JP7481567B1 - Application management system, application management device, application management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To improve user convenience by arranging icons of multiple mini-applications in positions suitable for the user. [Solution] An application management system comprising: a first device that acquires, for each of multiple mini-applications, first information indicating total sales of a product or service and second information indicating the number of times selected by a user, and generates ranking information indicating a ranking of the multiple mini-applications based on the first and second information, a second device that acquires icon images of each of the multiple mini-applications ranked highly based on the ranking information, and a third device that instructs a user terminal device to display the icon images in accordance with the ranking information. [Selected Figure] Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to an application management device, an application management system, an application management method, and a program.

Conventionally, mini-applications are known that are installed in a user terminal device used by a user and are activated in response to the user's operation. For example, Patent Literature 1 proposes a user terminal device that displays icons of multiple mini-applications on a display unit.

JP 2019-519838 A

However, the user terminal device described in Patent Document 1 cannot change the positions of multiple mini-application icons depending on the user's usage of the mini-applications, which can be inconvenient for the user.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these circumstances, and one of its objectives is to provide an application management system, application management device, application management method, and program that can improve convenience for users by arranging icons of multiple mini-applications in positions that are suitable for the user.

One aspect of the present invention is an application management system capable of communicating with a user terminal device on which multiple mini-applications are installed and used by a user, the application management system comprising: a first device that acquires, for each of the multiple mini-applications, first information indicating total sales of a product or service and second information indicating the number of times the mini-application has been selected by the user, and generates ranking information indicating a ranking of the multiple mini-applications based on the first information and the second information; a second device that acquires icon images of each of the multiple mini-applications that are ranked highly based on the ranking information; and a third device that instructs the user terminal device to display the icon images in accordance with the ranking information.

According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an application management system, an application management device, an application management method, and a program that can improve convenience for users by arranging icons of multiple mini-applications in positions suitable for the user.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a general flow of electronic payment. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of user information 172. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen of a payment application 20. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the application management system. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of total sales information 81. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of selection count information 82. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of ranking information 83. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of icon information 84. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the application management system when an error E1 occurs. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the application management system when an error E2 occurs. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of an application management device 400 according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a process executed by the application management device 400.

Below, with reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the application management system, application management device, application management method, and program of the present invention will be described. Various devices for providing services to users and performing internal analysis, such as the "server" that will be mentioned below, may be realized by a group of distributed devices, and each device may be operated by a different business operator. Furthermore, the owner of the hardware of the device (the cloud server provider) and the business operator that actually operates the device may also be different. An electronic payment service is a service that supports payments related to the purchase of goods and services at a store. A store is, for example, a physical store (real store) that exists in the real world, but may also include a virtual store for electronic commerce. The virtual store may include one provided by an entity other than the operator of the electronic payment service. In that case, when making a payment for shopping at a virtual store, the screen is controlled to transition to an interface screen of the electronic payment service. In an electronic payment service, a store is treated as belonging to, for example, an affiliated store (brand), and processing such as payment when a purchase is made at a store is mainly performed between the user and the affiliated store. Alternatively, processing such as payment may be performed between the user and the store.

First Embodiment
[Electronic payment service]
1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service. The electronic payment service is realized mainly by a payment server 100. The payment server 100 communicates with, for example, one or more user terminal devices 200, one or more first store terminal devices 50, and one or more second store terminal devices 70 via a network NW. The network NW includes, for example, the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a wireless base station, a provider device, and the like.

The user terminal device 200 is, for example, a portable terminal device such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The user terminal device 200 is a computer device having at least an optical reading function, a communication function, a display function, an input acceptance function, and a program execution function. In the following description, the components for realizing these functions are respectively referred to as a camera, a communication device, a touch panel, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), etc. In the user terminal device 200, a payment application (hereinafter referred to as a payment app) 20 is executed by a processor such as a CPU, and the user terminal device 200 operates to provide electronic payment services to users in cooperation with the payment server 100. The payment app 20 is, for example, installed in the user terminal device 200 from an application store, and controls the camera, communication device, touch panel, etc.

The first store terminal device 50 is installed, for example, in a store. The first store terminal device 50 is a computer device having at least a product price acquisition function, an optical reading function, a program execution function, and a communication function. The first store terminal device 50 includes a so-called POS (Point of Sale) device, and the product price acquisition function and the optical reading function may be realized by the POS device. The store code image 60 is placed in the store, and is a code image such as a QR code (registered trademark) printed on a paper or plastic medium. The store code image 60 may be displayed on a display placed in the store (which may be the display of a terminal device such as a smartphone).

