JP7162827B2 - Question extraction device, question extraction method, and computer program for question extraction - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a question extracting device, a question extracting method, and a computer program for question extracting, for example, for supporting a help desk of a call center.

As a support for the conventional help desk, the Q&A case referred to by the client is stored together with the entered keyword (input keyword), and the Q&A example is stored for one input keyword recorded together with this Q&A case. The number of times each input keyword is stored is obtained for each Q&A example, and a predetermined number of input keywords are extracted as category candidates for each Q&A example in descending order of the number of times for each Q&A example, and the extracted category candidates are used. There has been proposed a system configured to associate categories and Q&A examples by using the Q&A (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).

JP 2012-198710 A

However, the above-mentioned conventional help desk support is merely categorized when creating a database of cases that are pairs of questions and answers, such as Q&A, and the help desk first responds to actual inquiries. As a measure that should be taken, there was no mechanism to improve convenience regarding accurately understanding and grasping the content of the inquiry. In other words, there is a problem that simply creating a database of presumed questions does not allow accurate and prompt derivation of questions that exactly match inquiries conveyed by various contents and expressions.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and provides a question extracting device, question extracting method, and computer program for question extracting that can accurately and promptly derive questions in response to an inquiry. intended to

A question extracting device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes:
A question extraction device for extracting a question in response to an inquiry,
FAQ information storage means for cross-categorizing a plurality of questions into a plurality of categories and storing FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with each of the plurality of categories;
search condition specifying means for specifying categories and keywords included in the FAQ information as search conditions;
question extracting means for extracting one or more corresponding questions from the FAQ information based on the search conditions specified by the search condition specifying means;
characterized by comprising

According to such a question extraction device, a plurality of questions are cross-classified into a plurality of categories, and FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with each of the plurality of categories is used as a database specialized for questions, A desired question can be extracted from the FAQ information by cross-designating categories and keywords as search conditions, so that the question corresponding to the inquiry can be accurately and quickly derived.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The search condition specifying means enables selection of one desired category from a plurality of categories, and enables selection of one keyword related to the one selected category, and when the one keyword is selected After that, it is possible to select other desired categories and to select other keywords related to the selected other categories, and the selected multiple categories and multiple keywords can be specified as a search condition.

According to such a configuration, the search conditions are narrowed down each time a category and a keyword are selected, and as a result, it is possible to extract questions that match the search conditions with a high degree of certainty.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The FAQ information includes main FAQ information in which a plurality of categories are cross-associated for each of a plurality of questions, and keywords related to each of the plurality of categories are associated by an identification code, and keywords related to each of the plurality of categories are identified. It is characterized by including sub-FAQ information that defines the correspondence with the code.

According to such a configuration, for example, when adding or deleting a keyword, it is only necessary to rewrite the keyword to be added or deleted for each main FAQ information or sub-FAQ information and its identification code. can be easily updated.

A question extraction method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes:
A question extraction method for extracting a question in response to an inquiry,
A FAQ information storage step of cross-categorizing a plurality of questions into a plurality of categories and storing FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with each of the plurality of categories;
a search condition specifying step for specifying categories and keywords included in the FAQ information as search conditions;
a question extracting step of extracting one or more corresponding questions from the FAQ information based on the search conditions specified by the search condition specifying step;
characterized by comprising

According to such a question extracting method, it is possible to accurately and quickly derive a question corresponding to an inquiry, like the question extracting device according to the first aspect.

A computer program for question extraction according to the third aspect of the present invention comprises:
A computer program for question extraction for extracting a question in response to an inquiry by a computer,
A program for functioning as FAQ information storage means for classifying a plurality of questions across a plurality of categories and storing FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with each of the plurality of categories;
a program for functioning as search condition specifying means for specifying categories and keywords included in the FAQ information as search conditions;
a program for functioning as question extracting means for extracting one or more corresponding questions from the FAQ information based on the search conditions specified by the search condition specifying means;
characterized by comprising

According to such a computer program for question extraction, the question extraction device according to the first aspect can be realized by a computer.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the question according to an inquiry can be derived accurately and rapidly.

It is a figure which shows the outline|summary of the question extraction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram showing functional blocks of a question extraction device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a main FAQ table applied to the question extracting device according to the embodiment of the present invention; It is a figure for demonstrating the sub FAQ table applied to the question extracting device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the search condition input screen displayed on the operator terminal device of the question extraction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the search result display screen displayed on the operator terminal device of the question extraction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of question extraction processing executed by the server of the question extraction device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, with reference to an accompanying drawing, the form (henceforth, embodiment) for implementing this invention is demonstrated in detail. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar components throughout the description of the embodiments.

