting means selects the help information based on the instruction received from the user as to whether the displayed help information meets the user's request. Function control system characterized by controlling to count It is.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a help function control system according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a block configuration of a help function control system used in the present invention. 1, the system includes an external storage unit 5 for storing a control program, help information, and the like. The external storage unit 5 further includes a help information storage unit 51 for storing help information,
It has a category selection count 52 that stores the number of times the user has selected each category in the past, and a capability level table storage unit 53. In addition to such an external storage unit 5,
Program storage unit 4 (RA for loading programs)
M etc.) and a central processing unit 1 that performs various processes
An initial ability level judging section 7 for inferring a user's ability level, a category extracting section 8 for extracting a category desired by the user when extracting optimal help information for generating a user's help request, and a selecting section. Help information extraction unit 6 for extracting help information that matches the user's ability level from the category extracted by the category extraction unit, and whether the help information extracted by the help information extraction unit 6 is optimal for the user. A help information optimality determining unit 9 for determining whether
When the help information extracted by the help information optimality determining unit 9 is determined to be not optimal, the ability level correcting unit 10 for correcting the skill level, the selection of the category desired by the user, and the use of the extracted help information are used. The input unit 3 is used to determine whether the help information is optimal for the user, and the display unit 2 displays the extracted help information.

The category extracting unit 8 further includes an extracting unit 81 for extracting a category desired by the user, a determining unit 82 for determining whether the extracted category is a category desired by the user, And counting means 83 for counting the number of times of category selection.

Each of these blocks is connected to a bus 99,
Information and instructions from each block are performed via a bus 99.

The capability level table is a capability level table for each category of the user as shown in FIG. 9, and the category means, for example, application software such as a word processor, a spreadsheet, an e-mail, and a browser. Indicates the application type of.

The relationship between the level and the category forms a structural concept constituting the help information of the present invention, and when the relationship is illustrated, an inclusion relationship is formed according to the capability level as shown in FIG. The user with the lowest level (level 1) is provided with all the help information in these categories, and the user with the highest level (level k) is provided with the minimum help information in the category. Create a framework to provide. Specifically, when the ability level is divided into three levels for the category of “word processor”, the data structure of the help information is as shown in FIG. How to enter words How to save the created document How to set the format How to create a table How to import graphic images How to create drawing objects If you are prepared to present all items such as For advanced users, presentations are prepared in a form limited to help information that explains more advanced operation contents as the skill level increases.

FIGS. 2 to 6 are flowcharts showing the operation sequence of the help function control system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation sequence of the system will be described below with reference to these figures.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the overall operation when there is a request for presentation of help information after the system is started. When the system starts by turning on the power switch, etc.,
Predetermined programs, data, and the like are read from the external storage unit 5 to the program storage unit 4 by the central processing unit 1 (S
201). The predetermined program is a program that makes a determination to be described later, searches for relevant data, controls the entire system, and data required by the program.

The user performs a log-in procedure for entering the system (S202). For example, input of a user ID and a password. After the login procedure, it is determined whether or not this user is a user who logs in to the system for the first time (S203). In the case of the second or subsequent login, the system operates normally thereafter, and at any time, the system is in a state of waiting for a help information request from the user (S205). However, when logging into the system for the first time (Y in S203)
es), the ability level of each category of the user is inferred by the initial ability level determination unit 7 and stored in the ability level table storage means 53 in the external storage unit 5 (S20).
4). Here, the method of determining the initial ability level for each category of the user by the initial ability level determining unit 7 will be described more specifically.

First, the system interacts with the user via the input unit 3 and the display unit 2, and extracts the characteristics (education, occupation, years of experience, used applications, hobbies, special skills, etc.) of the user. Is done. The initial ability level for each category of the user is determined by the answers to the questions made during this dialogue, and the initial ability levels for each category are stored by the ability level table storage means 53 in the external storage unit 5. Is done.

For example, as questions for inferring the characteristics of the user, five questions (educational background / occupation / year of computer experience / frequently used applications / hobbies) and their options are prepared as shown in the following table.

[0022]

[Table 1]

The educational background of Question 1 is an example of an index for measuring an approximate classification of a specialized field (whether science or arts) and proficiency in each specialized field. The occupation type in question 2 is the current job content, and is used as an index for measuring the user's current knowledge tendency. The number of years of computer experience in Question 3 is used as an index for estimating the operation ability for the present system. Question 4 is used as an index for grasping the proficiency level for each type of application software by grasping frequently used applications.
Question 5 extracts the user's preference and uses it as an index for analyzing interest in each category. Although such a question is prepared, it is not limited to this, but is merely for clarifying the gist of the present invention.

Here, as the above-mentioned categories, it is assumed that category 1 = word processor, category 2 = spreadsheet, category 3 = e-mail, category 4 = web browser, and the user responds to each question as Answer 1 for Question 1, Answer 1 for Question 2, Answer 3
Answer 2 for Question, Answer 1 for Question 4, Answer 5
It is assumed that answer 4 is selected for. Further, the ability level judgment index of each category is set to three levels <0 to 2, 0: high ability level / 1: medium ability level / 2: low ability level>,
Determine as shown in the table below.

[0025]

[Table 2]

Then, based on these, an initial ability level determination index (CPI) for each category of the user can be calculated, and the CPI for category 1 is 1 + 0 +
1 + 0 + 1 = 3, CPI for category 2 is 2 + 1 +
1 + 1 + 2 = 7, CPI for category 3 is 2 + 2 +
1 + 1 + 1 = 7, CPI for category 4 is 2 + 2 +
1 + 2 + 2 = 9.

Furthermore, if each CPI is quantized by a capability level determination threshold (hereinafter, CPJ) described later,
This user's initial ability level for each category (hereinafter referred to as CP
L) indicates that the CPL for category 1 is ability level 3;
The CPL for category 2 is estimated as capability level 2, the CPL for category 3 is estimated as capability level 2, and the CPL for category 4 is estimated as capability level 1. However, the CPJ for estimating the ability level of each category of the user is set in advance as follows. [Estimation of ability level with respect to the sum of the ability level judgment indices] In the case of 0 to 3, it is estimated that the ability level is 3 (high).

In the case of 4 to 7, it is estimated that the ability level is 2 (medium).

In the case of 8 to 10, ability level 1 (low)
It is estimated.

Therefore, the user's initial ability level is high for the word processor-related category (application software group) and is high for the Internet browser-related category (application software group). The level is inferred to be low.
Based on the setting of the initial ability level as described above, the description returns to the flow chart shown in FIG.

When a user's help request occurs during operation of the system (S205), the central processing unit 1 sets a category selected by the user (S206). Here, the category may be selected by the user himself (S3 shown in FIG. 3).
01) can be automatically extracted based on various conditions as described later.

Next, in S207, the central processing unit 1 transfers the category set in the previous step S206 to the help information extracting unit 6, and the help information extracting unit 6 transmits the capability level table in the external storage unit 5. The ability level of the user of the category is read out from the storage unit 53, and the external storage unit 5
The help information corresponding to the ability level of the user in the category is extracted from the help information storage means 51 in the section, and the help information is transferred to the central processing section 1.

Next, the central processing unit 1 transfers the help information extracted in step S207 to the help information optimality judging unit 9, and the help information optimality judging unit 9 determines whether the help information is optimal for the user. Is determined (S
208), if it is determined that it is not optimal, proceed to S209,
The ability level of the target category is modified.

The correction performed in step S209 is performed in step S207.
If it is determined that the help information extracted in step (1) is more advanced than the ability of the user, the central processing unit 1 instructs the ability level correction unit 10 to change the category level currently set for the user. If the extracted help information is determined to be simpler than the user's ability, the help level is adjusted to increase the category level by one, and the corrected skill level is adjusted. The table is stored in the capability level table storage means 53 in the external storage unit. At this time, the process returns to S207 to extract the help information that matches the user's ability level again.

When the extracted help information is satisfactory, the system is in a standby state until the next help information request from the user occurs. Here, the determination of the help information optimality in S208 is not limited to the specifying means, and the user may instruct the system only when the extracted help information is unsatisfactory.