The second store terminal device 70 is used by the operator of the affiliated store. The second store terminal device 70 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, etc. An interface 72 for affiliated stores runs on the second store terminal device 70. The interface 72 for affiliated stores may be an app for affiliated stores or a browser. The interface 72 for affiliated stores accepts coupon settings and the like made by the operator of the affiliated store and transmits them to the payment server 100. The second store terminal device 70, which is a smartphone, has the function of displaying a code image equivalent to a store code image and reading a code image displayed by the user terminal device 200 by executing the app for affiliated stores.

The payment server 100 realizes electronic payment based on payment information received from the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50. The first store terminal device 50 may include a POS device and an affiliated store server, in which case the payment information is sent from the POS device to the payment server 100 via the affiliated store server. In the following explanation, no distinction is made between these two, and it is assumed that the payment information is sent from the first store terminal device 50.

The first device 300-1, the second device 300-2, and the third device 300-3 are computers that constitute an application management system, and communicate with other devices via the network NW. The first device 300-1, the second device 300-2, and the third device 300-3 will be described in detail later.

Figures 2 and 3 are sequence diagrams illustrating the general flow of electronic payment. There may be two patterns for electronic payment: pattern 1 and pattern 2.

In the case of pattern 1 (hereinafter referred to as user scan) shown in FIG. 2, the user terminal device 200 with the payment application 20 activated decodes the store code image 60 by the optical reading function (S1). The store code image 60 includes store URL (Uniform Resource Locator) information. This store URL is the domain of the electronic payment service to which information capable of identifying the store is added, and is associated with the affiliated store ID, store ID, etc. in the payment server 100 (described later). The payment application 20 transmits the first payment information including the store URL and the account ID to the payment server 100 (S2). The payment server 100 searches for store information (described later) from the affiliated store ID and store ID corresponding to the store URL, acquires the affiliated store name and store name information (S3), and transmits it to the payment application 20 (S4). The user inputs the payment amount into the user terminal device 200 on the screen on which the affiliated store name and store name are displayed (S5). Then, the user terminal device 200 generates second payment information including at least the payment amount and transmits it to the payment server 100 (S6). The payment server 100 performs electronic payment based on the received second payment information (S7). The payment server 100 then transmits a payment completion notice (information for displaying a payment completion screen) to the payment application 20 (S8), and the payment application 20 displays the payment completion screen (S9). Note that when the store code image 60 is displayed on a display installed in the store, the store code image 60 may include not only the store URL but also information on the payment amount. In this case, the procedure in which the user inputs the payment amount is omitted, and the first payment information is transmitted to the payment server 100 with the information on the payment amount included. Information on the affiliated store name and store name may be included and displayed on the payment completion screen.

In the case of pattern 2 (hereinafter referred to as store scan) shown in FIG. 3, when the payment app 20 is started, when a payment operation is performed in the payment app 20, when the automatic update timing (for example, every minute) occurs, and at other timings, the payment app 20 sends a request to issue a one-time code to the payment server 100 (S11). The payment server 100 generates a one-time code (S12) and sends it to the payment app 20 (S13). The payment app 20 displays a code image such as a QR code or a barcode generated based on the one-time code (S14). The user holds (presents) the display surface of the user terminal device 200 over the first store terminal device 50, and the first store terminal device 50 decodes the code image using an optical reading function and obtains the one-time code, etc. (S15). Then, the first store terminal device 50 generates payment information including the one-time code, payment amount, affiliated store ID, store ID, etc., and sends it to the payment server 100 (S16). The payment amount information is acquired in advance by reading a barcode or manually entering it. Based on the received information, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the one-time code and performs electronic payment (S17). The payment server 100 then sends a payment completion notice to the payment application 20 (S18), and the payment application 20 displays a payment completion screen (S19).

Note that electronic payment may be made using only one of the above patterns. Furthermore, the "account ID" described in FIG. 2 may be other information (e.g., a phone number) that can be used as user identification information. Furthermore, issuance of a one-time code may be omitted in the store scan, and the payment app 20 may display a code image generated based on the user's account ID. In that case, the payment server 100 identifies the user corresponding to the account ID instead of identifying the user corresponding to the one-time code.

[Payment server]
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the payment server 100 according to the first embodiment. The payment server 100 includes, for example, a communication unit 110, a payment content providing unit 120, a payment processing unit 130, an information management unit 140, and a storage unit 170. The components other than the communication unit 110 and the storage unit 170 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device (storage device having a non-transient storage medium) such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, or may be stored in a removable storage medium (non-transient storage medium) such as a DVD or a CD-ROM, and may be installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

The storage unit 170 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The storage unit 170 may be a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device that the payment server 100 can access via a network. The storage unit 170 stores information such as user information 172, payment content information 174, affiliated store/shop information 176, etc.

The communication unit 110 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 110 is, for example, a network interface card.