First, an overview of the question extracting device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a question extracting device. The question extracting apparatus according to the present embodiment enables the operators Y1 to Y3 in charge of the call center help desk to accurately understand the meaning and content of inquiries from users X1 and X2 by telephone 100 or computer 200. and is configured to extract and present the most probable question in response to the inquiry from a plurality of presupposed standard questions. In addition, on the telephone 100, inquiries and responses to them are transmitted by voice between the user X1 and the operators Y1 to Y3. Inquiries and correspondence are exchanged by text message via the software.

As shown in FIG. 1, the question extracting device is constructed as a client-server system in a call center, for example, and includes a server 1 having a database function and an operator terminal device 2 connected to the server 1 as a client. Operators Y1 to Y3 exchange voice and text messages with users X1 and X2 through an extension telephone device connected to a private branch exchange or an operator terminal device 2 connected to a server 1 that also functions as a web server. exchange.

A database server having a database management function is applied to the server 1 . A computer having a client function capable of exchanging various information with the server 1 is applied to the operator terminal device 2 .

The server 1 manages an FAQ database (hereinafter referred to as "FAQDB"), which will be described later, refers to the FAQDB in response to an operation request from the operator terminal device 2, and transmits data corresponding to the operation request to the operator terminal device 2. send to The FAQDB can be access-managed as records in which standard questions assumed in response to various inquiries are associated with categories and keywords. The server 1 mainly has a function of searching the FAQDB, and also has a function of rewriting or deleting the contents of the FAQDB.

The operator terminal device 2 is used to first access the FAQDB and search for questions that seem to match the inquiries from the users X1 and X2 so that the operators Y1 to Y3 can obtain appropriate answers to the inquiries. be done. The operator terminal device 2 has a keyboard and a mouse as input operation means, and a display device for displaying a search condition input screen and a search result display screen, which will be described later, as display means.

Next, the functional configuration of the question extraction device will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing functional blocks of the question extraction device.

The question extracting device comprises a server 1 and a plurality of operator terminal devices 2 . The question extracting device may be composed only of a stand-alone computer having both functions of the server and the operator terminal device of this embodiment.

The server 1 comprises FAQ information storage means 10 , question extraction means 11 and communication means 12 .

The FAQ information storage means 10 stores FAQDB as a lookup table. The FAQDB mainly consists of a main FAQ table shown in FIG. 3 and a sub-FAQ table shown in FIG. The question extracting means 11 extracts a corresponding question as a search result according to the search condition from the records of the FAQDB. The communication means 12 receives search conditions specified by the operator terminal device 2 and returns questions extracted by the question extraction means 11 to the operator terminal device 2 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the main FAQ table includes a plurality of questions displayed as search results, a plurality of answers associated with each question and displayed together with the question as search results, and each Multiple categories that can be categorized cross-sectionally (perhaps overlapping) and specified as one element of search conditions (e.g., product, purpose, image, software, part, equipment, setting, function, trouble, error, accessory) , communication, etc.) and keywords associated with the question that are associated with the category for each question and that can be specified as one element of the search condition. That is, each question spans multiple categories and is associated (linked) with multiple keywords and stored for each record. In the main FAQ table, keywords related to each category are associated with a keyword code (hereinafter referred to as "KW code") as an index.

As shown in part in FIG. 4, the sub-FAQ table is configured for each category. For example, in the sub-FAQ table corresponding to the product category, keywords "A10", "A100", "A300", and "A900" are associated with product KW codes 1 to 4, and correspond to the target category. In the sub-FAQ table, the purpose KW codes 1 to 3 are associated with keywords such as "usage and procedure", "troubleshooting method", and "product specifications". The same applies to the sub-FAQ tables corresponding to other categories, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

According to such main FAQ table and sub-FAQ table, when one keyword belonging to one category is specified as a search condition, one or more questions associated with the category and keyword are indexed to the KW code. , and these questions and corresponding answers are displayed as search results. In a state in which multiple questions are displayed as search results in this way, if other keywords belonging to other categories are specified as search conditions, the other categories and other keywords from among the displayed questions Also corresponding questions are narrowed down, and more accurate questions and answers are displayed as search results.

The operator terminal device 2 includes input operation means 20 , display means 21 , control means 22 and communication means 23 .

The input operation means 20 is used when specifying (selecting) search conditions and operating the screen. The display means 21 displays a search condition input screen shown in FIG. 5 or displays a search result display screen shown in FIG. The control means 22 controls the input operation means 20 , the display means 21 and the communication means 23 . Communication means 23 transmits specified search conditions to server 1 and receives questions extracted by server 1 .

As shown in FIG. 5, on the search condition input screen, items corresponding to the categories are "product name", "things you want me to teach you", "types of images", "things you want to do about camera functions", "Errors/Messages", "Camera Settings", "Software and Applications", "Camera Parts", "Communication Issues", "Camera Accessories", "Devices Other Than Cameras", " A search keyword specification field such as "other requirements" is displayed, and a "search" button is displayed. When one search keyword specification field is selected, a plurality of corresponding keywords are displayed as selection candidates by a pull-down menu, and when one keyword is selected from the displayed keywords, the selected keyword is displayed in the search keyword specification field. be. Furthermore, when another search keyword specification field is selected, a plurality of corresponding keywords are displayed as selection candidates by a pull-down menu, and when another keyword is selected from the displayed keywords, the selected keyword is displayed in the search keyword specification field. Is displayed. In such a state, when the "search" button is clicked, a search result display screen shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later, is displayed.

In addition, on the search condition input screen, a log input column and a "memo" button are displayed for specifically storing the contents of the inquiry response as a memo log. The memo log written in the log entry field is saved in the FAQ information storage means 10 of the server 1 . The memo log thus saved is used, for example, by data mining to create correspondence between new questions and keywords, or to delete unnecessary keywords. When new correspondence between questions and keywords is recorded in the FAQDB as records, the questions and keywords and the corresponding new KW codes and answers are added to the main FAQ table and sub-FAQ table. For keywords, it is only necessary to add the KW code to the sub-FAQ table of the corresponding category and add the same KW code to the main FAQ table. Content can be easily updated.

As shown in FIG. 6, the search result display screen is displayed when a keyword is selected in the search keyword specification field corresponding to one or more categories and the "search" button is clicked. As an example, FIG. 6 shows the results of a search performed by selecting "A10" as the product name and "How to use and procedure" as the information to be taught, and using these as search conditions. Questions associated with these keywords are displayed outside the drawing, and the operators Y1 to Y3 can confirm the displayed questions by scrolling or the like. At this time, the remaining number of questions corresponding to those keywords is displayed at the end of the title of other categories that have related keywords, and other keywords are selected in the search keyword specification field corresponding to other categories. It is possible. On the other hand, at the end of titles of other categories that do not have related keywords, the remaining number of questions corresponding to those keywords is displayed as 0. Then, the search keyword designation fields of other categories for which the remaining number of such questions is 0 are grayed out and cannot be selected. As a result, the operators Y1 to Y3 can focus on other categories that are not grayed out and easily select other keywords from the other categories as search conditions for further narrowing down. Therefore, such a search result display screen is also used as a search condition input screen. Even if the "Search" button is not clicked, if the number of extracted questions is within 10, for example, the extracted questions are displayed according to the scrolling operation, etc., and the remaining number of questions is displayed. Other categories with 0 are grayed out in the search keyword specification field.

The functional configuration of the apparatus described above is merely an example, and one functional block (database and functional processing unit) may be divided, or a plurality of functional blocks may be collectively configured as one functional block. Each functional processing unit is a computer program (for example, , core software, etc.) and is implemented by a computer program executed by the CPU. That is, each functional processing unit reads and writes necessary data such as a table from a database (Data Base) stored in a storage device and a storage area on a memory, It is realized by controlling hardware (for example, an input/output device, a display device, a communication interface device). In addition, the database (DB) in the embodiment of the present invention may be a commercial database, but it also means a mere collection of tables and files, and the internal structure of the database itself does not matter.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7, the question extracting process executed by the server 1 of the question extracting apparatus will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing question extraction processing.

First, in step S1, the server 1 causes the display means 21 of the operator terminal device 2 to display the search condition input screen of FIG.

Next, in step S2, the server 1 selects one category (for example, "product name", "what you want me to teach you", etc.) displayed on the search condition input screen in the search keyword specification field, and the search keyword is associated with that category. It is determined whether or not a desired keyword has been designated (selected) from a plurality of keyword candidates. If a keyword is specified (step S2: YES), the server 1 proceeds to next step S3. If no keyword is specified (step S2: NO), the server 1 repeats the process of step S2 until a keyword is specified.