Next, with respect to the category extraction in S206, a procedure of the above-described extraction that does not depend on the direct instruction of the user will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second category extraction processing sequence that does not depend on the direct instruction. The category extraction unit 81 transfers the user's category selection count table stored in the category selection count storage unit 52 to the program storage unit 4 (S40).
1). As shown in FIG. 10, the category selection count table is a table in which information on which category has been selected and how many times has been selected is managed for each user of the system. Next, the category names are displayed on the display unit 2 in the order of the number of times of selection in the category selection number table (S
402). This is based on the estimation that the category in which the number of selections by the user is large is preferred by the user. Next, the determination unit 82 asks the user whether the displayed category is the desired category (S).
403). The user inputs the answer through the input unit 3. If the category is not the desired category, the category is excluded from the target (S404), and this process is continued until the desired category is found. When a desired category is found, the number of times of selection of the category in the category selection frequency table is increased by one by the counting means 83 (S40).
5).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a third category extraction processing sequence. The category extracting means transfers the user's time zone category selection count table stored in the category selection circuit storage unit 52 to the program storage unit 4 (S501). As shown in FIG. 11, the category selection count table by time zone is a table in which the number of times of category selection by time zone is managed for each user. Next, the current time is read by the central processing unit 1,
A time zone corresponding to the time is determined in the category selection circuit table for each time zone.

For example, as a time zone (T1 to T6), T
1 → 9: 00 to 12:00, T2 → 12: 00 to 13:
00, T3 → 13: 00 to 15:00, T4 → 15: 00
0-18: 00, T5 → 18: 00-21: 00, T6
→ It is assumed that the time zone is set to 21:00 to 9:00. Here, if the time at which the help information request from the user occurs is "10:00 am", the time zone in the category selection count table by time zone is set to "T1".

In such a situation, in the time zone determined in step S502 in the time zone category selection frequency table, the category names are displayed on the display unit 2 in the descending order of the number of selection times (S503), and the determination unit 82 Thus, the user is asked whether the displayed category is the desired category (S504). User is input unit 3
If the answer is not the desired category, the category is excluded from the target (S505), and this process is continued until the desired category is found. When the desired category is found, the counting unit 83 increases the number of times of selection of the category by one in the corresponding time zone in the category selection number table (S506).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a fourth category extraction processing sequence. The extraction unit 81 transfers the category selection frequency table for each day of the user stored in the category selection circuit storage unit 52 to the program storage unit 4 (S601). As shown in FIG. 12, the category selection frequency table by day is a table in which the number of selections by category for each day is managed for each user. Next, the current date is read by the central processing unit 1, and the day of the week corresponding to the read date is determined in the category selection circuit table for each day of the week (S602).

For example, if the read date is August 2, 1999, the day of the week is "Monday". Subsequently, the central processing unit 1 displays the category names on the display unit 2 in the order of the number of selections on the day of the week determined in step E2 in the category selection number table for each day of the week, and the category displayed by the determination unit 82 is the desired one. The user is asked whether the category is to be performed (S604). The user inputs the answer from the input unit 3. If the category is not the desired category, the category is excluded from the target (S605).
This process continues until the desired category is found. When a desired category is found, the counting unit 83 increases the number of times of selection of the category by one in the corresponding time zone in the category selection number table (S606).

The summary of the features of the present invention, which is similar to the description of the embodiments, is as follows.

In presenting the help information, information for estimating the user's proficiency and preferences is collected in advance for each category (type of application software), and the ability level is calculated for each user and category. When there is a help request from the user, help information corresponding to the user's ability level for the category is extracted and presented. Further, the user can determine whether the presentation level is appropriate, and the presentation level can be corrected based on the determination.

Further, when a help request is received from the above-mentioned user, the category requested by the user is estimated based on the number of requests for the category that the user has requested so far.

Further, when the above-mentioned help request is made from the user, the category requested by the user is estimated based on the statistical information of the number of requested categories for each time zone.

Further, when a help request from the user is made, the category requested by the user is estimated based on statistical information on the number of requested categories for each day of the week.

The specific implementation of the external storage unit 5 includes a tape system such as a cassette or a magnetic tape as a recording medium, a magnetic disk such as an FD / HD, a CD-ROM / MO / MD / There are a disk system such as an optical disk such as a DVD and a card system such as an IC card / optical card, which may be any of them, and may be a semiconductor memory element in a replaceable form. Further, in addition to the above-described fixed holding or supporting medium as a recording medium, a program and data are fluidly held like a communication medium used for carrying the program and data in a communication network. It may be a medium. That is, it may be a form in which necessary programs or data are downloaded from an external communication network, or a form in which the program or data is installed from the electronic medium via an auxiliary storage device (not shown).