The payment content providing unit 120 has, for example, a web server function, and provides information (content) for displaying various screens of the electronic payment service to the user terminal device 200. The payment content providing unit 120 reads out necessary content from the payment content information 174 as appropriate and provides it to the user terminal device 200. The user terminal device 200 accepts various inputs by the user while the content is being played by the payment application 20, and transmits the above-mentioned payment information, etc. to the payment server 100.

The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing based on the payment information transmitted by the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50. The payment processing unit 130 performs payment processing while referring to the user information 172.

5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the user information 172. The user information 172 is an example of the registration information of a user. The user information 172 is, for example, a user URL, an account ID, a telephone number, a password, as well as information associated with an email address, a user ID, a name, an address, a gender, a date of birth, a registration date, a charge balance, a deferred payment setting, a deferred payment limit, a deferred payment usage amount, a deferred payment available amount, a payment method setting, a bank account, a credit card number, a charge history information, and a payment history information. The user URL is used for a remittance process between users. When registering for the electronic payment service, it is necessary to register a telephone number and a password. The account ID is issued to the user by the payment server 100, and the user ID is an ID that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The email address, the name, the address, and the date of birth are also information that can be set by the user at will (does not have to be set). The registration date is the date on which the user registered for the electronic payment service (the date on which the account was created). Hereinafter, the user instance (electronic payment account) to which this information is associated will be referred to as an account.

The charge balance is information indicating the balance of electronic money that is set by the user by transferring money to the account in advance. The means of transfer include transfer from an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) of a designated company (bank) and transfer from a registered bank account. The deferred payment setting is information indicating whether or not the setting for enabling electronic payment by deferred payment has been completed, and is set to either "completed" or "not completed." The deferred payment limit is the limit of deferred payment that can be used each month, the deferred payment usage amount is the amount of deferred payment that has already been used in the current month, and the available deferred payment amount is the amount of deferred payment that can be used in the current month, which is calculated by subtracting the deferred payment usage amount from the deferred payment limit. In the figure, only one deferred payment limit is shown, but in reality, there is also a daily upper limit, and the lower of these may be set as the deferred payment limit. Further details of deferred payment will be described later. The payment method setting is setting information indicating whether the user will make electronic payment using the charge balance or payment by deferred payment at that time. The bank account and credit card number are information on a bank account or credit card number (account number, card number) that can be used to deposit funds into an electronic payment service. The charge history information is a history of the user's previous transfers to the electronic payment service to increase the charge balance. The payment history information is information that indicates the details of payments made by the user for each payment (date and time, store ID of the store where the purchase was made, payment amount, payment method, etc.).

Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of affiliated store/store information 176. Affiliated store/store information 176 includes, for example, a first table 176A in which an affiliated store ID and a store ID are associated with a store URL, a second table 176B in which an affiliated store name and sales amount are associated with an affiliated store ID, and a third table 176C in which a store name is associated with a store ID. In addition to this information, affiliated store/store information 176 may also include information such as the affiliated store or store category, the store's location, and payment patterns.

The information management unit 140 manages the user information 172 and the affiliated store/store information 176 based on information acquired from the user terminal device 200 and the second store terminal device 70. The information management unit 140 adds new records, edits, deletes, etc., for the user information 172 and the affiliated store/store information 176.

[Electronic Payment]
When payment information is obtained from the user terminal device 200 or the first store terminal device 50, the payment processing unit 130 refers to the user information 172 to obtain the "payment method setting" of the user. For a user whose "payment method setting" is set to "charge balance", the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment as follows. For example, the payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment by decreasing the charge balance managed in association with the user ID and increasing the item value of the affiliated store's sales. The item value of the affiliated store's sales is not used as electronic money itself, for example, but an amount corresponding to the item value of the sales is transferred to a bank account in a cycle according to an agreement between the affiliated store and the electronic payment service.

The payment processing unit 130 performs electronic payment for users whose "setting information" is set to "deferred payment" as follows. Deferred payment is set separately from "credit payment" in cooperation with a credit card company, which is a separate entity from the operator of the electronic payment service, and the operator of the electronic payment service acts as the creditor and allows electronic payment that is not dependent on the charge balance within the deferred payment limit. In order to receive the deferred payment service, it may be required to obtain a credit card provided by the operator of the electronic payment service. The amount used for deferred payment is settled on the payment date of the following month in a lump sum for one month, for example, by debiting from a bank account. In this case, the payment processing unit 130 performs provisional payment by adding the payment amount to the deferred payment amount and subtracting the same amount from the available deferred payment amount, and when the closing date comes, it performs processing to debit the payment for the current month on the payment date of the following month as described above, or requests the operator of the credit card company to perform such processing. In addition, if the payment amount exceeds the available deferred payment amount at the time of provisional payment, an error notification is returned to the payment application 20.

