System and method for providing user help

• US 20070157091A1
• Filed: 12/29/2005
• Published: 07/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Wadhwa, Gaurav
• Granted Patent: US 7,533,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

In a system and method for providing user help information, based on a user history it may be determined that an event has previously occurred, based on the determination a portion of stored user help information that includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event may be automatically and selectively provided without receiving a request for the provided portion.

Claims

1. A method for providing user help information, comprising:

in response to reaching, in a sequence of executed instructions, a point that is associated with an event, automatically and selectively providing a portion of a user help information upon a condition that a user history indicates that the event has previously occurred one of at and subsequent to a previous reaching of the point.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user history includes an indication of occurrence of at least one of an error event, a problem event, and an action event.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution of the instructions is associated with a user with which the user history is associated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion is provided upon a further condition that a recorded number indicating times that the portion is provided based on the reaching of the point does not exceed a predetermined number, further comprising:

recording the number in the user history; and

updating the number in the user history each time the portion is provided based on the reaching of the point.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

detecting the event; and

resetting the number each time the event is detected.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to performance of a first operation by a user, updating the user history to indicate performance of the first operation, wherein the portion is provided in response to a log-out operation by the user if the user history both indicates performance of the first operation and does not indicate performance of a second operation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

in response to the log-out operation, updating the user history to indicate an event of non-performance of the second operation if the user history both indicates performance of the first operation and does not indicate performance of the second operation.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion is provided if it is determined based on the user history that a predetermined amount of time has passed from performance of a first operation by a user without performance by the user of a second operation.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

compiling into a user-specific help manual a plurality of portions of the user help information, each portion being associated with a corresponding event indicated in the user history to have occurred.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user-specific help manual is provided to a user with whom the user history is associated in response to log-in by the user.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

providing a selectable icon corresponding to the user-specific help manual, selection of which is interpreted as an instruction to provide to a user with whom the user-specific help manual is associated content of the user-specific help manual.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a user request for the portion, providing the portion irrespective of contents of the user history.

14. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to perform the method of claim 1.

15. A method for providing user help information, comprising:

based on a user history, determining that an event has previously occurred; and

based on the determination, selectively providing a portion of a user help information that includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

compiling into a user-specific and task-specific help manual a plurality of portions of the user help information, each portion being associated with a corresponding event indicated in the user history to have occurred in association with a task with which the help manual is associated.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing the help manual to a user with whom the user history is associated in response to log-in by the user.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing a selectable icon corresponding to the help manual, selection of which is interpreted as an instruction to provide to a user with whom the help manual is associated content of the help manual.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

storing the task;

wherein the help manual is provided to a user with which the help manual is associated in response to an operation by the user to open the stored task.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein:

the user history includes an indication of a user role; and

at least one of (a) the determination and (b) the portion provided depends on the indicated user role.