[0049]

According to the help function control system of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

Since the help information is provided based on the capability level table for each user and each application type uniquely created in the present invention, each system is assumed to run various application software. Estimate the proficiency level in the scene appropriately,
Since it was possible to provide feedback to the system as to whether or not the information provided was actually reasonable for the user, help information was always appropriate in accordance with the user's proficiency level after securing a certain level of usability from the beginning of use. Can be provided.

Also, by storing the history of the help information actually requested by the user for each application type and reflecting the history in the provision of the help information, it becomes possible to present the information as soon as the information provision is repeated every time. It is possible to provide a suitable help information control system that is in line with the actual needs. Furthermore, by managing the history storage according to the time zone and the day of the week when the help information is requested, it is possible to provide help information more suited to the usage form of the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a help function control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing sequence of the help function control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a category setting processing sequence of the help function control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a category setting processing sequence of the help function control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a category setting processing sequence of the help function control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a category setting processing sequence of the help function control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an internal structure of help information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of help information based on a specific category in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a specific capability level table in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a category selection number table in the help function control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a category selection count table for each time zone in the help function control system according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration example of a weekly category selection frequency table in the help function control system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Central processing unit (CPU) 2 Display unit 3 Input unit 4 Program storage unit 5 External storage unit 51 Help information storage unit 52 Category selection count storage unit 53 Ability level table storage unit 6 Help information extraction unit 7 Initial ability level determination unit 8 Category extraction unit 81 Extraction unit 82 Judgment unit 83 Counting unit 9 Help information optimality judgment unit 10 Ability level correction unit 99 Bus

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An information processing system for providing help information, comprising: help information storage means for storing help information classified by application software type and hierarchized according to the proficiency of each application software type; An initial ability level determining means for estimating the proficiency of each application software type for the user and determining the proficiency level as the user's ability level for each application software type; A help information extracting means for extracting help information adapted to the skill level of the user; a skill level correcting means for correcting the determined skill level; and a help request when the user requests help information. Level of the user corresponding to the application software type Control means for extracting help information based on the file from the help information extracting means and presenting it to the user, and receiving the instruction from the user and correcting the ability level by the ability level correcting means. Features a help function control system. 2. An information processing system for providing help information, wherein: a category selection frequency storage means for storing, in a table, a type of application software and the number of times of selection of help information relating to the type as a set of components; Rearranging means for rearranging the constituent records of the table; selecting means for selecting an application software type from the record contents rearranged by the rearranging means; and displaying help information corresponding to the selected application software type. Display means; determination means for determining whether the displayed help information meets user's request; counting means for counting the number of help information selections based on the determination; and a help request by the user. When there is a The application software type is selected by the selecting means in accordance with the order of the table, the help information corresponding to the application type is displayed by the display means, and the displayed help information received from the user is displayed by the user. A help function control system, comprising: control means for controlling the counting means to count the number of help information selections based on an instruction as to whether or not the request is satisfied. 3. The category selection number storage means stores in the table a type of application software and the number of selections by help time zone of the help information related to the type in a table, and the sorting means based on the number of selections. The configuration records of the table are rearranged for each use time zone, and when there is a help request from the user, the control unit performs the rearrangement of the table rearranged by the rearrangement unit in the time zone in which the request was made. The application software type is selected by the selection means in accordance with the order, the help information corresponding to the application type is displayed by the display means, and the displayed help information received from the user meets the user's request. Counting the number of help information selections by the counting means based on the instruction as to whether Claim 2 help function control system, wherein the controller controls so as to. 4. The category selection number storage means stores the type of application software and the number of selections by helping day of the help information relating to the type in a table as constituent elements, and the reordering means stores the number of selections based on the number of selections. Sorting of the constituent records of the table is performed for each use day of the week, and when there is a help request from the user, the control means, according to the order on the day of the week on which the request was made, of the table sorted by the sort means. The application software type is selected by the selection means, and the help information corresponding to the application type is displayed by the display means, and whether the displayed help information received from the user meets the user's request. In accordance with the instruction, the counting means counts the number of help information selections. Claim 2 or 3 help function control system, wherein the controlling.