Method and system for automating the creation of customer-centric interfaces

• US 8,131,524 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2008
• Issued: 03/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bushey, Robert R., Pasquale, Theodore B., Mills, Scott H., Martin, John M., Knott, Benjamin A., Joseph, Kurt M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Kamini S
• Assistant Examiner(s): GEBRESILASSIE, KIBROM K
• Application Number:
  US12/127,403
• Publication Number:
  US 20080313571A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,379 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.18, 715/700, 715/704, 715/716, 715/727, 715/745, 715/734, 703/6, 704/4, 704/246
• US Class Current: 703/6
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/20 Software design
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/1822 Parsing for meaning understanding
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/00 Arrangements for metering, time-control or time indication ; Metering, charging or billing arrangements for voice wireline or wireless communications, e.g. VoIP

Abstract

An interface is provided by creating prompts for the interface. The prompts represent tasks to be accomplished by a user and are obtained based on user input. The prompts are grouped according to relationships, obtained from the user input, among the tasks. The interface is updated based on user feedback. Each of the prompts is designated using user terminology obtained from the user input.

Claims

1. A method for providing a plurality of prompts, comprising:

creating the plurality of prompts for an interface to at least one hardware component, each of the plurality of prompts representing tasks to be accomplished by a user, and each of the plurality of prompts being obtained based on user input and a grouping of the tasks according to a determination of comparative similarity obtained from the user input, among the tasks; and

modifying the interface based on user feedback obtained from test users interacting with the plurality of prompts,

wherein wording for each of the plurality of prompts is designated using a phrase created by the test users providing the user input using the test users'"'"' own words.

2. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the interface is graphically represented.

3. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the interface comprises an interactive voice system.

4. The method according to claim 1,

wherein the interface determines a structure of a website.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

developing content for a website based on the interface.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

ordering the plurality of prompts according to frequencies of occurrence for tasks corresponding to each of the plurality of prompts.

7. A system implemented on at least one processor for providing a plurality of prompts, comprising:

a customer language engine executable by the at least one processor to receive user input and to create the plurality of prompts for an interface to at least one hardware component, each of the plurality of prompts representing tasks to be accomplished by a user, and each of the plurality of prompts being obtained based on the user input and a grouping of the tasks according to a determination of comparative similarity obtained from the user input, among the tasks; and

a customer performance engine executable by the at least one processor that modifies the interface based on user feedback obtained from test users interacting with the plurality of prompts,

wherein wording for each of the plurality of prompts is designated using a phrase created by the test users providing the user input using the test users'"'"' own words.

8. The system according to claim 7,

wherein the tasks comprise action data that describes an action the user would like to perform with respect to an object.

9. The system according to claim 8,

wherein the tasks further comprise object data that describes the object upon which the action is performed.

10. The system according to claim 9,

wherein the object data comprises user-specific data stored by the system.

11. The system according to claim 8,

wherein the action data comprises data relating to at least one of accessing and interacting with the object.

12. The system according to claim 9,

wherein the customer language engine is executable by the at least one processor to create a system-generated task by combining object data obtained from a first task with action data obtained from a second task.

13. The system according to claim 7,

wherein the user input is not based on predetermined input.

14. The system according to claim 7,

wherein the user input is obtained from at least one of a telephone call, an electronic mail, and a submission via a website.

15. The system according to claim 7,

wherein the user feedback is obtained by monitoring the user interacting with the plurality of prompts for the interface.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a computer program, recorded on the computer readable medium, for providing a plurality of prompts, the medium comprising:

a customer language code segment, recorded on the computer readable medium, executable to create the plurality of prompts for an interface to at least one hardware component, each of the plurality of prompts representing tasks to be accomplished by a user, and each of the plurality of prompts being obtained based on user input and a grouping of the tasks according to a determination of comparative similarity obtained from the user input, among the tasks; and

a customer performance code segment, recorded on the computer readable medium, executable to modify the interface based on user feedback obtained from test users interacting with the plurality of prompts,

wherein wording for each of the plurality of prompts is designated using a phrase created by the test users providing the user input using the test users'"'"' own words.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16, further comprising:

a task frequency code segment, recorded on the computer readable medium, executable to determine a frequency of occurrence for each of the tasks, and

wherein the customer language code segment creates the plurality of prompts, based on the frequency of occurrence for each of the tasks, using the using the user terminology.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16,

wherein modifying the interface comprises modifying the plurality of prompts based on an accuracy score for accomplishing a specified task using the interface.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 18,

wherein the customer performance code segment modifies the interface based on response times for accomplishing the specified task using the interface.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16,

wherein the at least one hardware component comprises a computing device.