Resolution of incidents which occur during the use of a product

• US 6,260,048 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1998
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: DeGabriele, Richard F., Carpenter, Ralph
• Primary Examiner(s): Lintz, Paul R.
• Application Number:
  US09/181,136
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104, 707/10, 707/101, 701/29, 701/39, 706/45, 714/26
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0769 Readable error formats, e.g. cross-platform generic formats, human understandable formats
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0784 Routing of error reports, e.g. with a specific transmission path or data flow
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A technical support incident resolution facility handles incidents, which are unexpected results which occur during the use of products. Within a vendor environment, a diagnostic knowledge trees database stores diagnostic knowledge trees for the products. A copy of a subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees is downloaded to a client environment. The subset of diagnostic knowledge trees provides diagnostic information for a subset of the products which are supported within the client environment. The copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees are used to supply diagnostic information to the client for incidents which potentially occur when a diagnostic program attempts to analyze the subset of the products.

Claims

1. A method for providing a facility for resolution of incidents that occur during use of products, the method comprising the following steps:

(a) storing within a vendor environment a diagnostic knowledge trees database that stores diagnostic knowledge trees for the products;

(b) downloading to a client environment, a copy of a subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, the subset of diagnostic knowledge trees providing diagnostic information for a subset of the products that are supported within the client environment; and

,

(c) providing to a diagnostic program running within the client environment, by the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, diagnostic information for incidents that potentially occur when the diagnostic program attempts to analyze the subset of the products.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein in step (a) leaf nodes within the diagnostic knowledge trees each include a question and at least one response.

3. A method as in claim 1 additionally comprising the following steps:

(d) when diagnostic information provided by the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees is not sufficient to solve a problem encountered by the diagnostic program, performing the following substeps;

(d.1) forming a trouble ticket that describes the problem encountered; and

,

(d.2) forwarding the trouble ticket to a technical support system within the vendor environment.

4. A method as in claim 1 wherein in step (d) the following substeps are additionally performed when diagnostic information provided by the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees is not sufficient to solve the problem encountered by the diagnostic program:

(d.3) providing, by a vendor, a solution to the problem encountered; and

,

(d.4) updating the diagnostic knowledge trees database to reflect the solution provided by the vendor.

5. A method as in claim 1 additionally comprising the following step:

(d) refreshing the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, including the following substep;

(d.1) downloading from the vendor environment to the client environment changes made to the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees.

6. A method as in claim 1 additionally comprising the following step:

(d) refreshing the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, including the following substep;

(d.1) downloading from the vendor environment to the client environment a new copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees.

7. A facility for resolution of incidents that occur during use of products, the facility comprising:

a diagnostic knowledge trees database stored within a vendor environment, the diagnostic knowledge trees database storing diagnostic knowledge trees for the products; and

,

database storage within a client environment, the database storage storing a copy of a subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, the subset of diagnostic knowledge trees providing diagnostic information for a subset of the products that are supported within the client environment, the database storage also providing, from the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, diagnostic information for incidents that potentially occur when a diagnostic program within the client environment attempts to analyze the subset of the products.

8. A facility as in claim 7 wherein the diagnostic knowledge trees include leaf nodes, the leaf nodes each including a question and at least one response.

9. A facility as in claim 7, wherein the facility additionally comprises:

update functionality for forming a trouble ticket that describes a problem encountered by a client and forwards the trouble ticket to a technical support system within the vendor environment, the trouble ticket being formed when diagnostic information provided by the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees is not sufficient to solve the problem encountered by the client.

10. A facility as in claim 7 wherein update functionality is additionally for allowing a vendor to update the diagnostic knowledge trees database to reflect a solution provided by the vendor to the problem.

11. A facility as in claim 7, additionally comprising:

refreshing means for refreshing the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, the refreshing being done by downloading, from the vendor environment to the client environment, changes made to the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees.

12. A facility as in claim 7, additionally comprising:

refreshing means for refreshing the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, the refreshing being done by downloading, from the vendor environment to the client environment, a new copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees.

13. A facility within a client environment, for resolution of incidents that occur during use of products, the facility comprising:

database storage within a client environment, the database storage storing a copy of a subset of diagnostic knowledge trees stored within a diagnostic knowledge trees database, the diagnostic knowledge trees database existing within a vendor environment, the subset of diagnostic knowledge trees providing diagnostic information for a subset of the products that are supported within the client environment, the database storage also providing, from the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, diagnostic information for incidents that potentially occur when a diagnostic program attempts to analyze the subset of the products; and

,

refreshing means for refreshing the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees, so that the copy of the subset of diagnostic knowledge trees stored in the database storage is updated to reflect changes made to the subset of diagnostic knowledge trees stored in the diagnostic knowledge trees database.

14. A facility as in claim 13 wherein the diagnostic knowledge trees include leaf nodes, the leaf nodes each including a question and at least one response.

15. A facility as in claim 13, wherein the facility additionally comprises:

update functionality for forming a trouble ticket that describes a problem encountered by a client and for forwarding the trouble ticket to a technical support system within the vendor environment, the trouble ticket being formed when diagnostic information provided by the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees is not sufficient to solve the problem encountered by the diagnostic program.

16. A facility as in claim 13 wherein update functionality allows a vendor to update the diagnostic knowledge trees database to reflect a solution provided by the vendor to the problem.

17. A facility as in claim 13, wherein the refreshing means refreshes the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees by downloading, from the vendor environment to the client environment, changes made to the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees.

18. A facility as in claim 13, wherein the refreshing means refreshes the copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees by downloading, from the vendor environment to the client environment, a new copy of the subset of the diagnostic knowledge trees.