[Home Screen]
Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a home screen of the payment application 20. As shown in Fig. 7, the home screen of the payment application 20 includes areas A1, A2, and A3. Area A1 displays code images such as barcodes and QR codes (registered trademarks) used in smartphone payments. Area A2 displays icons for instructing main operations in smartphone payments such as charging and scanning. Area A3 displays various icons for launching various mini applications (hereinafter referred to as mini applications) that can be executed by the payment application 20.

Specifically, 12 icons IC1 to IC12 are displayed in area A3. Icons IC1 to IC10 are icons for launching mini-apps. When a user selects (tap) any of icons IC1 to IC10, the payment app 20 launches the mini-app corresponding to the selected icon. Icon IC11 is a favorite icon. When a user selects (tap) icon IC11, the payment app 20 displays a favorite screen on the display unit of the user terminal device 200 to display a list of favorite mini-apps preset by the user. Icon IC12 is a function list icon. When a user selects (tap) icon IC12, the payment app 20 displays a function list screen on the display unit of the user terminal device 200 to display a list of all mini-apps.

The icons IC1 to IC10 displayed in area A3 are rearranged based on ranking information generated for each user. Details of the ranking information will be described later. The icon image of the mini-app ranked 1st is displayed as icon IC1, the icon image of the mini-app ranked 2nd is displayed as icon IC2, ... and the icon image of the mini-app ranked 10th is displayed as icon IC10. In this way, icons IC1 to IC10 are rearranged so that icon images of mini-apps ranked higher are displayed preferentially. Note that icons of mini-apps ranked 11th or lower are not displayed in area A3, but are displayed on the function list screen that is displayed when the user taps icon IC12.

[Operation of the Application Management System]
8 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the application management system. The application management system of the present embodiment includes first device 300-1, second device 300-2, third device 300-3, payment application 20, database DB1, database DB2, database DB3, and database DB4.

Databases DB1 and DB2 are storage devices including a HDD, flash memory, etc. Databases DB1 and DB2 may be incorporated in first device 300-1, or may be provided as devices separate from first device 300-1. Database DB1 stores total sales amount information 81 (first information), and database DB2 stores number of selections information 82 (second information).

Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of total sales information 81. Total sales information 81 is information indicating the total sales of products or services for each of multiple mini apps. As shown in Figure 9, total sales information 81 includes an app ID, an app name, and total sales. The app ID is identification information for identifying the mini app. The app name is information indicating the name of the mini app. Total sales is information indicating the total sales of the mini app. Total sales may be, for example, GMV (Gross Merchandise Value). Total sales information 81 may be information stored in advance in database DB1 by the operating company of the mini app.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of selection count information 82. Selection count information 82 is information indicating the number of times each of a plurality of mini apps has been selected (tapped or clicked) by the user. As shown in Figure 10, selection count information 82 includes a user ID, an app ID, and the number of selections. The user ID is identification information for identifying the user. The app ID is identification information for identifying the mini app, similar to Figure 9. The selection count is information indicating the number of times the mini app has been selected from the payment app 20.

The selection count information 82 may be updated by the database DB2. For example, when a user selects any mini app from the home screen of the payment app 20, the user terminal device 200 may send selection information to the database DB2 as shown in FIG. 8. The selection information is information including the user ID of the user who selected the mini app and the app ID of the selected mini app. The database DB2 may update the selection count information 82 based on the selection information received from the user terminal device 200. For example, when the database DB2 receives selection information from the user terminal device 200, it may add 1 to the selection count associated with the user ID and app ID included in the selection information.

The first device 300-1 acquires total sales information 81 from database DB1, and acquires number of selections information 82 from database DB2. The first device 300-1 also generates ranking information 83 indicating the ranking of multiple mini-apps based on the total sales information 81 and database DB2. For example, the first device 300-1 may generate ranking information 83 every predetermined period (e.g., one month).

The first device 300-1 generates ranking information 83 such that the greater the total sales of a mini app, the higher the ranking, and the more frequently a mini app is selected, the higher the ranking. For example, the first device 300-1 may calculate, for each mini app, a first score that increases the greater the total sales, and a second score that increases the greater the number of times a mini app is selected, and generate a ranking of mini apps in which the greater the sum of the first score and the second score, the higher the mini app will be.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of ranking information 83. Ranking information 83 is information indicating the ranking of multiple mini apps. As shown in Figure 11, ranking information 83 includes a rank, an app ID, and an app name. The rank is information indicating the rank of a mini app. The app ID is identification information for identifying a mini app, similar to Figures 9 and 10. The app name is information indicating the name of a mini app, similar to Figure 9.

