User interface design

• US 6,976,218 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2002
• Issued: 12/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Stanford-Clark, Andrew James
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu, Tadesse
• Application Number:
  US10/133,080
• Publication Number:
  US 20020171677A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 715736-748, 715/760, 715/762, 715/771, 709/229, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 715/744
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

The invention relates to providing to a user a user interface. It is determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of the first user interface. Responsive to determining that the user did experience difficulties, that user is provided with at least one module of a different user interface. Thus it can be seen that a user is preferably provided with the first interface unless they experience difficulties with that interface. Other users who do not experience such difficulties continue to interact with the first interface.

Claims

1. A method for providing to a user a user interface comprising the steps of:

determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface;

and responsive to determining that said user did experience difficulties, providing said user with at least one module of a different user interface, wherein the first user interface has at least one selectable element, the determining step comprising;

analyzing user interactions in relation to selectable elements, wherein the step of analyzing user interactions comprises;

noting when a user has selected a selectable element (a hit); and

noting when a user has selected a non-selectable element (a miss), wherein the step of noting when a user has selected a selectable and a non-selectable element comprises;

receiving information regarding the position within said first user interface of each hit and each miss.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each user interface is a component of at least one web page and wherein said method comprises the steps of:

determining from a plurality of interactions by a user with at least one web page of a first type whether they experienced difficulties using the at least one web page of a first type; and

responsive to determining that said user did experience difficulties, servicing said user with at least one web page of a second type.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user interface is part of an application program, said application program comprising:

program code for identifying said interaction difficulties; and

selectable user interfaces.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of:

storing information regarding user interactions with said first user interface.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface comprises:

analysing said stored set of previous interactions by said user with said first user interface.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface comprises:

receiving a message indicating that said user had previously experienced difficulties.

40. A computer program product comprising computer program code adapted to perform the method of claim 1 when said program is run on a computer.

7. A method for providing to a user a user interface comprising the steps of:

determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface;

and responsive to determining that said user did experience difficulties, providing said user with at least one module of a different user interface, wherein the first user interface has at least one selectable element, the determining step comprising;

analysing user interactions in relation to selectable elements;

storing a map of the first user-interface, said map providing comprehensive information regarding the layout of said first user interface, said map including details of said first user interface, said map including details of any selectable elements and any non-selectable visual elements.

8. The method of claim 7 comprising the steps of:

using said map to determine which visual non-selectable element was selected relative to a nearby selectable element; and

responsive to determining that said visual non-selectable element is repeatedly selected prior to the selection of said nearby selectable element further determining that the positioning of visual non-selectable element is misleading to that user.

9. A method for servicing users with web pages, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated;

servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein a user selection of a hyperlink invokes a web page request;

receiving first positional information regarding a user selection;

receiving second positional information regarding at least one selection in a web page of a non-selectable element;

storing said first and second positional information;

associating said positional information with a user identifier;

storing timestamps relating to said first and second positional information; and

periodically correlating said requesting user second positional information indicating a selection by said user in the vicinity of a hyperlink, with said user'"'"'s first positional information that resulted in the selection of that hyperlink.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein second positional information is only correlated with first positional information if the timestamps for each are within a predetermined range.

11. The method of claim 9, comprising the steps of:

using said correlated first and second positional information to determine whether a user is having trouble using at least a part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

if so making a note of said user'"'"'s identifier.

12. The method of claim 9, comprising the step of:

storing a map of the web page from which said hyperlink is selected, said map providing comprehensive information regarding the layout of said web page, said map including details of any hyperlinks and at least one of non-selectable text;

non-selectable images; and

colours.

13. The method of claim 9, comprising the step of:

grouping users according to the trouble they experience using said website; and

wherein the servicing step comprises;

servicing a user with a web page according to the group within which that user sits.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein said positional information comprises x and y coordinate values.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the identifying step comprises:

accessing a list denoting those users who have had trouble using at least part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

determining whether the user requesting the first type of web page is found within said list; and

wherein the servicing step is responsive to determining that the user is within said list.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein web pages of a second type are stored separately from web pages of a first type.

41. A computer program product comprising computer program code adapted to perform the method of claim 9 when said program is run on a computer.

17. A method for servicing users with web pages, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated;

servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein a user selection of a hyperlink invokes a web page request;

receiving first positional information regarding a user selection;

receiving second positional information regarding at least one selection in a web page of a non-selectable element;

storing a map of the web page from which said hyperlink is selected, said map providing comprehensive information regarding the layout of said web page, said map including details of any hyperlinks and at least one of non-selectable text;

non-selectable images; and

colours;

using said map to determine which non-selectable element of the mapped web page was selected relative to a hyperlink in the vicinity of said non-selectable element; and

responsive to determining that said non-selectable element is repeatedly selected prior to the selection of a hyperlink and that said non-selectable element is at least one of text and an image, further determining that the positioning of said text and/or image is misleading to that user.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising the step of:

using at least one of said positional information and said map to create at least one new web page for servicing, upon request, users identified as having trouble using said web page of a first type.

19. A method for servicing users with web pages, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a web site with which said first type of web page is associated; and

servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein the identifying step comprises;

accessing a list denoting those users who have had trouble using at least part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

determining whether the user requesting the first type of web page is found within said list; and

wherein the servicing step is responsive to determining that the user is within said list, wherein the receiving step comprises;

receiving a message including an indicator pointing to said list, and wherein the identifying step comprises;

using the indicator within said message to reference said list.

20. A method for servicing users with web pages, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein the receiving step comprises;

receiving a message including an indicator that said requesting user previously had trouble using at least a part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

wherein the identifying step comprises;

using the indicator within said message, the servicing step being responsive to the presence of said indicator.

21. A server for providing to a user a user interface, comprising:

means for determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface; and

means, responsive to determining that said user did experience difficulties, for providing said user with at least one module of a different user interface, wherein the first user interface has at least one selectable element, the determining means comprising;

means for analysing user interactions in relation to selectable elements, wherein the means for analysing user interactions comprises;

means for noting when a user has selected a selectable element (a hit); and

means for noting when a user has selected a non-selectable element (a miss), wherein the means for noting when a user has selected a selectable and a non-selectable element comprises;

means for receiving information regarding the position within said first user interface of each hit and each miss.

22. The server of claim 21, wherein each user interface is a component of at least one web page and wherein said server comprises:

means for determining from a plurality of interactions by a user with at least one web page of a first type whether they experienced difficulties using the at least one web page of a first type; and

means, responsive to determining that said user did experience difficulties, for servicing said user with at least one web page of a second type.

23. The server of claim 21, wherein the first user interface is part of an application program, said application program comprising:

program code for identifying said interaction difficulties; and

selectable user interfaces.

24. The server of claim 21, further comprising:

means for storing information regarding user interactions with said first user interface.

25. The server of claim 24, wherein the means for determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface comprises:

means for analysing said stored set of previous interactions by said user with said first user interface.

26. The server of claim 21, wherein the means for determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface comprises:

means for receiving a message indicating that said user had previously experienced difficulties.

27. A server for providing to a user a user interface, comprising:

means for determining from a plurality interactions by a user with a first user interface whether they experienced difficulties using at least one module of said first user interface; and

means, responsive to determining that said user did experience difficulties, for providing said user with at least one module of a different user interface, wherein the first user interface has at least one selectable element, the determining means comprising;

means for analysing user interactions in relation to selectable elements;

means for storing a map of the first user-interface, said map providing comprehensive information regarding the layout of said first user interface, said map including details of any selectable elements and any non-selectable visual elements.

28. The server of claim 27 comprising:

means for using said map to determine which visual non-selectable element was selected relative to a nearby selectable element; and

means, responsive to determining that said visual non-selectable element is repeatedly selected prior to the selection of said nearby selectable element, for further determining that the positioning of visual non-selectable element is misleading to that user.

29. A server for servicing users with web pages, comprising:

means for receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

means for identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated;

means for servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein a user selection of a hyperlink invokes a web page request;

means for receiving first positional information regarding a user selection;

means for receiving second positional information regarding at least one selection in a web page of a non-selectable element;

means for storing said first and second positional information;

means for associating said positional information with a user identifier;

means for storing timestamps relating to said first and second positional information; and

means for periodically correlating said requesting user second positional information indicating a selection by said user in the vicinity of a hyperlink, with said user'"'"'s first positional information that resulted in the selection of that hyperlink.

30. The server of claim 29, wherein second positional information is only correlated with first positional information if the timestamps for each are within a predetermined range.

31. The server of claim 29, comprising:

means for using said correlated first and second positional information to determine whether a user is having trouble using at least a part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

means, responsive to determining that said user is having trouble, for making a note of said user'"'"'s identifier.

32. The server of claim 29, comprising:

means for storing a map of the web page from which said hyperlink is selected, said map providing comprehensive information regarding the layout of said web page, any hyperlinks and at least one of non-selectable text;

non-selectable images; and

colours.

33. The server of claim 29, comprising:

means for grouping users according to the trouble they experience using said website; and

wherein the servicing means comprises;

means for servicing a user with a web page according to the group within which that user sits.

34. The server of claim 29, wherein the identifying step comprises:

means for accessing a list denoting those users who have had trouble using at least part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

means for determining whether the user requesting the first type of web page is found within said list; and

wherein the servicing step is responsive to determining that the user is within said list.

35. The server of claim 29, wherein web pages of a second type are stored separately from web pages of a first type.

36. A server for servicing users with web pages, comprising:

means for receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

means for identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated;

means for servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein a user selection of a hyperlink invokes a web page request;

means for receiving first positional information regarding a user selection;

means for receiving second positional information regarding at least one selection in a web page of a non-selectable element;

means for storing a map of the web page from which said hyperlink is select ed, said map providing comprehensive information regarding the layout of said web page, any hyperlinks and at least one of non-selectable text;

non-selectable images; and

colours;

means for using said map to determine which non-selectable element of the mapped web page was selected relative to a hyperlink in the vicinity of said non-selectable element; and

means, responsive to determining that said non-selectable element is repeatedly selected prior to the selection of a hyperlink and that said non-selectable element is at least one of text and an image, for further determining that the positioning of said text and/or image is misleading to that user.

37. The server of claim 36, comprising:

means for using at lest one of said positional information and said map to create at least one new web page for servicing, upon request, users identified as having trouble using said web page of a first type.

38. A server for servicing users with web pages, comprising:

means for receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

means for identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

means for servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein the identifying means comprises;

means for accessing a list denoting those users who have had trouble using at least part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

means for determining whether the user requesting the first type of web page is found within said list; and

wherein the servicing means is responsive to determining that the user is within said list, wherein the receiving means comprises;

means for receiving a message including an indicator pointing to said list, and wherein the identifying means comprises;

means for using the indicator within said message to reference said list.

39. A server for servicing users with web pages, comprising:

means for receiving a request from a user for a web page of a first type;

means for identifying that said user has had trouble using at least a part of a website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

means for servicing said user with a web page of a second type, wherein the receiving means comprises;

means for receiving a message including an indicator that said requesting user previously had trouble using at least a part of the website with which said first type of web page is associated; and

wherein the identifying means comprises;

means for using the indicator within said message, the servicing means being responsive to the presence of said indicator.