JPH09106421A - Service providing system for selecting proper service resource - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To select a proper service resource from among plural service resources by compare-examining the situations of a user and the resource. SOLUTION: In order to select the proper service resource by acquiring the situation concerning the user from a user unit 13, a service control unit 11 acquires the situation concerning the resource from a resource unit 12. The service control unit 11 compare-examines the situations concerning the user and concerning the resource with each other and selects the proper service resource to inform the user unit 13. In general, a list arranging the plural service resources in the order of candidates is reported. This list can include a composite service, namely the combination of a series of services. Then the user unit 13 selects a single or composite service resources from the list of the service resources by user's instructions and establishes a connection to the service resource. The proper service resource corresponding to the situation is selected in this way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a service providing method and system, and more particularly to a system for selecting an appropriate service providing source from a plurality of service information sources according to circumstances.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, systems that provide various types of services have been used in various industries.
Along with the development of information technology, service providing systems especially related to information have become widespread. As the amount of information and the types of information handled increase, it becomes complicated to search for appropriate information from an appropriate information source and provide it as an information service. In such a situation, it goes without saying that the system load on the service providing side increases, but the load on the user receiving the service also increases. Especially,
If the service is composed of multiple service sources, it is necessary for the user himself to select an appropriate service providing source according to the situation, and it is necessary for the user to use the service that should be convenient. May be a burden.

When using services in a computer system, for example, HMI (Human Machine Interface)
), GUI (Graphical User Interface), and other such interfaces have reduced the load on the user for using the service. However, the need for the user to select an appropriate service source from among a large number of service sources remains essentially unchanged.

[0004]

In the conventional service providing system, the user selects from a number of service sources.
First identify the source of the service that could obtain the appropriate service, and then search for the required information. That is, the conventional system is merely an aggregate of a large number of service sources from the user's point of view, and it is required to select and use different service sources when using the system. Therefore, the use of the service is complicated and cumbersome, and the possibility of falling into an incorrect procedure and selecting a non-optimal service source cannot be excluded.

Also, when it is necessary to use a plurality of services, it is the responsibility of the user to combine necessary service sources so that appropriate information can be obtained.
At this time, since a plurality of services are operated without cooperation with each other, the user needs to repeatedly explain the necessary situation each time each service is used.

In order to solve such a problem, it may be possible to make a resource into a database. However, in order to create a database, it is necessary to add metadata in advance, and it is difficult to create a database of unspecified resources whose service content and resources themselves increase or decrease. Even if it takes a huge amount of time and effort to realize a database, constant maintenance is required to maintain correct metadata. Therefore,
Considering the cost required for database construction and maintenance, it is not realistic to create a database that solves the above problems.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a service providing system capable of selecting an appropriate service source according to the situation from a large number of service information sources without burdening the user. A further object of the present invention is to provide a service providing system which is a single service providing system from a user's point of view even though it is a large number of service providing sources, and the user only needs to negotiate with a single target at all times. It is to be.

[0008] Still another object of the present invention is to provide a service providing system capable of passing the status between the user and the system between the services when the user uses a plurality of services in combination. is there. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a service providing system that does not require metadata to be added in advance and does not require extra maintenance.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the invention, a service providing system includes a user means for holding a user status that is information about a status of a user who requests a service, and a status of a resource that provides the service. Resource means for holding a resource status, which is information about the resource status, and service management means for comparing the user status with the resource status and selecting the appropriate resource for the user. Receive services from resources.

In the above invention, the service providing system can select an appropriate service source from a plurality of service sources (resources) by comparing and examining the situation of the user and the situation of the resource. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the service providing system according to the first aspect, the user means provides a user situation storage means for storing the user situation and interactive processing with the user. Includes user status management means for managing user status and communicating with the resource means and the service management means.

In the above invention, the user can use the appropriate service through the interactive processing with the user means. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the service providing system according to the first or second aspect, the resource means stores the resource status, and the resource status storage means manages the resource status. Means and resource status management means in communication with the service management means.

In the above invention, the user can use the appropriate service by accessing the resource status management means through the interactive processing with the user means. According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the service providing system according to the third aspect, the resource status management means is
It provides interactive processing with service providers, which are resources.

In the above invention, the user can use the service from the service provider, which is an appropriate resource, through the user means and the resource means. According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the service providing system according to the third aspect, the resource status management means further includes means for providing resources.