In the example shown in FIG. 11, the ranking information 83 includes mini-apps ranked 1st through 10th, but does not include mini-apps ranked 11th and onward, but this is not limited to this. Ranking information 83 only needs to include information on mini-apps equal to or greater than the number of mini-app icons that can be displayed on the home screen of payment app 20 (FIG. 7).

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 8, the first device 300-1 stores the generated ranking information 83 in the database DB3. The database DB3 is a storage device including a HDD, a flash memory, and the like. The database DB3 may be incorporated in the first device 300-1, or may be provided as a device separate from the first device 300-1.

The first device 300-1 generates ranking information 83 for each user. Therefore, the ranking information 83 is stored in the database DB3 (first storage device) in a state linked to the user ID.

On the other hand, when a user launches the payment app 20 using the user terminal device 200, the payment app 20 displays the home screen shown in FIG. 7 on the display unit of the user terminal device 200. At this time, the payment app 20 sends an icon request to the third device 300-3 to request an icon of a mini-app to be displayed on the home screen. The icon request includes the user ID of the user who uses the user terminal device 200.

When the third device 300-3 receives an icon request from the user terminal device 200, it transmits the icon request to the second device 300-2. In response to receiving the icon request from the third device 300-3, the second device 300-2 acquires icon images of each of the multiple top-ranked mini-apps based on the ranking information 83.

Specifically, the second device 300-2 obtains, from the database DB3, ranking information 83 corresponding to the user ID included in the icon request received from the third device 300-3. The second device 300-2 also obtains, from the database DB4 (second storage device), icon images corresponding to the app IDs of the mini apps ranked 1st to 10th in the obtained ranking information 83.

The database DB4 is a storage device including a HDD, a flash memory, etc. The database DB4 may be incorporated in the second device 300-2, or may be provided as a device separate from the second device 300-2. The database DB4 stores icon information 84.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of icon information 84. Icon information 84 is information that indicates icon images of multiple mini apps. As shown in Figure 12, icon information 84 includes an app ID and an icon image. The app ID is identification information for identifying a mini app, similar to Figures 9 to 11. The icon image is information that indicates the image of the icon of the mini app. For example, the icon image may be an address where the icon image is stored.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 8, the second device 300-2 obtains, from the database DB4, icon images corresponding to the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th included in the ranking information 83 obtained from the third device 300-3. For example, the second device 300-2 may transmit the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th to the database DB4, and the database DB4 may obtain icon images corresponding to the app IDs received from the second device 300-2 based on the icon information 84, and transmit the obtained icon images to the second device 300-2.

The second device 300-2 then transmits the ranking information 83 acquired from database DB3 and the icon image acquired from database DB4 to the third device 300-3. The third device 300-3 also instructs the user terminal device 200 to display the icon image in accordance with the ranking information 83. Specifically, the third device 300-3 transmits the ranking information 83 and the icon image received from the second device 300-2 to the user terminal device 200.

The user terminal device 200 displays the home screen (Figure 7) of the payment app 20 based on the ranking information 83 and icon images received from the third device 300-3. Specifically, the icon image of the mini-app ranked first is displayed as icon IC1, the icon image of the mini-app ranked second is displayed as icon IC2, ... and the icon image of the mini-app ranked tenth is displayed as icon IC10. As a result, the icon images of the top-ranked mini-apps are preferentially displayed on the home screen of the payment app 20.

In this way, the application management system of this embodiment can improve convenience for users by arranging icons of multiple mini apps in positions that are suitable for the user.

[Operation when error E1 occurs]
13 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the application management system when an error E1 occurs. In the example shown in FIG. 13, it is shown that the second device 300-2 was unable to acquire the ranking information 83 from the database DB3 due to the occurrence of an error E1 such as a communication error. If the second device 300-2 is unable to acquire the ranking information 83 from the database DB3, it will be unable to acquire an icon image based on the ranking from the database DB4. In this case, the user terminal device 200 will be unable to acquire an icon image based on the ranking, and will be unable to display the icon image of the mini-app on the home screen of the payment application 20.

To avoid such problems, default ranking information 85 is stored in advance in database DB4. For example, the default ranking information 85 may be generated based on the customer lifetime value (LTV: Life Time Value), the number of unique users (UU: Unique User), the conversion rate (CVR: Conversion Rate), and the profit amount (Profit) for each mini app. The default ranking information 85 has the same data structure as the ranking information 83.

The second device 300-2 sends a ranking request to the database DB3 to obtain ranking information 83. The ranking request includes the user ID of the user using the user terminal device 200. If the second device 300-2 is unable to obtain the ranking information 83 even after a predetermined time has elapsed since sending the ranking request to the database DB3, it determines that an error E1 has occurred. In this case, the second device 300-2 obtains default ranking information 85 from the database DB4 instead of the ranking information 83.

