Method and system for generating help files based on user queries

• US 7,680,857 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2007
• Issued: 03/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: McDowell, Kevin R., Ashby, Robert N., Vadai, Christine E., Huentelman, Mark D.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEWIS, CHERYL RENEA
• Application Number:
  US11/844,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20070294251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 935 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/5, 707/200
• US Class Current: 707/728
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/337 Profile generation, learning or modification
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99935 Query augmenting and refining, e.g. inexact access

Abstract

A method and system for generating a help file based on failed user queries. A help file generation system collects failed user queries from user computer systems. The generation system assists a developer in identifying failed user queries that are related to a topic. The generation system then updates the entry in the help file for that topic based on the identified user queries. When a help system subsequently uses that help file, it checks the updated entry when searching for a match and will likely find a match to a relevant topic for a user query that previously failed.

Claims

1. A method in a computer system for generating a help file having topics, the method comprising:

collecting failed user queries, a user query being a query submitted by a user for searching the help file to identify topics relevant to the user query and a failed user query being a user query in which the identified topics after being presented to the user were considered to be not relevant to the user query;

receiving a selection of a topic that was not identified as being relevant to a failed user query;

receiving a selection of some of the collected failed user queries; and

modifying the help file so that the selected topic is more likely identified as being relevant to the selected user queries so that when a user submits one of the selected user queries to search the modified help file the selected topic is identified as being relevant to the submitted user query.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying includes adding data derived from the selected user queries to an entry of the selected topic.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the derived data is added as metadata that is searched by a help system when determining whether a topic matches a user query.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein when a help system searches for topics that match a user query, the help system weights matches within the derived data of the topics more heavily than matches within the content of the topics.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the modifying includes adding data derived from the selected user queries to a search catalog of the help file.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the derived data is added as metadata that is searched by a help system when determining whether a topic matches a user query.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein when a help system searches for topics that match a user query, the help system weights matches based on the derived data of the topics more heavily than matches based on the content of the topics.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving of the selection of some of the collected user queries includes:

receiving a search criteria; and

searching the collected user queries for those that match the received search criteria.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the receiving of the selection of some of the collected user queries includes:

displaying the matching user queries; and

receiving a selection of some of the matching user queries.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the modifying of the entry includes adding data derived from the selected matching user queries to the entry for the selected topic.

11. A computer system for modifying a help file having topics, comprising:

a component that collects failed user queries, a user query being a query submitted by a user for searching the help file to identify topics relevant to the user query and a failed user query being a user query in which the identified topics after being presented to the user were considered to be not relevant to the user query;

a component that selects a collected failed user query; and

a component that modifies the help file based on the selected user query so that a selected topic is more likely identified when the selected user query is submitted by a user to search the help file for topics relevant to the selected user query.

12. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the modifying includes adding the selected user queries to an entry for the selected topic.

13. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the failed user queries are collected from user computer systems.

14. The computer system of claim 11 wherein the component that selects receives a search criteria and searches the collected user queries for those that match the received search criteria.

15. The computer system of claim 14 wherein the component that selects displays a matching user query and receives a selection of some of the matching user queries.

16. The computer system of claim 15 wherein the component that modifies adds the selected matching user query to an entry for the selected topic.

17. A method in a help system for providing help information to a user, the method comprising:

providing a help file that includes an entry for each topic, each entry having a title, content, and some of the entries having data derived from failed user queries, a user query being a query submitted by a user for searching the help file to identify topics relevant to the user query and a failed user query being a user query in which the identified topics after being presented to the user were considered to be not relevant to the user query;

receiving a user query; and

searching the provided help file for a topic that matches the received user query, a match determined based at least in part on a comparison of the received user query to the data derived from failed user queries so that a topic that would not be identified as being relevant to the received user based on the title and the content of the topic is identified as being relevant based on the data of the topic derived from the failed user queries.

18. The method of claim 17 including displaying the content of a topic that matches.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the data derived from the failed user queries includes the failed user queries.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the searching gives more weight to the data derived from the failed user queries than to the content of an entry when determining whether the entry matches the received user query.