JPH05197557A - Operation assistance method of interactive system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the degree of the effective attainment of user's operation by increasing the easiness of using the interactive system. CONSTITUTION:A gathering part 101 gathers user's input information obtained from an input part 11 and a scheme analysis part 102 analyzes the frequency of a scheme that a user currently carries out. For example, an interactive retrieval system analyzes the frequencies of an inspection type and a hypothesis type that the user has done. An effective scheme storage part 103 analyzes how the user uses the system for effective operation and stored the rate of the effective scheme obtained by the analysis, etc. A scheme comparison part 104 compares the scheme analyzed by the scheme analysis part 102 with the effective scheme stored in the effective scheme storage part 103, and reads a message for prompting a more effective scheme out of a scheme message storage part 105 and outputs it to an output part 13. A figure may be outputted instead of the message.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing system, and more particularly, to a work support system in an interactive system which processes by interacting with a user.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various measures have been considered for improving the usability of information processing systems. For example, the characters displayed on the display of a CRT or the like may be devised so that they are easy for the user to see, or the display speed is adapted to the reading speed of the user, the key layout of the keyboard is adapted to certain tasks, the command name Has been adopted in such a way as to make the document simple and familiar to the user, and to make the document easy to understand. Such a method may be performed according to a human interface design guideline (eg, SL Smith, and JL Mosier: Guid.
elines for designing user interface software, Tech
nical Report ESD-TR-86-278, MITR
E, 1986) and the like.

[0003]

The method described in the above design guideline is based on the principle of general usability of work using an information processing system, It is not intended for specific tasks using, such as search tasks using an interactive system. Therefore, in order to facilitate the use of an interactive system that performs a specific task while interacting with the user, that is, in order to efficiently perform the task, only the method described in the above design guideline is adopted. Is often insufficient. For example, even if a command name is set so that the user can easily get familiar with it, a truly easy-to-use system can be realized if the effective use of multiple commands necessary to efficiently perform a specific task is not known. It cannot be said that it was done.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a work support system which makes it easier to use an interactive system which executes a specific work while interacting with the user and enables the work to proceed efficiently. is there.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 collects and analyzes the measures actually taken by a user in an interactive system which executes a specific work while interacting with the user. Means, a means for storing a policy effective for executing the work, a means for comparing the policy of the user with the stored effective policy, and a policy effective for the user based on the comparison result. Means for notifying a message to be provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in an interactive system for executing a specific work while interacting with the user, a means for collecting and analyzing the measures actually taken by the user, and a measure effective for executing the work. A means for storing, a means for comparing the user's policy with the stored effective policy, a means for storing graphic feedback information giving an effective policy for performing the task, and a result of the comparison. And means for combining and displaying the stored graphic feedback information.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in an interactive system for performing work while interacting with a user, means for collecting the policy actually taken by the user, and the collected policy operation status of the user as graphic feedback information. It is characterized in that means for converting and means for displaying the converted graphic feedback information are provided.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in a system for processing by interaction with the user, the measures actually taken by the user for a specific work are collected and analyzed, and the user is informed of the operation status of the policy by a message or a graphic display. As a result, the user's policy can be dynamically changed to be more effective, and the ease of use of the system, that is, the work efficiency is improved.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a user who performs a specific task in an interactive mode, 11 is an input unit of an interactive system such as a keyboard used by the user to input commands and data, 12 is a processing unit of the interactive system, and 13 is It is an output part of an interactive system such as a display for the user to recognize the information output from the interactive system. Reference numeral 101 denotes an operation data collection unit that collects operation data of the user obtained from the input unit 11, and reference numeral 102 denotes a user policy that analyzes the operation data collected by the operation data collection unit 101 for the user's usage policy of the dialog system. The analysis unit 103 analyzes how the user can effectively perform the work by using the system, and the effective policy storage unit 104 that stores in advance the ratio of the effective policy obtained by the analysis. A policy comparison unit that compares the ratios of the policies in the user policy analysis unit 102 and the effective policy storage unit 103 and outputs the comparison result, and 105 stores a plurality of messages prompting the user to promote the effective policy, and the policy comparison unit This is a policy message storage unit that reads out a predetermined message according to the comparison result of 104.