The second device 300-2 obtains, from the database DB4, icon images corresponding to the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th that are included in the default ranking information 85 obtained from the database DB4. For example, the second device 300-2 may transmit the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th to the database DB4, and the database DB4 may obtain icon images corresponding to the app IDs received from the second device 300-2 based on the icon information 84, and transmit the obtained icon images to the second device 300-2.

The second device 300-2 then transmits the default ranking information 85 and icon image acquired from database DB4 to the third device 300-3. The third device 300-3 also instructs the user terminal device 200 to display the icon image according to the default ranking information 85. Specifically, the third device 300-3 transmits the default ranking information 85 and icon image received from the second device 300-2 to the user terminal device 200.

The user terminal device 200 displays the home screen (Figure 7) of the payment application 20 based on the default ranking information 85 and icon image received from the third device 300-3.

In this way, database DB4 stores default ranking information 85. If second device 300-2 is unable to obtain ranking information 83 from database DB3, second device 300-2 obtains default ranking information 85 from database DB4. Third device 300-3 instructs user terminal device 200 to display icon images according to default ranking information 85. In this way, the application management system of this embodiment can display icons of multiple mini apps on the home screen of payment app 20 even if second device 300-2 is unable to obtain ranking information 83 from database DB3 due to the occurrence of error E1.

[Operation when error E2 occurs]
Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the application management system when an error E2 occurs. In the example shown in Fig. 14, it is shown that the third device 300-3 was unable to acquire the ranking information 83 and the icon image from the second device 300-2 due to the occurrence of an error E2 such as a communication error. If the third device 300-3 is unable to acquire the ranking information 83 and the icon image from the second device 300-2, the user terminal device 200 is unable to acquire the icon image based on the ranking, and is unable to display the icon image of the mini-application on the home screen of the payment application 20.

To avoid such problems, the third device 300-3 is provided with a storage unit 310. The storage unit 310 is a HDD, a flash memory, a RAM, or the like. Default icon information 86 and default ranking information 87 are stored in advance in the storage unit 310 of the third device 300-3. For example, the default ranking information 87 may be generated based on the customer lifetime value (LTV), the number of unique users (UU), the conversion rate (CVR), and the profit amount (Profit) for each mini app. Note that the default icon information 86 has the same data structure as the icon information 84, and the default ranking information 87 has the same data structure as the ranking information 83.

If the third device 300-3 is unable to acquire the ranking information 83 and the icon image even after a predetermined time has elapsed since sending an icon request to the second device 300-2, it determines that an error E2 has occurred. In this case, the third device 300-3 acquires default ranking information 87 from the storage unit 310 instead of the ranking information 83.

The third device 300-3 acquires, from the storage unit 310, icon images corresponding to the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th that are included in the default ranking information 87 acquired from the storage unit 310. For example, the second device 300-2 may acquire icon images corresponding to the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th based on the default icon information 86.

Next, the third device 300-3 instructs the user terminal device 200 to display an icon image according to the default ranking information 87. Specifically, the third device 300-3 transmits the default ranking information 87 and the icon image acquired from the storage unit 310 to the user terminal device 200.

The user terminal device 200 displays the home screen (Figure 7) of the payment application 20 based on the default ranking information 85 and icon image received from the third device 300-3.

In this way, the third device 300-3 stores default ranking information 87 and default icon information 86 (including icon images). If the third device 300-3 is unable to obtain the ranking information 83 and icon images from the second device 300-2, the third device 300-3 obtains the default ranking information 87 and default icon images stored therein. The third device 300-3 also instructs the user terminal device 200 to display default icon images according to the default ranking information 87. In this way, the application management system of this embodiment can display icons of multiple mini apps on the home screen of the payment app 20 even if the third device 300-3 is unable to obtain the ranking information 83 and icon images from the second device 300-2 due to the occurrence of error E2.

As described above, the application management system of this embodiment is a system capable of communicating with a user terminal device 200 in which multiple mini-applications are installed and used by a user, and includes a first device 300-1, a second device 300-2, and a third device 300-3. The first device 300-1 acquires total sales information 81 indicating the total sales amount of a product or service and selection count information 82 indicating the number of times selected by a user for each of the multiple mini-applications, and generates ranking information 83 indicating the ranking of the multiple mini-applications based on the total sales information 81 and the selection count information 82. The second device 300-2 acquires icon images of each of the multiple mini-applications ranked high based on the ranking information 83. The third device 300-3 instructs the user terminal device 200 to display the icon images according to the ranking information 83. As a result, the application management system of this embodiment can improve convenience for users by arranging the icons of the multiple mini-applications in positions suitable for the user.

