System and method for providing user help

• US 7,533,339 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2005
• Issued: 05/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Wadhwa, Gaurav
• Primary Examiner(s): Desai; Rachna S
• Assistant Examiner(s): Distefano; Gregory A
• Application Number:
  US11/319,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20070157091A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,230 Days
• Field of Search: 395/12, 715/705, 715/707, 715/708
• US Class Current: 715/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems

Abstract

In a system and method for providing user help information, based on a user history it may be determined that an event has previously occurred, based on the determination a portion of stored user help information that includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event may be automatically and selectively provided without receiving a request for the provided portion.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing user help information, comprising:

in response to reaching, in a sequence of executed instructions, a point that is associated with an event, a processor automatically and selectively providing a portion of a user help information upon a condition that a user history indicates that the event has previously occurred at or subsequent to a previous reaching of the point; and

in response to performance of a first operation by a user, the processor updating the user history to indicate performance of the first operation, wherein the portion is provided in response to a log-out operation by the user when the user history both indicates performance of the first operation and does not indicate performance of a second operation.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the reaching of the point, in response to which the portion is provided, is during a current execution without occurrence of the event.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence of executed instructions are executed in association with a user with which the user history is associated.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recording a number in the user history, the recorded number indicating times that the portion is provided based on the reaching of the point; and

updating the recorded number in the user history each time the portion is provided based on the reaching of the point;

wherein the portion is provided upon a further condition that the recorded number does not exceed a predetermined number.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

resetting the recorded number each time the event is detected.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the log-out operation, updating the user history to indicate an event of non-performance of the second operation if the user history both indicates performance of the first operation and does not indicate performance of the second operation.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a user request for the portion, providing the portion irrespective of contents of the user history.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event, the method further comprising:

compiling into a user-specific and task-specific help manual a plurality of portions of the user help information, each portion being associated with a corresponding event indicated in the user history to have occurred in association with a task with which the help manual is associated; and

storing the task;

wherein the help manual is provided to a user with which the help manual is associated in response to an operation by the user to open the stored task.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the user history includes an indication of a user role; and

whether the event is determined to have previously occurred for recordation in the user history depends on the indicated user role.

11. A hardware-implemented computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions adapted to be executed by a processor, the instructions which, when executed, cause the processor to perform a method for providing user help information, the method comprising:

in response to performance of a first operation by a user, updating a user history to indicate performance of the first operation; and

in response to a log-out operation by the user;

determining based on the user history whether the user performed the first operation and whether the user performed a second operation; and

automatically and selectively providing a portion of a user help information in response to a determination, based on the user history, that both the user performed the first operation and also did not perform the second operation.

12. A computer-implemented method for providing user help information, comprising:

in response to performance of a first operation by a user, a processor updating a user history to indicate performance of the first operation; and

in response to a log-out operation by the user, the processor;

determining based on the user history whether the user performed the first operation and whether the user performed a second operation; and

automatically and selectively providing a portion of a user help information in response to a determination, based on the user history, that both the user performed the first operation and also did not perform the second operation.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

compiling into a user-specific help manual a plurality of portions of the user help information, each portion being associated with a corresponding event indicated in the user history to have occurred.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the user-specific help manual is provided to a user with whom the user history is associated in response to log-in by the user.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the plurality of portions includes information indicating how to avoid recurrence of the event corresponding to the respective portion.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing a selectable icon corresponding to the help manual, selection of which is interpreted as an instruction to provide to a user with whom the help manual is associated content of the help manual.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing a selectable icon corresponding to the user-specific help manual, selection of which is interpreted as an instruction to provide to a user with whom the user-specific help manual is associated content of the user-specific help manual.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the user history includes an indication of a user role; and

the portion provided depends on the indicated user role.