IDENTIFYING A POTENTIAL MENTOR FOR A COMPUTER-ADMINISTERED TEST

• US 20170102938A1
• Filed: 10/09/2015
• Published: 04/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Quest Software, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Jury, Derek Alfred, Seigel, Jake, Ali, Sohail
• Application Number:
  US14/879,657
• Publication Number:
  US 20170102938A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/71 Version control security arrangements therefor G06F21/57; Configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/02 of the type wherein the student is expected to construct an answer to the question which is presented or wherein the machine gives an answer to the question presented by a student

Abstract

In some implementations, a software application may be changed from a standard mode to a tutorial mode, decoupling a user interface of the software application from a standard mode portion of the software application that provides a standard functionality and coupling the user interface to a tutorial mode portion of the software application that provides a tutorial functionality. The software application may administer a test associated with a tutorial, and determine results associated with the test. The software application may determine that the results fail to satisfy a threshold, obtain data identifying a set of one or more mentors knowledgeable about the test, and display the data. The data may include contact information associated with individual mentors of the set of mentors. The software application may automatically initiate a communication session between a computing device executing the software application and a computing device associated with one of the mentors.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

modifying, by one or more processors of a computing device, a mode of a software application from a standard mode to a tutorial mode;

decoupling, by the one or more processors, a user interface of the software application from a standard mode portion of the software application that provides a standard functionality;

coupling, by the one or more processors, the user interface of the software application to a tutorial mode portion of the software application that provides a tutorial functionality;

administering, by the one or more processors, a first test associated with a first tutorial;

determining, by the one or more processors, first results associated with administering the first test;

determining, by the one or more processors, that the first results fail to satisfy a first threshold; and

displaying, by the one or more processors, data identifying a first set of mentors that are knowledgeable about the first test, wherein the data includes contact information associated with individual mentors of the first set of mentors.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

initiating, in response to determining the first of mentors, a communication session with a communication device associated with a mentor of the first set of mentors.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein before displaying the first set of mentors associated with the first test the computer-implemented method further comprises:

sending a request, from the computing device to a server, to identify the first set of mentors for the first test; and

receiving, by the computing device, the data identifying the first set of mentors from the server.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

administering a second test associated with a second tutorial;

determining second results associated with administering the second test;

determining that the second results fail to satisfy a second threshold; and

displaying second data identifying a second set of mentors associated with the second test, wherein the second set of mentors includes at least one mentor that is not included in the first set of mentors.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending a second request, from the computing device to a server, to identify the second set of mentors for the second test; and

receiving, by the computing device, the second data identifying the second set of mentors from the server.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first set of mentors are identified from a database storing test results associated with administering a plurality of tests associated with the software application, wherein the plurality of tests include the first test.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying the first set of mentors associated with the first test comprises:

displaying contact information, including at least one of a phone number, an email address, or a video conferencing address, associated with individual mentors of the first set of mentors.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein at least one mentor of the first set of mentors is located within:

a predetermined geographical distance from a user to which the first test is being administered, or

a same department in a company as the user.

9. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that are executable by one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

modifying a mode of a software application from a standard mode to a tutorial mode;

decoupling a user interface of the software application from a standard mode portion of the software application that provides a standard functionality;

coupling the user interface of the software application to a tutorial mode portion of the software application that provides a tutorial functionality;

administering a first test associated with a first tutorial;

determining first results associated with administering the first test;

determining that the first results fail to satisfy a first threshold; and

displaying first data identifying a first set of mentors associated with the first test.

10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

sending a request to a server to identify the first set of mentors for the first test; and

receiving the first data identifying the first set of mentors from the server.

11. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, the operations further comprising:

administering a second test associated with a second tutorial;

determining second results associated with administering the second test;

determining that the second results fail to satisfy a second threshold;

sending a second request to a server identify a second set of mentors associated with the second test; and

displaying second data identifying the second set of mentors associated with the second test, wherein the second set of mentors includes at least one mentor that is not included in the first set of mentors.

12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the first set of mentors are identified from a database storing test results associated with administering a plurality of tests associated with the software application, wherein the plurality of tests include the first test.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein at least one mentor of the first set of mentors is located within:

a predetermined geographical distance from a user to which the first test is being administered, or

a same department in a company as the user.

14. A server, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from a computing device, a request to identify a set of mentors associated with a first test, wherein the client device is operating in a tutorial mode to administer the first test;

determining, based at least in part on a test results database, a first set of users that have passed the first test;

determining corporate data associated with individual users of the first set of users, wherein the corporate data includes at least one of a location, a department, or a manager associated with the individual users;

determining the set of mentors from the first set of users based at least in part on the corporate data and on one or more criteria; and

sending data identifying the set of mentors to the computing device.

15. The server of claim 14, wherein identifying the set of mentors from the first set of users based on the one or more criteria further comprises:

filtering the first set of users based on the one or more criteria to create first filtered users;

determining that a number of the first filtered users fails to satisfy a threshold number;

modifying the one or more criteria to create modified criteria;

filtering the first set of users based on the modified criteria to create second filtered users;

determining that the number of the second filtered users satisfies the threshold number; and

determining the set of mentors based at least in part on the second filtered users.

16. The server of claim 14, wherein the one or more criteria include at least one of a location, a department, or a manager associated with individual users of the additional users.

17. The server of claim 14, wherein the one or more criteria include at least one of a location, a department, or a manager associated with individual users of the additional users.

18. The server of claim 14, wherein the one or more criteria include a number of messages received by individual users of the additional users that are associated with the software application.

19. The server of claim 14, the operations further comprising:

receiving, from a second computing device, a request to identify a second set of mentors associated with a second test;

determining, based at least in part on the test results database, a second set of users that have passed the second test;

determining the second set of mentors from the second set of users based at least in part on second criteria; and

sending second data associated with the second set of mentors to the second computing device.

20. The server of claim 14, the operations further comprising:

determining the corporate data associated with the individual users of the first set of users from at least one of an active directory service, an email server, a conferencing server, or a corporate directory.