The application management system of this embodiment further includes a payment application 20 that is installed in the user terminal device 200 and is used to make electronic payments. The payment application 20 displays icon images of each of the multiple mini-applications on the display unit of the user terminal device 200 in accordance with the ranking information 83. This allows the application management system of this embodiment to display the icons of the multiple mini-applications in positions that are appropriate for the user.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the above-mentioned first embodiment, an application management system including a first device 300-1, a second device 300-2, and a third device 300-3 has been described. In contrast, in the second embodiment, an application management device including the functions of the first device 300-1, the second device 300-2, and the third device 300-3 is provided. Details of the second embodiment will be described below.

Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration for realizing an electronic payment service according to the second embodiment. In Figure 15, parts corresponding to those in Figure 1 are given the same reference numerals and descriptions are omitted. The application management device 400 is a computer capable of communicating with the user terminal device 200 via the network NW.

When a user launches the payment app 20 using the user terminal device 200, the payment app 20 sends an icon request to the application management device 400 to request an icon of a mini app to be displayed on the home screen. The icon request includes the user ID of the user who uses the user terminal device 200.

FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram of an application management device 400 according to the second embodiment. The application management device 400 includes, for example, a communication unit 410, a first acquisition unit 420, a generation unit 430, a second acquisition unit 440, an instruction unit 450, and a storage unit 470. The components other than the communication unit 410 and the storage unit 470 are realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU executing a program (software). Some or all of these components may be realized by hardware (including circuitry) such as an LSI, ASIC, FPGA, or GPU, or may be realized by cooperation between software and hardware. The program may be stored in advance in a storage device such as an HDD or flash memory (a storage device having a non-transient storage medium), or may be stored in a removable storage medium such as a DVD or CD-ROM (a non-transient storage medium), and may be installed in the storage device by mounting the storage medium in a drive device.

The storage unit 470 is a HDD, flash memory, RAM, etc. The storage unit 470 may be a NAS device that the application management device 400 can access via a network. The storage unit 470 stores information such as total sales information 81, number of selections information 82, ranking information 83, and icon information 84. The total sales information 81, number of selections information 82, ranking information 83, and icon information 84 are the same information as those shown in Figures 9 to 12, respectively.

The communication unit 410 is a communication interface for connecting to the network NW. The communication unit 410 is, for example, a network interface card.

[flowchart]
17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the application management apparatus 400. This flowchart is executed by the processor of the application management apparatus 400 reading a program stored in the storage unit 470.

First, the first acquisition unit 420 acquires, for each of the multiple mini-apps, total sales information 81 indicating the total sales amount of the product or service and selection count information 82 indicating the number of times the mini-apps have been selected by the user from the memory unit 470 (step S101).

The generation unit 430 generates ranking information 83 indicating a ranking of a plurality of mini-apps based on the total sales amount information 81 and the selection count information 82 (step S102). Here, the generation unit 430 generates the ranking information 83 such that the greater the total sales amount of a mini-app, the higher the ranking, and the greater the number of times a mini-app is selected, the higher the ranking.

In addition, since mini-apps with large total sales are considered to be useful apps used by many users, when generating ranking information 83, not only selection count information 82 but also total sales information 81 is used. In this way, by using both total sales information 81 and selection count information 82, generation unit 430 can generate ranking information 83 that is useful to users.

Next, when the payment application 20 is launched on the user terminal device 200, the user terminal device 200 transmits an icon request via the network NW. At this time, the communication unit 410 of the application management device 400 receives the icon request from the user terminal device 200 (step S103).

The second acquisition unit 440 acquires icon images of the multiple mini-apps ranked at the top based on the ranking information 83 generated by the generation unit 430 (step S104). Specifically, the second acquisition unit 440 reads out the ranking information 83 corresponding to the user ID included in the icon request from the storage unit 470. The second acquisition unit 440 also acquires icon images of the multiple mini-apps ranked at the top based on the ranking information 83. Specifically, the second acquisition unit 440 acquires icon images corresponding to the app IDs of the mini-apps ranked 1st to 10th included in the ranking information 83 read out from the storage unit 470 based on the icon information 84.

The instruction unit 450 instructs the user terminal device 200 to display an icon image according to the ranking information 83 (step S105). Specifically, the instruction unit 450 controls the communication unit 410 to transmit the ranking information 83 and the icon image acquired from the storage unit 470 to the user terminal device 200.

The user terminal device 200 displays the home screen (Figure 7) of the payment app 20 based on the ranking information 83 and icon images received from the application management device 400. Specifically, the icon image of the mini-app ranked first is displayed as icon IC1, the icon image of the mini-app ranked second is displayed as icon IC2, ... and the icon image of the mini-app ranked tenth is displayed as icon IC10. As a result, the icon images of the top-ranked mini-apps are preferentially displayed on the home screen of the payment app 20.

