Technical support chain automation with guided self-help capability and option to escalate to live help
First Claim
1. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client computer system, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
- in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client computer system, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
during the guided self-help session, using a result of executing the diagnostic map to determine a selection to provide to the user, wherein the server determines the selection, providing the selection to the user, and providing the user with an option to escalate to live help;
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the guided self-help session.
17 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and at least one server from which live help is available. The method begins initiates a guided self-help session in response to entry by a user of a problem area and description. During the self-help session, the user is provided with an option to escalate to live help. If the user exercises that option, the system automatically provides a support engineer at the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session. During the live help, the support engineer may then repeat a portion of the user'"'"'s self-help session, view information generated during that session, and/or execute certain actions with respect to the user'"'"'s machine, all from the engineer'"'"'s desktop.
198 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client computer system, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client computer system, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
during the guided self-help session, using a result of executing the diagnostic map to determine a selection to provide to the user, wherein the server determines the selection, providing the selection to the user, and providing the user with an option to escalate to live help;
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the guided self-help session. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client computer system, and at least one server from which live help is available from a support engineer, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client computer system, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
during the guided self-help session, using a result of executing the diagnostic map to determine a selection to provide to the user, wherein the server determines the selection, providing the selection to the user, and providing the user with an option to escalate to live help;
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, initiating a live help session between the user and the support engineer; and
during the live help session, enabling the support engineer to view information that was available to the user during the guided self-help session. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for providing technical support chain automation in a computer network having a server and a client computer system, the computer program product executable in the client computer system and comprising:
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means for initiating a guided self-help session;
means for executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
means for providing a selection to the user;
means for escalating to a live help session; and
means for transmitting a data stream to a server, the data stream including information about the guided self-help session.
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21. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client computer system, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client computer system, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
during the guided self-help session, using a result of executing the diagnostic map for providing the user with one of the following;
an option to fix the problem, a link to a URL for further diagnosing the problem, and an option to search using a system-generated search string;
at customizable points during the guided self-help session, automatically escalating to live help; and
automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session.
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22. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client machine, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client machine;
during the guided self-help session, providing the user with an option to escalate to live help; and
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session, wherein the data stream comprises information produced by executing the diagnostic map on the client computer system.
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23. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client machine, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client machine;
during the guided self-help session;
providing the user with an option to escalate to live help and using a result of executing the diagnostic map for providing an option to execute a fix for the problem on the client machine; and
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session.
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24. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client machine, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
during the guided self-help session;
using a result of executing the diagnostic map for providing the user with an option to escalate to live help and a link to a URL for diagnosing the problem; and
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session.
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25. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a problem area and description, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client machine;
during the guided self-help session;
providing the user with an option to escalate to live help, and using a result of executing the diagnostic map for providing the user with a system-generated search string; and
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session.
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26. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client machine, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client machine, initiating a guided self-help session;
executing a diagnostic map on the client machine;
using a result of executing the diagnostic map to provide a selection from the server to the user;
at customizable points during the guided self-help session, providing the user with an option to escalate to live help; and
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session. - View Dependent Claims (27)
an option to fix the problem, a link to a URL for further diagnosing the problem, and an option to search using a system-generated search string.
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28. A method for automated technical support in a computer network having a client computer system, and a server from which live help is available, comprising:
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in response to entry by a user of a description of a problem with the client computer system, searching a content database for content related to the problem;
executing a diagnostic map on the client computer system;
using a result of executing the diagnostic map to select relevant content from the content related to the problem, wherein the server performs the selecting, and some but not all of the content related to the problem is included in the relevant content;
providing the relevant content to the user;
providing the user with an option to escalate to live help;
if the user exercises the option to escalate to live help, automatically providing a support engineer via the server with a data stream summarizing the self-help session. - View Dependent Claims (29)
an option to fix the problem, a link to a URL for further diagnosing the problem, and an option to search using a system-generated search string.
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Specification