WORKFLOW AUTHORING ENVIRONMENT AND RUNTIME
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for allowing an author to create instructional material displayed based on user actions, the method comprising:
- displaying an authoring interface through which the author can select one or more elements to include in a workflow;
receiving a control selection for inclusion in the workflow;
receiving a sequence of workflow steps related to a set of actions the user can perform in the workflow;
receiving one or more triggering actions that a user can perform to determine the instructional material displayed to the user;
receiving an association between the received triggering actions and instructional content related to the actions; and
storing the workflow for subsequent display to a user,wherein the preceding steps are performed by at least one processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A workflow authoring system is described herein that provides a design-time authoring environment and a runtime component for displaying interactive, structured instructional content. The authoring environment provides custom controls, templates, and sample pages that allow authors to create a runnable workflow application. The application is a structured, interactive content type that provides users a better way to learn about data flows, workflows, and processes. The application also provides the ability to filter content based on specific actions the user takes, answers that the user provides, information that is retrieved from the user'"'"'s environment, and so forth. This content model facilitates improved net satisfaction (NSAT) with software products, as users more readily find the information they are looking for and receive more dynamic instructional material. Authors that may not have programming experience can use the system to create rich, interactive content.
114 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for allowing an author to create instructional material displayed based on user actions, the method comprising:
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displaying an authoring interface through which the author can select one or more elements to include in a workflow; receiving a control selection for inclusion in the workflow; receiving a sequence of workflow steps related to a set of actions the user can perform in the workflow; receiving one or more triggering actions that a user can perform to determine the instructional material displayed to the user; receiving an association between the received triggering actions and instructional content related to the actions; and storing the workflow for subsequent display to a user, wherein the preceding steps are performed by at least one processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer system for authoring and display of interactive, dynamic instructional information, the system comprising:
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a processor and memory configured to execute software instructions; an authoring environment configured to provide a user interface through which an author creates one or more workflows that provide content-relevant instructional material to users of a software application; a trigger setup component configured to receive triggers from the author that cause displayed content to change based on user actions; a runtime component configured to provide an executable module that can load and display authored workflows; an application data store configured to store authored workflow applications; an action detection component configured to detect one or more user actions as a user interacts with a running workflow application; an environment detection component configured to detect one or more conditions of a computing environment in which the workflow executes and provides information to the workflow; and a user interface component configured to provide an interface to a user during run time to display instructional information to the user and receive user actions that determine which instructional material to display. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions for controlling a computer system to display instructional material that changes based on user actions, wherein the instructions, upon execution, cause a processor to perform actions comprising:
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receiving a help request that identifies an instructional application including one or more workflows that display associated instructional material; invoking the identified instructional application; detecting one or more properties of an environment in which the instructional application executes; displaying help information in response to the received help request, wherein the displayed help information includes one or more choices that the user can make to refine the type of help information that the user receives; detecting a user action within a workflow that identifies a particular path within the workflow; and dynamically updating the displayed help information based on the detected user action to display more relevant help information. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification