Method and system for generating help files based on user queries
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsChristine E. Vadai, Kevin R. McDowell, Mark D. Huentelman, Robert N. Ashby
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system for generating a help file based on failed user queries. A help file generation system collects failed user queries from user computer systems. The generation system assists a developer in identifying failed user queries that are related to a topic. The generation system then updates the entry in the help file for that topic based on the identified user queries. When a help system subsequently uses that help file, it checks the updated entry when searching for a match and will likely find a match to a relevant topic for a user query that previously failed.
Claims20
A method in a computer system for generating a help file having topics, the method comprising:
- collecting failed user queries, a user query being a query submitted by a user for searching the help file to identify topics relevant to the user query and a failed user query being a user query in which the identified topics after being presented to the user were considered to be not relevant to the user query;
- receiving a selection of a topic that was not identified as being relevant to a failed user query;
- receiving a selection of some of the collected failed user queries;
- and
- modifying the help file so that the selected topic is more likely identified as being relevant to the selected user queries so that when a user submits one of the selected user queries to search the modified help file the selected topic is identified as being relevant to the submitted user query.
A computer system for modifying a help file having topics, comprising:
- a component that collects failed user queries, a user query being a query submitted by a user for searching the help file to identify topics relevant to the user query and a failed user query being a user query in which the identified topics after being presented to the user were considered to be not relevant to the user query;
- a component that selects a collected failed user query;
- and
- a component that modifies the help file based on the selected user query so that a selected topic is more likely identified when the selected user query is submitted by a user to search the help file for topics relevant to the selected user query.
A method in a help system for providing help information to a user, the method comprising:
- providing a help file that includes an entry for each topic, each entry having a title, content, and some of the entries having data derived from failed user queries, a user query being a query submitted by a user for searching the help file to identify topics relevant to the user query and a failed user query being a user query in which the identified topics after being presented to the user were considered to be not relevant to the user query;
- receiving a user query;
- and
- searching the provided help file for a topic that matches the received user query, a match determined based at least in part on a comparison of the received user query to the data derived from failed user queries so that a topic that would not be identified as being relevant to the received user based on the title and the content of the topic is identified as being relevant based on the data of the topic derived from the failed user queries.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.