As described above, the application management device 400 of this embodiment is a device capable of communicating with the user terminal device 200 in which multiple mini-applications are installed and used by a user, and includes a first acquisition unit 420, a generation unit 430, a second acquisition unit 440, and an instruction unit 450. The first acquisition unit 420 acquires total sales information 81 indicating the total sales amount of a product or service and selection count information 82 indicating the number of times selected by a user for each of the multiple mini-applications. The generation unit 430 generates ranking information 83 indicating the ranking of the multiple mini-applications based on the total sales information 81 and the selection count information 82. The second acquisition unit 440 acquires icon images of each of the multiple mini-applications ranked high based on the ranking information 83. The instruction unit 450 instructs the user terminal device 200 to display the icon images according to the ranking information 83. As a result, the application management device 400 of this embodiment can improve convenience for the user by arranging the icons of the multiple mini-applications in positions suitable for the user.

The above describes the form for carrying out the present invention using an embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

20 Payment application 100 Payment server 200 User terminal device 300-1 First device 300-2 Second device 300-3 Third device 310 Storage unit 400 Application management device 410 Communication unit 420 First acquisition unit 430 Generation unit 440 Second acquisition unit 450 Instruction unit 470 Storage unit DB1 Database DB2 Database DB3 Database DB4 Database

Claims (9)

An application management system capable of communicating with a user terminal device on which a plurality of mini-applications are installed and used by a user, comprising:
a first device that acquires, for each of the plurality of mini-applications, first information indicating total sales of a product or service and second information indicating the number of times the mini-applications have been selected by the user, and generates ranking information indicating a ranking of the plurality of mini-applications based on the first information and the second information;
a second device that acquires an icon image of each of the plurality of mini-applications that are ranked high based on the ranking information;
a third device that instructs the user terminal device to display the icon image in accordance with the ranking information;
An application management system comprising: a first storage device that stores the ranking information generated by the first device;
a second storage device that stores the icon image of each of the plurality of mini-applications;
the second device acquires the ranking information from the first storage device and acquires the icon image from the second storage device;
2. The application management system of claim 1. The second storage device stores default ranking information;
If the second device cannot acquire the ranking information from the first storage device, the second device acquires the default ranking information from the second storage device;
the third device instructs the user terminal device to display the icon image according to the default ranking information;
3. The application management system of claim 2. the third device stores default ranking information and default icon images;
When the third device cannot acquire the ranking information and the icon image from the second device, the third device acquires the default ranking information and the default icon image stored in the third device;
the third device instructs the user terminal device to display the default icon image according to the default ranking information;
3. The application management system of claim 2. When the third device receives an icon request from the user terminal device, the third device transmits the icon request to the second device;
the second device acquires the ranking information and the icon image in response to receiving the icon request from the third device;
2. The application management system of claim 1. The system further includes a payment application installed on the user terminal device for performing electronic payment,
the payment application causes the icon image of each of the plurality of mini-applications to be displayed on a display unit of the user terminal device in accordance with the ranking information;
2. The application management system of claim 1. An application management device capable of communicating with a user terminal device on which a plurality of mini-applications are installed and used by a user, comprising:
a first acquisition unit that acquires, for each of the plurality of mini-applications, first information indicating a total sales amount of a product or service and second information indicating a number of times the mini-application has been selected by the user;
a generating unit that generates ranking information indicating a ranking of the plurality of mini-applications based on the first information and the second information;
a second acquisition unit that acquires an icon image of each of the plurality of mini-applications that are ranked high based on the ranking information;
an instruction unit that instructs the user terminal device to display the icon image in accordance with the ranking information;
An application management device comprising: An application management device capable of communicating with a user terminal device on which a plurality of mini-applications are installed and used by a user,
obtaining, for each of the plurality of mini-applications, first information indicating a total sales amount of a product or service and second information indicating a number of times the mini-application has been selected by the user;
generating ranking information indicating a ranking of the plurality of mini-applications based on the first information and the second information;
acquiring icon images of each of the plurality of mini-applications ranked highly based on the ranking information;
instructing the user terminal device to display the icon image in accordance with the ranking information;
Application management methods. An application management device capable of communicating with a user terminal device in which a plurality of mini-applications are installed and used by a user,
A process of acquiring, for each of the plurality of mini-applications, first information indicating total sales of a product or service and second information indicating the number of times the mini-application has been selected by the user;
generating ranking information indicating a ranking of the plurality of mini-applications based on the first information and the second information;
A process of acquiring icon images of each of the plurality of mini-applications ranked high based on the ranking information;
a process of instructing the user terminal device to display the icon image in accordance with the ranking information;
A program that executes the following.

Images