In the following, the interactive system is assumed to be a database system, and the processing unit 12 uses the database 14
It is assumed that Then, the work performed by the user using the database 14 is to find (search) information necessary for solving a certain problem.

FIG. 2 shows a group of information stored in the database 14, and the information is stored in a sequential storage format. Here, when searching for necessary information from such an information group by an interactive system, there are two
Suppose there are two measures (how to search). The check type is a measure for checking whether or not each piece of information is necessary for solving a problem while sequentially looking at the information in the database, for example, sequentially looking at the information shown in FIG. 2 as I1, I2, ... In. .. The hypothesis type is a method in which a user proposes information necessary for solving a problem in advance and checks whether or not the information exists in a database.

The input unit 11 has a keyword search instruction means for retrieving a keyword of information in the database and a forward / reverse information retrieval instruction means for retrieving information in the database in the forward direction or the effective direction. Numeral 10 can arbitrarily select either a hypothesis type (keyword search) or a check type (forward / backward information search). The operation data collection unit 101 has means (for example, counter means) for collecting the number of times the user has selected the keyword search and the forward / backward information search.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a user policy decision function used in the user policy analysis unit 102. That is, in the user policy analysis unit 102, the operation data collection unit 1
Based on the number of times the user has used the keyword search and the forward / backward information search obtained from 01, C (check-type policy frequency) = k (keyword search frequency)
× 0.1 + b (forward / backward information search usage frequency) × 0.9 H (hypothesis type policy frequency) = k (keyword search usage frequency)
The check-type and hypothesis-type policies are determined by a determination function of × 0.9 + b (forward / backward information retrieval usage frequency) × 0.1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the ratios of effective policies stored in the effective policy storage unit 103. In this embodiment, the effective ratios of two types of policies, a test type and a hypothesis type, are stored. .. The example of FIG. 4 is capable of finding information that effectively and efficiently solves a problem when a test type and a hypothesis type are used in a ratio of 40:60 when searching information in the database 14. Is shown. This ratio is determined based on the analysis result by analyzing how the user can find the necessary information effectively and efficiently when performing the search work. Here, the ratio of effective search type is the effective test type policy frequency, and the ratio of effective hypothesis type is the effective hypothesis type policy frequency.

FIG. 5 is used by the policy comparison unit 104 to determine the test-type and hypothesis-type policy indices based on the frequencies of the test-type policy and the hypothesis-type policy analyzed by the user policy analysis unit 102. It shows a policy comparison method, where I _C (test type search index) = C (test type search frequency) -C
_T (effective test type search frequency) I _H (hypothesis type search index) = C (hypothesis type search frequency) -H
_It has the meaning of _T (effective hypothesis type search frequency).

FIG. 6 is an example of a message output from the search message storage unit 105 to the output unit 13. This example is stored in the effective policy storage unit 104 as a result of comparison by the policy comparison unit 104. Compared with the ratio of test type / hypothesis type,
It shows a specific example of the message presented to the user when the examination type is small in the actual policy of the user.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The user 10 inputs a keyword search instruction or a forward / backward information search instruction command or desired data from the input unit 11 in order to find necessary information for solving a specific problem using the database 14. The command or data input from the input unit 11 is sent to the processing unit 12, and the processing unit 1
In 2, the keyword search or the forward / backward information search instructed by the user 10 is executed on the database 14, and the search result is output to the output unit 13.

