Method of assisting a user

• US 20050138539A1
• Filed: 10/28/2004
• Published: 06/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Merrick, Roland A., Stanford -Clark, Andrew J., Gale, Martin J., Bravery, Andrew J.F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,140,952 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/222
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/174 Form filling; Merging

Abstract

A method of assisting a user, for use in an environment comprising: a user session, an external entity session and a forms engine for generating a form. The method comprises the steps of: registering with the user session, wherein a first session is established between the user session and the forms engine; receiving a request for assistance from a user; in response to receiving the request, de-registering with the user session, wherein the first session is un-established; registering with the external entity session, wherein a second session is established between the external entity session and the forms engine; receiving input from the external entity session; and populating the form with the received input.

Claims

1. A method of assisting a user, for use in an environment comprising:

a user session, an external entity session and a forms engine for generating a form;

the method comprising the steps of;

registering with the user session, wherein a first session is established between the user session and the forms engine;

receiving a request for assistance from a user;

in response to receiving the request, de-registering with the user session, wherein the first session is un-established;

registering with the external entity session, wherein a second session is established between the external entity session and the forms engine;

receiving input from the external entity session; and

populating the form with the received input.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request comprises a unique identifier associated with the external entity session.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the de-registering step further comprises the step of maintaining a pointer to the user session.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

determining whether further input is to be received from the external entity session.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising the step of:

in response to a negative determining step, re-registering with the user session, wherein the first session is re-established.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the environment further comprises a broker and the external entity session is a subscriber session having an associated first piece of information and wherein the subscriber session is associated with the broker.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the form has an associated second piece of information.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

in response to receiving the request, retrieving, by the forms engine, the second piece of information; and

communicating the second piece of information to the broker.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the second piece of information represents at least one of:

a topic associated with the form;

a topic associated with a first form prompt associated with the form; and

a topic associated with a second form prompt associated with the first form prompt.

10. A method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

in response to receiving the second piece of information, comparing, by the broker, the second piece of information to the first piece of information; and

determining whether the second piece of information matches the first piece of information.

11. A method as claimed in claim 10, further comprising the step of:

in response to a successful determination, registering with the subscriber session.

12. A method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the comparing step is performed according to a pre-defined counter value.

13. A method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first piece of information represents at least one of:

a unique identifier associated with the form; and

a unique identifier associated with a form prompt.

14. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

determining, by the forms engine, according to a pre-defined time value, whether the user requires assistance.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the user session is associated with a unique identifier and wherein the populating the form step further comprises the step of:

using the unique identifier in order to populate the form with the received input.

16. A method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the user session is associated with a unique identifier and wherein the populating the form step further comprises the step of:

using the unique identifier in order to populate the form with the received input and wherein the communicating step further comprises the step of;

communicating the unique identifier associated with the user session to the broker.

17. A method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of:

in response to de-registering with the user session, disabling controls associated with the form.

19. A computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the steps of claim 1, when said program is run on a computer.

18. A system for assisting a user, for use in an environment comprising:

a user session, an external entity session and a forms engine for generating a form;

the system comprising;

means for registering with the user session, wherein a first session is established between the user session and the forms engine;

means for receiving a request for assistance from a user;

means, responsive to the receiving means, for de-registering with the user session, wherein the first session is un-established;

means for registering with the external entity session, wherein a second session is established between the external entity session and the forms engine;

means for receiving input from the external entity session; and

means for populating the form with the received input.