In the above invention, by accessing the resource status managing means through the interactive processing with the user means, the user can use the appropriate service from the means for providing the resource. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the service providing system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the service management means compares the user situation with the resource situation and the appropriate resource. And a composite service unit that combines a plurality of the appropriate resources in order to provide a composite service in which the appropriate resources are linked to each other, and the user sequentially from the plurality of the appropriate resources. Use complex services by receiving services.

In the above invention, it is possible to provide a composite service in which a plurality of services are linked by combining a plurality of service sources. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the service providing system according to the sixth aspect, the service management means further includes organization information storage means for storing a description of the relationship between the resources, and the composite service. Means references the description to combine the plurality of suitable resources.

In the above invention, a composite service in which a plurality of services are linked can be provided by combining a plurality of service sources based on the description of the relationship between resources. In the invention of claim 8, claim 7
In the described service providing system, the description includes is-a relationships, part-of relationships, and causal relationships between resources.

In the above invention, a composite service in which a plurality of services are linked by combining a plurality of service sources on the basis of the relation between is-a relation, part-of relation, and causal relation resource Can be provided.
The invention according to claim 9 is the service providing system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising means for recording an interaction during service provision between the resource and the user. , Passing a record of interaction from one resource to the next resource when the user uses the composite service.

In the above invention, when a composite service is used, a seamless composite service can be provided by passing an interaction record between resources. In the invention of claim 10, claim 1
In the service providing system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, after the user uses the appropriate service, the user situation and the resource situation are updated so as to mutually reflect information regarding service provision.

In the above invention, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the current situation by dynamically updating the situation. In the invention of claim 11, claim 10
In the service providing system described above, the resource status includes a satisfaction rating of the user for the resource.

In the above invention, by including the user satisfaction in the resource status, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the user satisfaction. Claim 12
According to another aspect of the present invention, in the service providing system according to claim 10, the resource status includes a rate at which the resource provides a service that the user is satisfied with.

In the above invention, by including the ratio of user satisfaction in the resource status, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the degree of user satisfaction. According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the service providing system according to the tenth aspect, the resource status includes a ratio of the resource provided by the resource to the user.

In the above invention, by including the ratio of user satisfaction in the resource status for each user, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the degree of satisfaction of each user. In the invention of claim 14, claim 10
In the service providing system described above, the user status and the resource status include a history of the user using the resource.

In the above invention, by including the history in the user situation and the resource situation, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the past service provision situation.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The principle and embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a service providing system 10 according to the principles of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the service providing system 10 includes a service management unit 11, a plurality of resource units 12, and one or a plurality of user units 13.

According to the principle of the present invention, the service providing system 10 introduces an index of “situation” for both the user and the service providing source, and collates and compares the situation, so that it is optimal for the user. The right service. An example of the situation here is shown in FIGS. 2 (A) and 2 (B).

As shown in FIG. 2 (A), the situation regarding the user includes matters concerning the user, matters concerning the group to which the user belongs, matters concerning the work flow of the work in which the user is working, and other matters from the user. Including the situation by direct instruction. As shown in FIG. 2B, the situation regarding the resource is a matter regarding the person when the resource (service providing source) is a human, a matter regarding the service itself when the resource is not a human, a group to which the resource belongs. Related matters, description of relationships between resources, and other situations based on direct instructions.

In FIG. 1, the service management unit 11
Obtains the user-related situation from the user unit 13 and the resource-related situation from the resource unit 12 in order to select an appropriate service source. The service management unit 11 compares and examines the situation regarding the user and the situation regarding the resource, selects an appropriate service source, and notifies the user unit 13 of it. The notified service source may be one service source determined to be optimal, but generally, a list in which a plurality of service sources are arranged in the order of candidates is notified. This list may include composite services, i.e. combinations of a set of services. The user unit 13 selects a single or composite service source from the list of service sources according to the user's instruction, and establishes a connection to the selected service source. In this way, an appropriate service source is selected according to the situation.

In detail, the user unit 13 includes a user status management section 25 and a user status file 26. The user status file 26 includes files related to the user status as shown in FIG. The user status management unit 25 interacts with the user, connects to the service management unit 11, connects to the resource unit 12, requests the service management unit 11 to search for resources, updates the user status in the user status file 26, etc. Manage the processing of.