On the other hand, the operation information of the keyword search or the forward / backward information search input by the user using the input unit 11 is sent from the input unit 11 to the operation data collection unit 101. The data collection unit 101 counts each of these operation information, and determines the keyword search usage frequency (k) and the forward / backward information search usage frequency (b) to the user policy analysis unit 1.
Send to 02. The user policy analysis unit 102 calculates the frequency (C) of the check type policy and the frequency (H) of the hypothetical type policy according to the determination function shown in FIG. The policy comparison unit 104 shows the frequency (C) of the inspection-type policies sent from the user policy analysis unit 102 and the frequency (C _T ) of the effective inspection-type policies stored in the effective policy storage unit 103 in FIG. The check-type policy index (I _C ) is calculated by substituting it into the comparison formula. Similarly, the hypothesis type policy index (I _H ) is calculated by substituting the frequency (H) of the hypothesis type policy and the frequency (H _T ) of the effective hypothesis type policy into the comparison formula of FIG. The comparison result of the policy comparison unit 104 is given to the policy message storage unit 105. Policy message storage unit 10
In No. 5, when the difference between the ratios of the inspection-type policy etc. operated by the user and the hypothesis-type policy etc. exceeds the predetermined threshold based on the inspection-type policy index and the hypothesis-type policy index, a predetermined policy prompting the change of the policy is prompted. The message is read and output to the output unit 13.

Now, it is assumed that at the time of determination by the user policy analysis unit 102, the ratio of the examination type frequency (C) and the hypothesis type frequency (H) of the policy implemented by the user is 25% and 75%. On the other hand, when the ratio of the examination type of the policy of the user is reduced by 10% or more from the ratio of the effective retrieval type stored in the effective policy storage unit 103, the message shown in FIG. 6 is read from the policy message storage unit 6. Suppose. From Figure 4,
In the case of the above example, as a result of the comparison in the policy comparing unit 104, the inspection type decreases by 15% and the hypothesis type increases by 15%. That is, the test type has decreased by 15%, and the difference from the effective value exceeds 10%, so the message prompting the use of the test type shown in FIG. 6, ie, "Check information one by one, please." Message is read from the policy message storage unit 105 and displayed on the output unit 13.

Embodiment 2 In Embodiment 1 described above, the policy actually taken by the user for a specific work is analyzed, and the user is informed of the change or non-change of the policy only by displaying a message. However, there is a problem in that when multiple messages corresponding to these means are displayed at one time, it becomes difficult for the user to understand. The second embodiment solves this problem by using graphic information for displaying a composite message.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is an interactive system user, 1
1 is an input unit of an interactive system for a user to input commands and data, 12 is a processing unit of the interactive system, 13
Is an output unit of the interactive system which is recognized by the information output from the interactive system. 101 is an operation data collection unit that collects operation data obtained from the input unit 11, 102 is a user policy analysis unit that analyzes the user's policy from the operation data collected by the operation data collection unit 101, and 103 is how the user The system is used to analyze whether the work is effectively executed, and the effective policy storage unit that stores in advance the ratio of the effective policy obtained by the analysis, 104 is the user policy analysis unit 102 and the effective policy memory. A policy comparing unit that compares the ratios of the policies of the unit 103 and outputs a comparison result, 111 is a graphic feedback information storage unit that stores in advance graphic feedback information of a policy that is effective for executing the work, 112 is a policy A graphic feedback information synthesizing unit for synthesizing the graphic feedback information of the graphic feedback information storage unit 105 corresponding to the result of the comparing unit 104. A.

Also in this embodiment, it is assumed that the interactive system is a database system, and the processing unit 12 is the database 1
It is assumed that 4 is provided. Then, using this database 14, it is assumed that the user finds out information necessary for solving a certain problem, and when searching this information with an interactive system, there are two measures, a test type and a hypothesis type. To do.

The operation data collection unit 101, the user policy analysis unit 102, the effective policy storage unit 103, and the policy comparison unit 104 are the same as those in the first embodiment. That is, the user policy analysis unit 102
Based on the frequency of use of the keyword search and the forward / backward information search by the user obtained from the operation data collection unit 101.
The function of FIG. 3 is incorporated to determine the user's test-type search. As shown in FIG. 4, the effective policy storage unit 103 stores effective ratios of two types of search-type and hypothesis-type search. Here again, the ratio of effective test types is the effective test type policy frequency, and the ratio of effective hypothesis types is the effective hypothesis type policy frequency. In addition, the policy comparison unit 104 determines the policy indices of the test type and the hypothetical type policy by the comparison method shown in FIG. 5 based on the frequencies of the test type policy and the hypothetical type policy analyzed by the user policy analysis unit 102.

FIG. 8 shows the graphic feedback information storage unit 1.
11 is one of the determination formulas stored in 11, and is a formula that associates the inspection-type policy index calculated by the policy comparison unit 104 with the angle of the eyebrows, which is an element of the facial shape graph, and θ (the inclination of the eyebrows) = 2 x (0.1-I _C (inspection type policy index) / 100) x π / 5.

FIG. 9 shows the graphic feedback information storage unit 1.
11 is another one of the determination formulas stored in 11, and is a formula that associates the hypothetical policy index calculated by the policy comparison unit 104 with the radius of the mouth (arc) that is an element of the face graph, R (Mouth radius) = h (face length) / (-| _IH (hypothesis type policy index) | / 6 + 5). When R is negative, the arc is centered on the lower part of the mouth and the radius is the absolute value R. Also,
If the denominator is 0, the mouth is straight.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the graphic feedback information output from the graphic feedback information synthesizing unit 112 to the output unit 13. In this example, compared to the ratio of effective policies, there are more test types in the actual policy (test type policy index is 3
5, a hypothetical policy index 35), the face graph displayed on the output unit 13 for the user to see.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The user 10 uses the input unit 11 to input an instruction command for keyword search or forward / backward information search in order to find information for solving a specific problem. The input instruction command is sent to the operation data collection unit 101 as operation data. The data collection unit 101 counts each of these operation data, and uses the keyword search usage frequency (k) and the forward / backward information search usage frequency (b).
Is sent to the user policy analysis unit 102. The user policy analysis unit 102 calculates the check-type policy frequency (C) and the hypothesis-type policy frequency (H) according to the functions shown in FIG. It is assumed that the ratios of C and H are 75% and 25% at this point.

The policy comparison unit 104 is a user policy analysis unit 1
The check-type policy frequency (C) transmitted from No. 02 and the valid check-type policy frequency (C _T ) stored in the effective-policy storage unit 103 are substituted into the comparison formula shown in FIG. Calculate the index (I _C ). Similarly, in the policy comparison unit 104, the hypothesis type policy index (I _H ) is set to the frequency (H) of the hypothesis type policy.
And the frequency (H _T ) of the effective hypothetical policy is substituted into the comparison formula of FIG. As a result, 35 is calculated as the test type policy index (I _C ) and 35 is also calculated as the hypothetical type policy index (I _H ). The policy comparison unit 104 sends these values to the graphic feedback information storage unit 111.

In the figure feedback information storage unit 111, the eyebrow angle (θ) and the hypothesis type policy index (I _H ) corresponding to the inspection type policy index (I _C ) are calculated in accordance with the judgment formulas shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The radius (R) of the corresponding mouth (arc) is calculated. As a result, the inclination (θ) of the eyebrows is −18 degrees, and the radius (R) of the mouth (arc) is calculated to be −3.6 cm [when the face length (h) is 3 cm]. This is sent to the graphic feedback information synthesizer 112. The figure feedback information synthesizing unit 112 synthesizes the eyebrow portion and the mouth portion of the face graph and sends them to the output unit 13. As a result, the output unit 1
In 3, the face shape graph shown in FIG. 10 is displayed so that the user can see it.

In the present embodiment, the judgment formulas stored in the graphic feedback information storage unit 111 are not limited to the judgment formulas shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, and each measure may be any other element of the face graph. Corresponding to the display, meter graph,
You may display using arbitrary figures, such as a radar chart (FIG. 11).

Embodiment 3 This embodiment is a modification of Embodiment 2 described above, in which the collected user operation data is converted into graphic feedback information and displayed.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 10 is a user of the interactive system,
Reference numeral 11 is an input unit of the interactive system for the user to input commands and data, 12 is a processing unit of the interactive system, 1
Reference numeral 3 is an output unit of the interactive system which is recognized by the information output from the interactive system. Reference numeral 101 denotes an operation data collection unit that collects operation data obtained from the input unit 11;
Is a graphic feedback information conversion unit that converts the operation data collected by the operation data collection unit 101 into graphic feedback information.

Also in this embodiment, it is assumed that the interactive system is a database system, and the processing unit 12 is the database 1
It is assumed that 4 is provided. Then, it is assumed that the database 14 is used to find out information necessary for the user to solve a certain problem. Further, in the present embodiment, the database input unit 11 includes a keyword search for searching a keyword of information in the database, a forward / backward information search for searching information in the database in a forward direction or a backward direction, and a database in the database. It is assumed that there is an operation means for designating three searches of index search for searching information from the index.

FIG. 13 is a first judgment formula stored in the graphic feedback information conversion unit 121, in which the keyword search use frequency obtained by the operation data collection unit 101 is used as the angle of the eyebrow which is an element of the face graph. Is an expression corresponding to. This expression has the meaning of θ (tilt of eyebrows) = 2 × (K (frequency of use of keyword search function) /100-0.5) × π / 5.

FIG. 14 shows the graphic feedback information 121.
Is a second determination formula stored in the operation data collection unit 101, and is a formula that associates the forward / backward direction information retrieval use frequency obtained by the operation data collection unit 101 with the radius of the mouth (arc) that is an element of the face graph. .. This expression has the meaning of H (nose length) = h (face length) × (J (forward / backward information retrieval use frequency) /250+0.1).

FIG. 15 shows a third judgment formula stored in the graphic feedback information changing unit 121, and the frequency of index search obtained by the operation data collecting unit 101 is used as a mouth shape (element of the face graph). This is an expression corresponding to the radius of (arc). This formula has a meaning of R (radius of mouth) = h (face length) / (I (frequency of use of index search) / 10-5). When R is negative, the arc is centered on the lower part of the mouth and the radius is the absolute value R. If the denominator is 0, the mouth is straight.

FIG. 16 shows an example of the graphic feedback information output from the graphic feedback information conversion unit 121 to the output unit 13. In this example, when the keyword search usage frequency is low and the index search usage frequency is high,
6 is an example of a face graph displayed on the output unit 13 for the user to see.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. User 1
0 is input using the instruction command input unit 11 for keyword search, forward / backward information search, or index search to find necessary information. The input instruction command is sent to the operation data collection unit 101 as operation data. In the data collection unit 101, the above 3
The use frequency (K, J, and I) of one search form is obtained, and the value is sent to the figure feedback information conversion unit 121. At this point, it is assumed that the keyword search usage frequency (K) was 5%, the forward / backward information search usage frequency (J) was 30%, and the index search usage frequency (I) was 65%.

In the figure feedback information conversion unit 121, the inclination (θ) of the eyebrows, the nose length (H) and the mouth (arc) which are the elements of the face graph are calculated according to the formulas shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15. The radius (R) of is calculated. As a result, the inclination of the eyebrows (θ) was -32 degrees and the length of the nose (H) was 0.6 cm.
(When face length is 3 cm) and mouth (arc)
The radius (R) of is calculated as 2 cm. In the output unit 13,
According to these values, the face graph as shown in FIG. 16 is displayed so that the user can see it.

In the present embodiment, the graphical feedback display of the operation status is not limited to the judgment formulas shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15, but the operation status of each function can be displayed in any other face graph. May be displayed in correspondence with the elements of, or may be displayed using an arbitrary graphic such as a circle graph (FIG. 17), a band graph (FIG. 18), and a radar chart (FIG. 19). Further, the number of times the function or the like is used may be graphed (FIG. 20).