Next, in step S3, the server 1 extracts a question corresponding to the keyword of the designated category from the FAQDB, and causes the display means 21 of the operator terminal device 2 to display the question together with the search result display screen of FIG.

Next, in step S4, the server 1 selects a plurality of keywords associated with other categories in the search keyword specification fields of categories other than the one category for which the keyword is specified on the search condition input screen. It is determined whether or not another desired keyword has been specified (selected) from the candidates. If another keyword is designated (step S4: YES), the server 1 proceeds to the next step S5. If no other keyword is specified (step S4: NO), the server 1 proceeds to step S6.

Next, in step S5, the server 1 extracts, from among the questions extracted so far, only questions corresponding to other keywords in other designated categories, and narrows down the questions to the operator terminal device. 2 together with the search result display screen of FIG.

Next, in step S6, the server 1 determines whether or not the operator Y1 to Y3 has selected a desired question from the questions displayed in response to the acquisition request from the operator terminal device 2. FIG. If the desired question is selected (step S6: YES), the server 1 proceeds to next step S7. If the desired question is not selected (step S6: NO), the server 1 returns to step S4.

Next, in step S7, the server 1 acquires an answer sentence corresponding to the selected question from the FAQDB, and causes the display means 21 of the operator terminal device 2 to display it.

According to this question extraction process, the operators Y1 to Y3 can cross-select a desired keyword across a plurality of categories from the search condition input screen and the search result display screen. The more keywords there are, the more targeted questions can be narrowed down and presented. Therefore, questions that are thought to exactly match the inquiries from users X1 and X2 can be derived accurately and quickly.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Moreover, it is clear from the description of the scope of the claims that the forms with such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in response to an inquiry request from the user's computer via the Internet, it is possible to display the search condition input screen and the search result display screen on the user's computer on demand, and to present the extracted questions and answers directly to the user's computer. A question extraction system via the Internet may be constructed.

Keywords to be registered in the FAQDB may be idiomatic sentences as well as words and their combinations.

In addition, when the number of extracted questions reaches a large number, such as several thousand, the operator can enter any keyword that comes to mind as a search condition without being bound by a category, and narrow down the desired questions accordingly. may be made possible.

1 server 10 FAQ DB (FAQ information storage means)
11 question extraction means 12 communication means 2 operator terminal device (search condition specifying means)
20 input operation means 21 display means 22 control means 23 communication means

Claims (5)

A question extraction device for extracting a question in response to an inquiry,
FAQ information storage means for classifying a plurality of questions across a plurality of categories and storing FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with classifications related to each category;
search condition specifying means for displaying categories and keywords included in the FAQ information on a display means and specifying categories and keywords as search conditions from among the displayed categories;
question extracting means for extracting one or more corresponding questions from the FAQ information based on the search conditions specified by the search condition specifying means;
A question extracting device, characterized by comprising: The search condition specifying means enables selection of one desired category from a plurality of categories, and enables selection of one keyword related to the one selected category, and when the one keyword is selected After that, it is possible to select other desired categories and to select other keywords related to the selected other categories, and the selected multiple categories and multiple keywords 2. The question extracting device according to claim 1, wherein is specified as a search condition. The FAQ information includes main FAQ information in which a plurality of categories are cross-associated for each of a plurality of questions, and keywords related to each of the plurality of categories are associated by an identification code, and keywords related to each of the plurality of categories are identified. 3. The question extracting device according to claim 1, further comprising sub-FAQ information defining a correspondence relationship with the code. A question extraction method for extracting a question in response to an inquiry,
A FAQ information storage step of classifying a plurality of questions across a plurality of categories and storing FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with the classification of each category;
a search condition specifying step for displaying categories and keywords included in the FAQ information on a display means and specifying categories and keywords as search conditions from among the displayed categories;
a question extracting step of extracting one or more corresponding questions from the FAQ information based on the search conditions specified by the search condition specifying step;
A question extraction method, characterized by comprising: A computer program for question extraction for extracting a question in response to an inquiry by a computer,
A program for functioning as FAQ information storage means for classifying a plurality of questions across a plurality of categories and storing FAQ information in which related keywords are associated with classifications related to each category;
A program for displaying categories and keywords included in the FAQ information on a display means and functioning as search condition specifying means for specifying categories and keywords as search conditions from the displayed items;
a program for functioning as question extracting means for extracting one or more corresponding questions from the FAQ information based on the search conditions specified by the search condition specifying means;
A computer program for question extraction, characterized in that it comprises:

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