The service management unit 11 includes a service control unit 14 and an organization information file 18. The organization information file 18 includes a list of resources and files regarding resource status across multiple resources. The service control unit 14 includes a situation evaluation / calculation unit 15, a composite service unit 16, and a DB management unit 17. The status evaluation / calculation unit 15 acquires the user status file from the user status file 26 via the user status management unit 25, and connects to the resource unit 12 based on the resource list stored in the organization information file 18. To get the resource status. Furthermore, the situation evaluation / calculation unit 15 compares and examines the acquired user situation and resource situation, generates a list in which the optimum service sources (resources) are arranged in the order of candidates, and generates the user situation of the user unit 13. It is transmitted to the management unit 25. The DB management unit 17 manages input / output to / from the organization information file 18, that is, recording, searching, updating and the like.

The composite service unit 16 manages a composite service process in which a plurality of service sources are combined to provide one service. As described above, the organization information file 18 includes a file relating to resource status across multiple resources, which is shown in FIG.
-a Corresponds to the description of relationships between resources such as relationships, part-of relationships, and causal relationships. The composite service section 16 is for situation evaluation /
Regarding the plurality of resources selected by the calculation unit 15, the combination of the plurality of resources is determined based on the description of the relationship between the resources included in the organization information file 18. The plurality of resource combinations (or the plurality of candidates for the plurality of resource combinations) determined by the composite service unit 16 are transmitted to the user unit 13 via the situation evaluation / calculation unit 15. Thereby, the user unit 13
A user who operates the can connect to a plurality of appropriate resources sequentially to receive a composite service.

In this case, each resource unit 12 records the interaction that each service has with the user while providing the service, and records this record (interaction history) from one service to the next in a series of service flows. Deliver to service. This saves the user from having to repeat the previous situation each time a new resource in the set is activated. Therefore, the service providing system 10 can seamlessly provide a plurality of services as a single service. Note that the interaction history is not the resource unit 12,
It may be recorded by the user unit 13. In this case, the user unit 13 stores the interaction history in the resource units 12 forming the composite service.
Will be sent to Alternatively, the delivery of the interaction history may be managed by the composite service unit 16.

The resource unit 12 includes a resource status management unit 20 and a resource status file 21. The resource status file 21 includes files regarding the status of resources as shown in FIG. 2B (excluding the description of the relationship between resources). The resource status management unit 20 manages processing such as interactive processing with the resource when the resource body is a human, connection to the service management unit 11, and update of the resource status of the resource status file 21. If the resource is not a human, the resource status file 21 stores not only the resource status but also the program and information necessary for providing the service, and the resource status management unit 20 executes the service providing program to provide the service. Will be done.

When the user status management unit 25 updates the user status and when the resource status management unit 20 updates the resource status, the user status and the resource status are mutually reflected. That is, when the user uses a certain resource, the user's situation is reflected in the resource situation,
Also, the resource status is reflected in the user status. As a result, it is possible to dynamically change the user situation and the resource situation, and make appropriate information that reflects the current situation. The information to be mutually reflected includes, for example, service satisfaction evaluation and effective service provision frequency. In the service satisfaction evaluation, after the user receives a service from a certain resource, the satisfaction evaluation for the resource is performed, and the satisfaction of the user is included in the resource status as statistical information. The effective service frequency is ((the number of times the user is satisfied) / (the total number of times a resource is provided with the service)), and can be used as an index when selecting the optimum resource from a plurality of resources. Furthermore, the usage history such as the usage frequency, the time zone / seasonal fluctuation, and the record of the last usage of a certain resource are mutually reflected in the user status and the resource status.
These pieces of information can also be used as an index for optimum resource selection.

As described above, according to the principle of the present invention, the service providing system 10 selects an appropriate service source from a plurality of service sources by comparing and examining the situation of the user and the situation of the resource. You can In addition, it is possible to provide a seamless composite service by combining a plurality of service sources based on the description of the relationship between resources and by passing the situation between the services.

In the present invention, the service management unit 11, the resource unit 12, and the user unit 13
May be implemented on separate computers that communicate with each other or on the same computer.
When implemented on the same computer, for example,
When the resource itself is a human, terminals for a plurality of resources may be connected to the computer. Also,
When the service providing source is not human, one computer may function as a service source providing a plurality of information services. In this case, the part corresponding to the resource unit 12 on the computer may be configured to manage a plurality of service source providing programs and a plurality of resource status files.

Further, in order to provide services to users, it is desirable to have a dedicated user unit 13 that can be used by each user, but such a type of user unit 13 is not always an essential constituent requirement. . For example,
An operator operating the user unit 13 can generate a user status file by interacting with a user who requests a service. Alternatively, as described above, the user unit 13 may be realized on the same computer as the service management unit 11.

The user unit 13 may also serve as the resource unit 12. in this case,
A user who operates the user unit 13 becomes a resource depending on the situation, and a service required by one user is provided by another user through the user unit 13.

Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the service providing system 10A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 3, the same elements as those of FIG. 1 are referred to by the same numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The service providing system 10A shown in FIG. 3 includes a service management unit 11 and a plurality of resource units 1.
2 and the user unit 13. Each of the service management unit 11, the plurality of resource units 12, and the user unit 13 is connected to the communication interface 30 and communicates with each other via the communication path 35, and is further connected to the user interface 31 as a resource user and user. Provide a means for interacting with a user who is an agent. Further, the service providing system 10A is
Network 40 such as a public line network or the Internet
It communicates with the terminal 32 and the external user unit 13 via the modem 41 connected to the.

In the first embodiment, the resources of the service providing system 10A are a plurality of persons who provide a service through the resource unit 12, and a single service is selected from the plurality of services and provided. Or, a plurality of services are combined and provided as a seamless composite service. In other words, in the present embodiment, a single service window is provided, and a service providing system is provided in which the user is always required to negotiate with a single target, despite being a large number of service providing sources. Furthermore, when the user uses a plurality of services in combination, a service providing system that can pass the status between the user and the system between the services is provided.

The user agent is a person who operates the user unit 13 inside the service providing system 10A and provides the user with convenience in selecting a service. This user agent may be a staff member, a receptionist, or the like, or may be automatic response software and hardware similar thereto. It should be noted that this user agent is a person who is used when implementing one embodiment of the service providing system 10A of the present embodiment, and of course is not an essential requirement for the configuration of the present invention.

The following three methods are used for using this system 10A.
There are types. First, the user visits the counter and interacts with the user agent. As a result, the user agent acquires the situation of the user (user) and inputs it to the system 10A by the user unit 13. The acquired user status is stored in the user status file 26 and simultaneously sent to the service management unit 11. The service management unit 11 acquires the resource status from each resource unit 12 based on the list of resources stored in the organization information file 18. Further, the service management unit 11 compares the acquired resource status with the user status and extracts a resource candidate. After that, the list of the candidates in the order of the resources (including the composite service) is sent to the internal user unit 13. Thereby, the user and the user agent select the optimum resource (single service) or the optimum combination of resources (composite service).

When the user situation for identifying the optimum resource is insufficient, the service management unit 11 sends the internal user unit 13 a message indicating that the information regarding the user situation is insufficient. This allows the user agent to pull more information from the user.

After selecting the optimal single service or composite service, the user agent accesses the resource for the user, and the resource provides the service to the user. After using the service, the user status file 26
And the resource status file 21 is updated.

Secondly, the user uses a general personal computer having no special function as the terminal 32 to interact with the user agent via the network 40. This case is the same as in the first case, except that the user interacts with the user agent via the network. However, in this case, the use of resources is limited to the network form.

Third, the user uses the dedicated external user unit 13 to directly use the service providing system 10A via the network 40. In this case, since the situation can be grasped without the intervention of the user agent, the situation can be grasped more accurately, and there is a possibility that the service can be used with higher satisfaction. Also in this case, the use of resources is limited to the network form.

4 to 6 are flowcharts of service selection processing of the service providing system 10A of the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the user unit 13, FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing of the service management unit 11, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing of the resource unit 12.

In the processing of the user unit 13 of FIG. 4, in step S1, the user situation management section 25 arrives for an event (input from the user or user agent).
Wait for. When an event arrives, in step S2,
The user status management unit 25 receives the information for narrowing down the service. Further, in step S2, the user status management unit 25 writes the new user status in the user status file, extracts the information of the past user status (user history, etc.), and generates an appropriate user status.

In step S3, the user status management unit 2
5 establishes a connection to the service management unit 11 and transmits the user status generated, and the service management unit 1
Ask 1 to search for resources. In step S4,
Receives resource search results. When the resource search result is the number of candidates is 1, the process proceeds to step S5. If the number of candidates is plural, the process proceeds to step S6. If no candidate exists, the process returns to step S2 and step S2.
The subsequent processing is repeated. The candidate here is a service or a combination of a series of services.

In step S5, since the resource search result indicates that the number of candidates is 1, the user is asked to confirm whether the services listed as candidates are appropriate. If the candidate service is appropriate, the process proceeds to step S7. If the candidate service is not appropriate, the process returns to step S2, and the processes after step S2 are repeated.

In step S6, since the resource search result has a plurality of candidates, the user is prompted to select an appropriate service. If the appropriate service is selected, the process proceeds to step S7. If no suitable service is present in the candidates, the process returns to step S2, and the processes after step S2 are repeated.

In step S7, the user status management unit 2
5 establishes a connection with the resource unit 12 of the selected service. Further, the user status management unit 25 notifies the resource unit 12 that has established the connection whether to receive a single service or a composite service.
When the composite service is being received, the interaction history is further sent to the connected resource unit 12.

In step S8, the user status management unit 2
5 receives the service from the resource status management unit 20 of the selected resource. Specifically, in the first embodiment, a user or a user agent interacts with resource personnel to receive a service. This exchange is performed via the user situation management unit 25 and is stored in the user situation file 26 as an interaction history. When receiving the composite service, steps S7 and S8 are repeated for each service constituting the composite service.

After the service is completed, the user status management unit 25 updates the user status of the user status file 26 in step S9. Further, the user status management unit 25 transmits information (satisfaction evaluation etc.) necessary for updating the resource status of the used resource to the resource status management unit 20. Thus, the process ends.

In the processing of the service management unit 11 of FIG. 5, the service control unit 14 waits for the arrival of an event (connection from the user unit 13 or the resource unit 12) in step S11. When the event arrives,
In step S12, the service control unit 14 determines whether the connection source is the user unit 13 or the resource unit 12. If the connection source is the user unit 13, the process proceeds to step S13. If the connection source is the resource unit 12, the process proceeds to step S20.

In step S 13 (when the connection source is the user unit 13), the service control section 14 receives the user status from the user unit 13. Step S14
In this case, the service control unit 14 determines that the organization information file 18
Read the resource list from. In step S15, a connection to the resource unit 12 is established based on the resource list and the resource status is acquired.

In step S16, the user status and the resource status are compared and evaluated. At this time, the situation evaluation / calculation unit 15 performs the situation comparison / evaluation. At the same time, the composite service unit 16 provides a composite service composed of a plurality of services based on the result of the comparison / evaluation performed by the situation evaluation / calculation unit 15 and the description of the relationship between the resources stored in the DB management unit 17. Determine a set of resource combinations to do. The determination of this resource combination will be described later.

In step S17, resources and resource combinations are ranked. In step S18, of the ranked resources (and the combination of resources), a predetermined number of resources from the upper rank are left, and resources below that are left. In step S19,
A list in which the resources are arranged in the order of candidates is transmitted to the user unit 13.

If the connection source is the resource unit 12 in step S12, then in step S20,
The required processing is determined. When the addition / deletion / update of the resource is requested, the addition / deletion / update of the resource with respect to the resource list stored in the organization information file 18 is performed in step S21. If an update of the status of the composite service is required, step S
At 22, the description of the relation between the resources stored in the organization information file 18 is updated.

In the processing of the resource unit 12 of FIG. 6, the resource status management unit 20 waits for the arrival of an event (input from the resource or connection from the user unit 13) in step S31. When an event arrives, it is determined in step S32 whether it is an input from a resource or a connection from the user unit 13. If the connection is from the user unit 13, the process proceeds to step S33.

In step S33, the user unit 1
A connection with 3 is established. In step S34, in the case of the composite service, the resource status management unit 20 receives the interaction history. In step S35, the resource status management unit 20 provides the service to the user status management unit 25. In step S36, the resource status management unit 20 receives the necessary information from the user status management unit 25 and updates the resource status file stored in the resource status file 21.

If it is determined in step S32 that the input is from a resource, the process proceeds to step S37. In step S37, the processing content is input from the resource. In step S38, the resource status management unit 20 establishes a connection with the service management unit 11. In step S39, the processing content input from the resource is transferred to the service management unit 11. It should be noted that this processing content relates to updating of information (resource list or description of relation between resources) stored in the organization information file 18 of the service management unit 11.
With that, the processing of the resource unit 12 is completed.

In the first embodiment, the user unit 13, the service management unit 11, and the resource unit 12 execute the processing as described above, whereby the service providing system 10A provides a single service or a composite service. It can be appropriately selected and provided.

FIGS. 7A to 7C show the description of the relationship between the resources stored in the organization information file 18. 7A is a diagram showing an is-a relation between resources, FIG. 7B is a part-of relation between resources, and FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a causal relation between resources. As mentioned above, the relationships between these resources can be used to provide composite services that combine services.