In each of the above embodiments, the interactive system is a database system, but the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the graphic input / output system,
The present invention can be applied to other systems such as a document editing system, a form input system, and a failure diagnosis system, which perform a specific work by interacting with a user. Further, depending on the system to be applied, the work performed by the system includes not only the work of finding necessary information, but also work of inputting information, detecting and correcting an error, and the like. Moreover, the types and the number of measures can be increased according to the system to be adopted and the work content thereof. Further, it may be another measure which is different depending on the user and which is obtained as a result of performing a certain work of a certain system and analyzing the measure.

Also in the database, the information is not limited to the sequential storage format as shown in FIG. 2 and may be in another format. The storage format of the effective policy stored in the effective policy storage unit is not limited to that shown in FIG. 4, and another storage format may be used, and an absolute value may be used instead of the ratio. It is also possible to add input instruction functions such as character string search, high-speed sequential search, index search, etc. to the input part, and the frequency of use of that function and the function corresponding to the policy can be set arbitrarily, and the frequency of use Another sampling method may be used. Further, the policy comparison unit takes the difference with the ratio of the effective policy, but this comparison method may use another method.

Further, although the present embodiment has been described with respect to one individual user, when there are a plurality of users,
The content of each part may be set for each individual or for each user group (each group such as beginners and advanced users).

[0045]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in an interactive system that executes a specific work while interacting with the user, the user is notified of the necessity of policy change, etc. by a message. The strategy can be dynamically changed to be effective, resulting in ease of use of the system,
That is, the work effect can be significantly improved.

According to the second and third aspects, by using the graphic display which allows the user to intuitively grasp the operation status,
Even if the number and types of measures increase, the operation status and the like can be grasped at a glance, and the usability of the system can be further improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an information string stored in a database.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a policy determination function used in a user policy analysis unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a ratio of a test type and a hypothesis type of an effective search stored in an effective search memory unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a policy comparison formula used in a policy determination unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a message output from a policy message storage unit.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a first determination formula stored in a graphic feedback information storage unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a second determination formula stored in a graphic feedback information storage unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of graphic feedback information output from a graphic feedback information combining unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another example of graphic feedback information.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a first determination formula stored in a graphic feedback information conversion unit.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a second determination formula stored in a graphic feedback information conversion unit.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a third judgment formula stored in a graphic feedback information conversion unit.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an output example of graphic feedback information.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an output example of a pie chart.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an output example of a band graph.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an output example of a radar chart.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an output example in which the number of times of use is graphed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 user 11 input unit 12 processing unit 13 output unit 14 database 101 operation data collection unit 102 user policy analysis unit 103 effective policy storage unit 104 policy comparison unit 105 policy message storage unit 111 graphic feedback information storage unit 112 graphic feedback information analysis unit 121 Graphic feedback information converter

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In an interactive system for executing a specific work while interacting with a user, means for collecting and analyzing the measures actually taken by the user, and means for storing a measure effective for executing the work. An interactive system comprising means for comparing the policy of the user with the stored effective policy, and means for notifying the user of a message promoting the effective policy based on the comparison result. Work support method. 2. In an interactive system for executing a specific work while interacting with the user, means for collecting and analyzing the measures actually taken by the user, and means for storing the measures effective for executing the work. A means for comparing the user's policy with the stored effective policy, a means for storing graphic feedback information giving an effective policy for performing the task, and the stored result from the comparison result. A work support method for an interactive system, characterized in that a means for synthesizing and displaying graphic feedback information is provided. 3. An interactive system for performing work while interacting with a user, means for collecting a policy actually performed by a user, and means for converting the collected policy operation status of the user into graphic feedback information. And a means for displaying the converted graphic feedback information, the work support method for an interactive system.