Method and apparatus for providing process guidance
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorSam Guckenheimer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A context-sensitive process guidance system provides process guidance based on context data from a system used in performing the process. The system may be a work item tracking system or similar project management tool. Process guidance may provide information to a user performing actions related to a process. Context data may be derived from various sources, including the state of an application at the time of the request for process guidance, the user making the request and the role assigned to that user in the process, or the data displayed for the user who made the request. The context-sensitive process guidance system may display context-sensitive process guidance content and provide links to related process guidance content based on the context data.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- receiving a request from a user using a software application of a system to implement at least part of a process performed by combined actions of members of an organization, the process comprising a plurality of activities to be performed;
- receiving context data comprising data from the system representing a current state of the software application, information regarding actions performed by the user, and information regarding at least one activity of the plurality of activities of the process that has been or is being performed by one or more other members of the organization using the system;
- and
- in response to the request, providing process guidance content based on the current state of the software application, the information regarding actions performed by the user, and the information regarding actions the at least one activity of the process that has been or is being performed by the one or more other members represented by the context data identifying a role performed by the user within the organization, the process guidance content describing a suggested action for a member of the organization based on the current state of the process, and is provided such that different process guidance content is provided to members of the organization having different roles.
A system for providing process guidance comprising:
- a software development application executing on a computing system;
- a process guidance database configured to provide process guidance content in response to a request for process guidance content;
- and
- a help information database configured to provide help information related to using the software development application;
- a help system configured to receive a request from a user and to provide help information related to features of the software development application by accessing the help information database when the request is for help information, and to provide process guidance content by accessing the process guidance database when the request is for process guidance content, and
- a display device configured to display the process guidance content.
A method of providing information to a user of a system comprising at least one application, the method comprising acts of:
- receiving a request from the user and context data, the user using an application associated with the system to implement a process being performed by combined actions of a plurality of individuals, the context data relating to a state of the process, the request being related to either (1) the application or (2) the process in which the application is used;
- automatically determining, based on the context data, whether which of (1) or (2) the request relates to;
- the application or the request relates to the process in which the application is used;
- when the request relates to the application, providing help regarding at least one feature of the application;
- and
- when the request relates to the process in which the application is used, providing process guidance content based on the context data, the process guidance content describing a suggested action for the state of the process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.