In the is-a relationship shown in FIG. 7 (A), considering resource 1 as the center, resource super is an upper resource, resource sub-11 and resource sub-12 are lower resources, and further resource 2 is Become a coordinated resource. For example, consider computer repair. In this case, the resource super corresponds to the service “repair”, the resource 1 corresponds to the service “part replacement”, and the resource 2 corresponds to the service “software repair”. Further, for example, the resource sub-11 corresponds to the service "unit exchange of unit A", and the resource sub-12 corresponds to the service "unit exchange of unit B".

When the composite service shown in FIG. 7A is provided, first, the "repair" service is provided, and the resource su
per gets the necessary information through interaction with the user. Thereby, for example, it is determined that the "part replacement" service is necessary. Next, the "part replacement" service is provided, and resource 1 determines that the "unit replacement of unit A" service is required. Finally, the resource sub-11
Provides a "unit A unit replacement" service. In the case of service provision via a network, it is not possible to provide a physical component replacement service, but it is possible to provide a service such as sending a component and giving a component replacement instruction.

In order to provide such a composite service, the composite service section 16 refers to the description of the relationship between resources as shown in FIG. 7 (A). That is, based on the resource evaluation by the situation evaluation / calculation unit 15 and the description as shown in FIG. 7A, the composite service unit 16 determines a combination of a series of resources that form the composite service as described above. .

In the part-of relationship shown in FIG. 7B, considering the resource part1 as the center, the aggregate resource is the resource total and the partial resource is the resource subpar.
t-11 and resource subpart-12, and the same resource is resource part2. For example, consider a service related to computer operation or software trouble. For example, the resource total is a service related to “UNIX”, the resource part1 is a service related to “UNIX library”, and the resource subpart-11 is a service related to “arithmetic function library”. As in the case of FIG. 7A, a complex service can be received by navigating between these services.

In the causal relationship shown in FIG. 7C, considering the target resource as the center, the resource groups indicated as parallel can be executed in parallel, and require
The resource group indicated by must be completed before execution of the target resource, and the resource group indicated by can be executed only after execution of the target resource is completed. As in the case of FIGS. 7A and 7B, a complex service can be received by navigating between these services.

In the present invention, the description of the relationship between resources as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C is stored in the organization information file 18 for each resource. Then, as described above, the composite service unit 16 can provide the composite service by referring to the information.

FIGS. 8 (A) and 8 (B) show examples of the portion relating to the usage history in the user situation and the resource situation, respectively. FIG. 8A shows a keyword and weight of a service used by a user User1.
(%), The resource name, the number of uses, and the resource use history. The weight (%) here is
It is an index showing how many times the resource related to a certain service has been used in the past, and the higher the percentage, the more the number of times the service has been used. This weight
(%) Is used as one of the criteria when selecting an appropriate service.

As shown in FIG. 8A, for example,
A service having the keyword "Computer-IR" is assigned a weight (%) of 95%, and the resource R1 has been used five times in the past. FIG.
In (A), for example, the five services used in the past are "R3, R1, R3, R2, R1" in the oldest order. These pieces of history information, which are part of the user situation, are used when selecting an appropriate service, and are updated at the end of service utilization as shown in the flowchart of FIG. As a method of updating the weight (%), for example, if the same resource is referenced a predetermined number of times, the weight (%) of the same keyword as the keyword of the resource is increased by a predetermined percentage, and the same keyword exists. If not, it may be newly added and set to a predetermined percentage.

FIG. 8B shows the keywords for a certain resource R1 and the degree of satisfaction for each user who used the keyword. As shown in the figure, the resource R1 has keywords "Computer", "Programming", and "OOP".
, "And" C ++ ". When the resource R1 is used by, for example, the user User1 in FIG. 8A, the weight (%) for these four keywords is increased by a predetermined percentage. Also, for example, user Us
er2 uses this resource (resource R1) 25 times in total, and shows that it is satisfied only 5 times with respect to the provided service. Further, the resource R1 has been used 98 times in total, and 40 times of that has been successful in satisfying the user. These pieces of history information, which are part of the resource status, are used when selecting an appropriate service, and are updated at the end of service utilization as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the service providing system 10B according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
The same components as those of FIGS. 1 and 9 are referred to by the same numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted. The service providing system 10B of FIG. 9 includes a service management unit 11 and a plurality of user units 13. Each of the service management unit 11 and the plurality of user units 13 is connected to the communication interface 30 and communicates with each other via the communication path 35, and is further connected to the user interface 31 to provide a dialogue processing means with a user who also serves as a resource. provide.

The service providing system 10B in the second embodiment functions as a question answerer automatic selection system. The dedicated resource unit 12 is not provided to the system 10B, and the user unit 13 also has the function of the resource unit 12. Each user functions as a service providing source while being a service user. That is, the service providing system 10B of the second embodiment operates as a system that mediates the question answerer in the network environment to the user who uses the machine connected to the network.

The basic operation of the service providing system 10B is as follows. First of all, the questioner asks "Who to ask?"
Tell the system what you want to ask, without having to think about. Next, the system acquires the status (resource status) of other users registered in the system, compares and evaluates it with the status (user status) of the questioner and the question content,
Select candidate respondents. In addition, the system is based on information such as the effective response frequency, the date when the respondent last provided the service, the tendency of the respondent's response field, and whether or not they are currently busy.
Select the best respondent. Finally, the system establishes the connection between the questioner and the respondent, allowing the interaction between the parties to provide and receive services. After the service has been given and received, the satisfaction of the questioner is evaluated, and the status of the respondent and the questioner (including the history of valid response frequency etc.) is updated.

The above processing is shown in FIG. 10 and FIG.
It is a flowchart of 1. FIG. 10 shows the user unit 1
3 is a flowchart showing the processing of No. 3, and FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the service management unit 11. In the processing of the user unit 13 of FIG. 10, the user situation management unit 25 waits for the arrival of an event (question input from the user or mail reception) in step S41. When an event arrives, in step S42, the user status management unit 25 determines whether the user has entered a question, received an answer mail, or received a question mail.

If the user inputs a question, step S
At 43, the user status management unit 25 creates a question mail based on the question from the user. Further, in step S44, the inquiry mail and the user status are transmitted to the service management unit 11. If you receive a reply email,
In step S45, the user status management unit 25 notifies the user (questioner) of the reply content. In step S46, it is evaluated whether the questioner is satisfied with the service of the respondent. If satisfied, the user status of the questioner and the resource status of the respondent are updated according to the satisfaction evaluation in step S47. If not satisfied, step S48
Then, the user status and resource status are updated according to the dissatisfaction evaluation.

When the inquiry mail is received, step S4
9, the user status management unit 25 (resource status management unit 2
(Also used as 0) creates an answer mail based on the answer from the respondent. Further, in step S50, a reply mail is transmitted to the service management unit. Thus, the process ends.

In the processing of the service management unit 11 of FIG. 11, the service control unit 14 in step S61.
Wait for the arrival of the event (mail reception). When an event arrives, in step S62, the service control unit 14
Determines whether the received mail is a question mail or an answer mail.

In the case of the question mail, the service control unit 14 selects the optimum respondent in step S63 based on the question content, the user status of the questioner, and the resource status of other users. In step S64, the service control unit 14 transfers the question mail to the selected respondent.

In the case of the reply mail, in step S65 the service control unit 14 specifies the questioner who has issued the question answered by the reply mail. In step S66, the service control unit 14 transfers the reply mail to the questioner. Thus, the process ends. In the second embodiment, the user unit 13 and the service management unit 11 execute the processing as described above, whereby the service providing system 10B selects the respondent who can provide the optimum service from the network users. Then, it is possible to mediate to the interrogator. Thus, the questioner does not have to think about who to ask, only the system needs to be told what to ask.

[0083]

According to the invention of claim 1, the service providing system selects an appropriate service source from a plurality of service sources (resources) by comparing and examining the situation of the user and the situation of the resource. can do. Therefore, when using the service, the user is not bothered to select and properly use the service source. Furthermore, mistakes such as falling into the wrong procedure and selecting suboptimal service sources can be avoided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the user can use the appropriate service through the interactive processing with the user means. According to the third aspect of the invention, the user can use the appropriate service by accessing the resource status management means through the interactive processing with the user means.

In the invention of claim 4, the user can use the service from the service provider, which is an appropriate resource, through the user means and the resource means. In the invention of claim 5, by accessing the resource status management means through the interactive processing with the user means, the user can use an appropriate service from the means for providing the resource.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, by combining a plurality of service sources, a composite service in which a plurality of services are linked can be provided. Claim 7
In the invention described above, by combining a plurality of service sources based on the description of the relationship between resources, it is possible to provide a composite service in which a plurality of services are linked. Therefore, even if a plurality of services are used, the service can be used as if a single service is used.

According to the invention of claim 8, is-a relation, part
By combining multiple service sources based on the relationship between the resources of -of relationship and causal relationship, it is possible to provide a composite service in which multiple services are linked. According to the ninth aspect of the invention, a seamless composite service can be provided by exchanging an interaction record between resources when using the composite service. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to repeatedly explain the previous situation each time a new resource is activated in the series of resources, and it is possible to save extra trouble.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, by dynamically updating the situation, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the current situation. In the invention of claim 11, by including the user's satisfaction in the resource status, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the user's satisfaction.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, by including the ratio of user satisfaction in the resource status, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the degree of user satisfaction. In the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, by including the ratio of user satisfaction in the resource status for each user, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the degree of satisfaction of each user.

In the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, by including the history in the user situation and the resource situation, it is possible to select an appropriate resource according to the past service providing situation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a service providing system according to the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a user situation and a resource situation used in the service providing system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a service providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the service providing system of the first embodiment.
It is a flowchart which shows the process which a user unit performs.

[FIG. 5] In the service providing system of the first embodiment,
It is a flowchart which shows the process which a service management unit performs.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the service providing system of the first embodiment.
It is a flowchart which shows the process which a resource unit performs.

7 (A), (B), and (C) are explanatory diagrams conceptually showing the description of the relationship between resources.

8A and 8B are diagrams showing examples of user status and resource status.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a service providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing executed by a user unit in the service providing system according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing executed by a service management unit in the service providing system according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 service providing system 11 service management unit 12 resource unit 13 user unit 14 service control unit 15 status evaluation / calculation unit 16 complex service unit 17 DB management unit 18 organization information file 20 resource status management unit 21 resource status file 25 user status management unit 26 user status file 30 communication interface 31 user interface 32 terminal 35 communication path 40 network 41 modem

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Fumio Horie 3-2-1 Sakado, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fujitsu Network Engineering Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Katsuichi Nakamura Hakata Station, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City Fukuoka 4th-4th, within Fujitsu Kyushu Communication Systems Limited (72) Inventor Shingo Suzumori 1-4-4, Hakataekimae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture Within Fujitsu Kyusyu Communication Systems Limited

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A user means for holding a user situation, which is information about a situation of a user who requests a service, a resource means for holding a resource situation, which is information about a situation of a resource that provides a service, the user situation and the resource. A service providing system comprising service management means for selecting an appropriate resource for the user by comparing with a situation, the user receiving a service from the appropriate resource. 2. The user means provides a user status storage means for storing the user status and an interactive process with the user, manages the user status, and communicates with the resource means and the service management means. The service providing system according to claim 1, further comprising user status management means. 3. The resource means includes a resource status storage means for storing the resource status, and a resource status management means for managing the resource status and communicating with the user means and the service management means. The service providing system according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The service providing system according to claim 3, wherein the resource status management means provides interactive processing with a service provider that is a resource. 5. The service providing system according to claim 3, wherein the resource status management means further includes means for providing resources. 6. The service management means provides a situation evaluation means for comparing the user situation and the resource situation and selecting the appropriate resource, and a composite service in which the appropriate resources are linked with each other. 6. A complex service means for combining a plurality of the appropriate resources is included, and the user uses the complex service by sequentially receiving services from the plurality of the suitable resources. The service providing system described in the item. 7. The service management means further comprises organization information storage means for storing a description of the relationship between the resources, and the composite service means refers to the description to combine the plurality of appropriate resources. 7. The service providing system according to claim 6, wherein: 8. The description is an is-a relationship between resources, pa
The service providing system according to claim 7, wherein the service providing system includes an rt-of relationship and a causal relationship. 9. The method further comprises means for recording an interaction between the resource and the user during service provision, and recording the interaction from a resource when the user uses the composite service to a next resource. The service providing system according to claim 6, wherein the service is delivered. 10. The user status and the resource status are updated after the user has used the appropriate service so as to reflect information regarding service provision with each other. The service providing system according to one item. 11. The service providing system according to claim 10, wherein the resource status includes a degree of satisfaction of the user with respect to the resource. 12. The service providing system according to claim 10, wherein the resource status includes a rate at which the resource provides a service satisfied by the user. 13. The service providing system according to claim 10, wherein the resource status includes a ratio of the service provided by the resource to the user, for each user. 14. The service providing system according to claim 10, wherein the user status and the resource status include a history of the user using the resource.